SHERIDAN FIELD STATION, 1917 TO 1923 
23 
Each variety was represented by one row 132 feet long, replicated 
three times in different parts of the field. At frequent but irregular 
intervals rows were seeded to the lot of local seed in order to provide 
a check on variations due to soil differences. 
Owing apparently to local conditions of soil moisture at the time 
of seeding, the stands were not uniform in the different rows, and on 
that account the yields are not directly comparable. Consequently, 
no comparison of the different varieties on a yield basis is attempted 
in this bulletin. An important factor regarding this trial, however^ 
is that there has been no noticeable winterkilling of any variety, and 
all seem to be about equally resistant to drought. 
Grimm, the local seed used for checks, and the Kansas-grown seed 
were also included in another test seeded at the same time as the row 
test. Each of the three varieties was seeded in twentieth-acre plats, 
both in rows 35 inches apart and drilled with the grain drill, and each 
plat was replicated three times. Yields from this test are shown in 
Table 19. 
Table 19. — Annual and average yields of hay from three varieties of alfalfa, each 
seeded hy two methods at the Sheridan Field Station for the six years from 1918 
to 1923, inclusive 
Seeding method 
Yields per acre (pounds) 
Variety 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 
Aver- 
age 
Orimm "NTn. 178 
35-inch rows 
7-inch drill 
2,780 
3,180 
640 
600 
2,550 
2,040 
1,410 
1,410 
3,720 
4,140 
2,760 
3,400 
2,310 
Do 
2, 462 
Average 
2,980 
620 
2,295 
1,410 
3,930 
3,080 
2,386 
35-inch rows 
7-inch drill 
Local seed -..--. 
2,760 
2,940 
640 
360 
1,890 
2,130 
1,090 
1,370 
2,540 
2,940 
2,180 
2,820 
1,850 
Do 
2,093 
Average 
2,850 
500 
2,010 
1,230 
2,740 
2,500 
1,972 
35-inch rows 
7-inch drill 
Kansas-grown No. 183 
Do 
3,100 
3,460 
700 
300 
1,830 
2,350 
1,550 
1,050 
3,160 
3,060 
2,580 
2,320 
2,153 
2,090 
Average 
3,280 
500 
2,090 
1,300 
3,110 
2,450 
2,122 
35-ineh rows 
7-inch drill 
2,880 
3,193 
660 
420 
2,090 
2,173 
1,350 
1,277 
3,140 
3,380 
2,507 
2,S47 
2,105 
Do 
2,215 
In this trial Grimm alfalfa averaged best, 2,310 pounds of hay per 
acre for the rows and 2,462 pounds for the drilled seeding. The 
plats groT\ai from the local seed averaged 460 and 369 pounds less, 
respectively, and the yield from the Kansas-grown seed averaged 157 
and 372 pounds less, respectively. None of the varieties in either 
trial winterkilled to any noticeable extent, and the killing out from 
drought appeared to be about the same with all varieties. 
Experiments also were conducted with alfalfa in which three 
different methods of seeding were compared. Alfalfa was seeded in 
rows 35 inches apart and cultivated, drilled alone with the grain drill, 
and drilled with barley as a nurse crop. Seedings were made in 1917, 
1920, 1921, and 1922. Table 20 shows the results by the different 
methods. No crop is produced in the first year, the year of seeding. 
Yields are shown separately for the second year, the third year, and 
the annual and average for each seeding from the fii-st crop to 1923. 
