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the same furrow, the one to turn the surface soil and the other to stir the subsoil. This 
preparation of the subsoil is very essential, if the land is at all firm. 
Lucerne is usually sown about the end of April or the beginning of May, when there is Time 
no danger of late frost which acts injuriously upon the young plants. Late sowing also has its of sowing. 
risks, as the fly which comes in with the warm weather is equally injurious. If these 
insects are not dreaded. sowing may be delayed till the weather becomes favourable. In 
suitable climates, seed may be sown as late as the beginning of September. Late sowings 
are not so certain, because the plants are liable to be injured during winter. 
Lucerne is sown either with or without a protective crop. In Switzerland, the custom Protective 
is to sow without a protective crop, since Incerne grows quickly and soon covers the ground crop. 
with vegetation. During dry seasons and on dry situations, a protective crop is advisable. 
We may use, for this purpose, stinimer crops, such as barley or wheat which are sown 
very thin; even when protected, lucerne often suffers and readily becomes thin. Flax, 
camelina, etc., or a crop to be cut green, such as oats or buckwheat, are also suitable 
protective crops; the last is especially good, because by it the fly is kept off. j 
The seed is usually sown broad-cast and the clover sowing machine Is excellent for Sowing. 
the purpose. In England and elsewhere sowing in drills is often adopted as it renders 
weeding easier. 
On stiff soils, the seed is only rolled in; for this purpose, disc rollers or Cambridge Preparation 
rollers are preferable to smooth, because, after disc rolling, the land is not so ready to after sowing. 
form a hard crust on the surface; a light harrow is passed over light soils. 
Cereals, beetroot, and colza succeed well after lucerne; as cereals are very liable to Succeeding 
be laid, the two latter are to be preferred. crop. 
The addition of a small proportion of red clover to lucerne has been recommended, Mixtures. 
in order to obtain a good crop in the first year, This practice ought not to be followed, 
because red clover interferes with the growth of lucerne; the result is that, after two or 
three years, when the clover is gone, the lucerne is thin and defective. If the ley is not 
to extend over two or three vears, then, of course, clover might be added; but if the ley 
is of longer duration, the clover is not advisable. As a general rule, pure sowings are 
preferable to mixtures, because, as soon as the sround is coyered with any other vegetation, 
lucerne is interfered with. Only on soils most suitable for Iucerne-growing can a mixture 
be used and then only on condition that cutting takes place at least three times a year to 
prevent hardening. Under fruit trees, lucerne should never be grown, for its deep roots are 
liable to injure those of the trees. 
Grass is the greatest enemy of lucerne. It covers the ground with a compact vegetation which — Injurious 
chokes out the lucerne. The worst species are fiorin (Agrostis stolonifera), common bent (Agrostis plants 
vulgaris), rough-stalked meadow grass (Poa trivialis). soft brome (Bromus mollis), field brome (Bromus and insects. 
arvensis), Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus), etc. These grasses may be somewhat checked by harrowing 
in spring, as soon as the land is dry. As lucerne shoots about the end of April, the harrow should be 
used before that time. If dodder breaks out, repeated weeding may do some good, Lucerne ts also 
liable to attacks from microscopic fungi as well as from nematode worms, such as the tylenchus of 
lucerne (Tylenchus Havensteinii, Jul. Kiihn). In the south, it often suffers from the ravages of the 
insect larva Ewmolpus vitis. In districts where these insects are very troublesome, it is advisable to 
stop the cultivation of lucerne for ten years or longer and grow other fodder plants, such as sainfoin, 
goal’s-rue, mixtures, etc., which are not attacked by fly. 
