546 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 21 
The lower side of the dam is huilt up perpendicularly. 
Every stick placed is wedged solidly to avoid settling 
of the dam when the weight of water comes on the 
floor. The dam is built all the way up against rock, 
otherwise the ends of the timbers should have been 
firmly laid in a trench cut in solid earth. This tim¬ 
ber work is carried up to the top, which is made of 
two single timbers the whole length of the dam, and 
placed two feet apart. The whole of the timber is 
pinned together firmly with locust pins two inches 
thick. The top of the timber work is laid evenly and 
hewed to receive the rafters, which are hewed level 
on the face and put three feet apart from the centers. 
These are pinned down securely. The bottom of the 
dam is closed in by three rows of two-inch planks, 
hewed to a knife edge, at the bottom, and are driven 
down on to the rock so as to make a close fit. This 
part of the work is important, and each piece of tim¬ 
ber is carefully fitted, being driven down by a heavy 
sledge to make a close fit with the rock in the bottom, 
and is taken up several times to be sure that the bot¬ 
tom is closely fitted to the rock. Over the first row 
another is fitted in the same way, and well spiked to 
the first row (this being well spiked to the main mud¬ 
sill), and these are closely fitted to each other. A 
third course is then laid on the other, being fitted to 
the bottom in the same way and spiked on to the 
others with three eight-inch wrought spikes. Of 
course, the joints are broken as these are laid. Finally, 
these planks are covered with thick sacks, doubled, 
and laid so as to have a foot or more lying on the 
rock. Fine gravel was then thrown in upon these 
sacks, and then coarse broken rock, and then gravel 
again, and finally good clay laid over these up to the 
mudsill. These footing planks are laid on the same 
slope as the dam, so that the pressure of the water 
holds them down to the rock bottom. The sides of 
the dam are fitted to the rock in the same way over 
the floor as it was laid. 
The floor is of two thicknesses, in the bottom, three, 
of inch plank with joints broken, and well nailed 
down to the rafters with twentypenny nails. As 
these were laid, coarse sand was thrown on to them 
to fill all the cracks between the edges. This was 
carried to the top of the dam, which was finished with 
four feet wide of two-inch plank as a security against 
any flood timber comiDg down the river. To avoid 
this risk, however, boom logs are laid some distance 
up the pond to catch this drift, so that it may be 
hauled out and damage avoided. The dam has not 
settled a quarter of an inch in the three years since 
it was built, although a flood three feet high has gone 
over it, at one time, when an earth dam above it 
broke loose and let five acres of water down the stream 
at once. henry stewart. 
ALFALFA IN NEW YORK STATE. 
HOW IT COMPARES WITH BED CLOVER. 
Much has been written about the habits and value 
of Alfalfa in the Far West. We have, also, been told 
how, here and there, eastern farmers have succeeded 
with this plant. Dozens of questions have come from 
farmers east of the Alleghanies who wish to know 
how Alfalfa differs from Red clover in habit of growth 
and in soil requirements. The following notes from 
New York State farmers will, doubtless, answer some 
of these questions: 
The Same Soil as Red Clover. 
In this locality, Alfalfa seems to do well on pretty 
nearly all soils on which it has been tried, providing 
the ground was thoroughly well fitted and the crop 
got a good start. It seems, however, to do best on a 
soil that has a porous, underdrained subsoil, where 
the water level does not come up very high. It is a 
rank feeder, and responds freely to thorough appli¬ 
cations of fertilizer. I believe that any soil that will 
grow Red clover well, will grow Alfalfa, providing 
other conditions are right. 
We have been most successful in getting a good 
stand where we have plowed deep for some years, and 
have grown hoed crops enough to get the ground fairly 
free from Quack grass. Follow the plow with some¬ 
thing that will break up the subsoil a little, then work 
the ground thoroughly. We use a spring-tooth har¬ 
row, set deep, and work the ground about twice as 
much as farmers usually do for a grain crop ; then roll 
with a heavy roller, and go over the ground again 
with the spring-tooth set a little bit shallower. If 
there are any lumps, we roll again, and in any case 
finish with an Acme harrow. We then put on what 
fertilizers we wish, with a grain drill. After this, 
put the seed on broadcast, 30 pounds to the acre, and 
brush in with Breed’s weeder, going crosswise the 
drill rows. We have tried seeding with grain, but it 
has not been a success on our soil, although some of 
our neighbors follow this plan. This year, some very 
good stands have been secured by seeding with grain, 
but as the years go, I am convinced that it pays best 
to seed alone. 
