lO 
Colorado Experiment Station 
planting. For many of our experimental plantings, Mr. P. K. Blinn 
devised an attachment which could be put on the corn planter and 
beet drill, or even attached to a grain drill. We obtained some of the 
drop cups manufactured for the grass seeder attachments of one of the 
standard makes of drills. These were provided with individual seed 
boxes which were mounted upon a drive shaft in such a way that 
their width was readilv adjustable. Then by means of a couple of 
sprockets, it was possible to drive the drill from the shaft of a corn 
planter, grain drill, or a beet drill. With this device several hundred 
acres were successfully planted.* A number of farmers have devised 
ingenious corn planter attachments for row planting. If the soil has 
b^en properly prepared very little cultivation will be needed after 
seeding until the crop has gained some little size. If it is necessary 
to cultivate the plants while small, shields should be used on the 
cultivators. After the plants get above five inches in height, culti¬ 
vation is easy. Th'^ cultivation 'tiv n should aim to keep down weeds 
and to prevent the formation of a crust. 
Harvesting .—When the row alfalfa is harvested for hay it is 
cut with a mower and put up in the same manner as any alfalfa. It 
there is dew present, the mowing should not be done until the dew 
is off. The hav shonk^ be rake^'' b fore it has had time to do any¬ 
thing more than slightly wilt. Further curing is done in the wind¬ 
row or cock. It can be done more rapidly than is possible in the 
swath. If left in the swath the leaves dry up almost at once leaving 
the .stems fuh of water. If it can be raked into a loose windrow so 
that the leaves are partially shaded, the evaporation or drying will 
go on very much more rapidly, because the moisture will pass out 
thru the leaves more rapidly than it will pass thru the stems. 
When harvested for seed it is necessary to determine at what 
time to cut. The aim should be to cut it at such a time as to get tha 
greatest number of ripe seed pods. Unfortunately the seed pods do 
not all mature at once. Usually if the cutting can be done when 
about three-fourths of the seed pods are ripe the greatest amount 
of seed possible will be obtained. When cut for seed the mower is 
a<Triin t^he m^c;^ desirable tool to use. If a buncher attachment is at 
hand the problem is easy, as a man can walk along behind the mowei 
and move the bunches over so the horses in making the next swath 
will not walk upon the cut alfalfa. This precaution is rather nec¬ 
essary, especially in dry times, because if the horses walk upon the 
cut swath they will thrash out and break off a large amount of seed. 
If a buncher attachment is not at hand it will probably be necessary 
to either rake or lay over swaths with forks. The ripe swath can 
be n^ace^ in p loose windrow and allowed to cure there, or into small 
cocks. As soon as the stems are drv enough, it can be thrashed, or 
if thrashing facilities are not immediately available, it can be stacked 
in order to keep it in condition until thrashing can be done. 
* The drill manufactured by the Columbia Drill and Planter Co., Springfield, Ohio, 
has a drop which can be successfully attached for seeding alfalfa in rows. 
