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New York AaricuutugAL Experiment STATION. 961 
friable soil with a loose or gravelly subsoil. A dense clay or 
hardpan subsoil is most unfavorable. Although a rich soil is of 
course the best and gives the largest crops, alfalfa sometimes does 
exceedingly well on poor gravelly soils. The plant consumes’ 
much water but will not survive long in a saturated or flooded 
soil, and too much water in the soil during winter is fatal. If 
water stands for any considerable time within a few feet of the 
surface the crop will be injured. Alfalfa, in the west, seldom if 
ever winter kills on ground with a deep and porous subsoil. 
The seed should not be sown except the soil has received care- 
ful and thorough preparation, for it is of the utmost importance 
_tosecure a dense and uniform stand, especially if hay is to be 
made. If crops of seed only are desired a more scattering stand 
of plants may give good results. The seed should be sown in 
the spring, after danger of severe frost is past, and when the 
ground would be considered in the best possible condition for 
planting garden seeds. The.treatment of the soil for the preced- 
- ing season should have been such as to have most effectually sub- 
dued all weeds, and caused the sprouting and destruction of any - 

seeds in the ground. The seed should not be sown with grain, 
but alone; although a good catch is sometimes reported when 
sown with oats—only about half the usual quantity of grain 
being used. If sown with grain the young plants are likely to be 
killed by the sun after the grain is cut.’ It is best tosow not less 
_ than 380 pounds of seed per acre — especially when sown broad- 
cast. When sown with the drill 20 pounds often give good 
results. In short, to guard against the decidedly unsatisfactory 
result of a poor stand, plenty of seed should be used on carefully 
_ prepared ground. 
Pure seed is essential. Only plump, bright, good seed should 
be sown, for shrunken seed may produce weak and worthless 
plants. The seed resembles that of red clover, but is larger. Too 
many small seeds would indicate the possible admixture of white 
clover, etc. The presence of the seed of narrow-leaf-plantain or 
rib-grass, it is of vital importance to guard against. This is a 
_ long brownish seed, something like a diminutive date seed, and is 
_ easily detected without the aid of a glass by anyone familiar 
with it. 
In order to check the growth of weeds, a mowing machine can 
: be run over the field of young alfalfa with the cutting bar raised 