In my opinion, the greatest difficulty of those who 
have tried Alfalfa, has been, first, that they had not 
prepared the ground as thoroughly as the crop re¬ 
quires. I want the ground in the condition of the 
old traditional “ onion bed”. Second, they have not 
used seed enough. If too few seeds are sown, the 
plants will grow up stalky and coarse, like Sweet 
clover, particularly if they are left very long, and 
cattle will not eat them. Third, they do not take 
pains to clip off the weed tops (weeds are sure to 
come up in ground that is as thoroughly prepared as 
an Alfalfa patch should be), during the first summer, 
and the little plants are choked out. As soon as our 
Alfalfa is about six or eight inches high, or rather, 
the weeds in it have reached this height, we set the 
Continental mower so that both ends of the knives 
run about four inches from the ground and clip the 
whole field ; in a wet season, like the present, we 
may have to clip three or four times, letting the clip¬ 
pings fall back for a mulch. Fourth, in getting im¬ 
pure seed. If common report is to be believed, and 
indications in some fields go to make it appear true, 
many seedsmen have put out large quantities of 
Alfalfa seed which has been mixed with Trefoil ; I 
know of one whole field which contains more “Hop 
clover”, Trifolium procumbens, than it does Alfalfa. 
I would advise every farmer to try Alfalfa on his 
own soil and under bis own conditions, before he 
plants it very largely, but I would advise him to try 
it. We have taken four tons of good hay from an 
acre in the three cuttings from the whole field. This 
year, we have taken 8,350 pounds in the first two cut¬ 
tings, on a piece that contains just one acre, and has 
been out seven years, and shall get two more cuttings. 
Some have done better than this, but it must be re¬ 
membered that our farm is one of the run-down 
farms of this section. The man from whom I bought 
THE BURBANK (JAPAN) PLUM. Fig. 224. 
See Ruralihms, Page 550. 
six years ago, actually starved off the ground, and 
had to leave. When it comes to feeding Alfalfa, 
some think it far superior to clover hay. I believe 
that, in ordinary work on the farm, it will be found 
fully as good, to say the least, and if cut early 
enough, it will last in the ground a great deal longer. 
Onondaga County, N. Y. f. e dawley. 
Best Results Seeded With Oats. 
1 have grown Alfalfa on my farm for the last five 
years, and have been very much pleased with it. It 
is the best feed for milk production I have ever used. 
I have fed sweet corn stalks with the corn all on to 
my milch cows, and then changed to nicely cured Al¬ 
falfa, and the cows would make quite a gain and 
keep it up. The largest flow of milk I ever had 
from feeding it was by cutting it, letting it cure or 
wilt enough to cock up, and then feeding it. It 
should not be fed green, but should be wilted nicely 
before being fed, as it will cause the cows to bloat if 
fed green. It should not be pastured. I have always 
had three crops each year, and sometimes four. It is 
usually fit to cut about June 1. If the weather is 
suitable, it should be cut when it is set for bloom. If 
left until it blooms, it becomes woody, stock do not 
like it as well, and it is not nearly so good for milk. 
It should be cured like other clover ; as soon as dry 
enough, cock it up, and let it stand and cure in the 
cocks ; this will keep on more of the leaves. If the 
cocks have to be opened, be careful not to leave it too 
long, as the sun will burn it much quicker than other 
clover, and the leaves will rattle off badly. 
The soil on which I grow mine is a clay loam, stiff 
clay subsoil. I plowed the ground nicely, harrowed 
it thoroughly, pulverized the top as fine as possible, 
and sowed 12 quarts of Alfalfa per acre broadcast. 
I then drilled in 13^ bushel of oats per acre, rolled, 
and when the oats were ripe, harvested a nice crop of 
oats. I sowed eight acres more to Alfalfa this spring. 
fitting the ground in the same way, placed my seeder 
on the front of the drill, and sowed one-half bushel 
of Alfalfa per acre, one bushel of oats on part of the 
field, and 1% bushel oats per acre on the remainder. 
I think that I have a fine catch, but can tell better 
when I harvest the oats. I would not sow now less 
than one-half bushel of Alfalfa per acre. 
My land, if subjected to drought, becomes hard, 
and I think a lightseeding of grain shaded the youDg 
plants, and I am likely to get a catch. If I fail in 
getting a catch, I get oats enough to pay for my labor, 
at least. It is not safe to sow Alfalfa with winter 
wheat, as the seed should be harrowed in. Alfalfa 
should not be sown until hard frosts are over ; the 
seed will not grow as readily as Red clover, as it is a 
native of a warm climate. My ground had been well 
manured, before seeding, with stable manure. I used 
no fertilizer with the seed. I top-dressed it in the 
fall after the last cutting, with stable manure with 
great results. If applied -with a manure spreader, it 
is much better and will go much farther. Alfalfa 
should not be sown on wet land that heaves, as it 
will be sure to kill out. It needs dry ground. Clay 
loam, gravel or sandy soil, I think best. I know of 
two or three pieces sown on sandy soil, but they do 
not seem to do very well. I do not know the cause, 
unless the land is poor or deficient in the plant food 
required. w. e. ladd. 
Madison County, N. Y. 
Cure It in the Cock. 
I have grown Alfalfa for four years, and am well 
pleased with the growth and value of the crop. The 
first season after sowing, I had about five tons per 
acre of an excellent quality of hay, from three cut¬ 
tings, and have had a good yield from each cutting 
since. Its value for feeding cattle and sheep is very 
much more than any other hay I have ever fed. 
Through the advice of friends in the West that were 
growing it extensively, after thoroughly fitting the 
ground, I sowed about one-half bushel of seed to the 
acre, with the seeder attached to the forward part of 
the drill, so that the seed was covered from two to 
three inches. I also sowed one bushel of barley and 
200 pounds of phosphate per acre, and rolled the field 
after drilling. When the barley began to ripen, I cut 
with the mower, fully three inches high. I cut each 
growth when it begins to bloom, and when it is par¬ 
tially cured, I rake and cock it and let it cure in the 
cock. As the leaves fall off readily, I handle it as 
little as possible. I find little difference ingrowing 
it on clay, mixed soil or plaster loam land. I think it 
can be successfully grown where good wheat and corn 
can be raised. As it is quite delicate in the first sea¬ 
son’s growth, it must be cut often enough to keep the 
weeds or grain from checking its growth. 
Onondaga County, N. Y. david collier. 
Far Ahead of Other Hays. 
I have been growing Alfalfa for the past 15 years. 
I find that it does the best in this section on a good, 
deep, rich, gravelly soil; still, it can be grown to good 
advantage on any soil where Red clover will grow. 
I have sown it in all ways—with wheat, oats, barley 
and alone. I have always had the best results from 
sowing in early spring with barley. In all cases, it 
must be either sown ahead of the drill, or else har¬ 
rowed in, as the seeds are large, and require covering. 
If sown with wheat, sow in the fall, covering as 
described. Some danger here comes of what is called 
winter-killing, the same as often occurs with wheat 
and Timothy. If sown alone, weeds are liktly to 
grow so as to smother the yourg Alfalfa ; should they 
be likely to do so, mow them often enough to keep 
them back ; the mowiDg will not hurt the Alfalfa. I 
do not fertilize especially for Alfalfa ; simply have 
my land in condition to grow any other crop well. 
My oldest piece of Alfalfa has now been mown three 
or four times each year, for the past 13 years with¬ 
out a particle of fertilizer of any kind since seeding, 
and has cut, this season, on May 28, 2,100 pounds per 
acre ; on June 3, 2,500 pounds per acre ; and the third 
cutting now ready. 
Alfalfa, to make the best hay, must be cut not later 
than when the very first blossoms appear; mveh 
more growth can be obtained by letting it stand 
longer, but the quality is injured more than the ex¬ 
tra growth is worth. Much care is required in cur¬ 
ing Alfalfa to prevent the loss of the leaves, as they 
are very brittle when sunburned. I mow mostly 
afternoons when the dew is entirely off, or any time 
when perfectly dry ; then use the tedder just before 
the top leaves crumble. One or two hours sun after 
tedding will fit it for the rake, when it will be nearly, 
or quite, fit to draw. I rake in light windrows, butch 
with the horse rake, salt in the mow from two to four 
quarts to the ton, and no harm comes te it if it sweats 
so that drops of water stand all over the rafters and 
roof boards, if there is no rain or dew on when drawn. 
Water is what spoils hay. 
No up-to-date^farmer can afford to be without sev- 
