176 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1901. 
In 1900 we went a step further in disking alfalfa. The season was ve 
dry at Manhattan, the rainfall in June being 1°19 inches, in July 4°51 inches, an 
in August 2°84 inches. Two fields of alfalfa two years old were disked. One 
field was disked 28th March, the first cutting for hay made 31st May ;, disked 
6th June, the second cutting for hay made 25th June; disked 27th June, the 
third cutting of alfalfa made 13th August, and the alfalfa disked for the fourth 
time 20th August. The last cutting of alfalfa was made 13th September. 
This shows four diskings and four cuttings of alfalfa on upland in a dry year. 
Another field of alfalfa was disked and cross-disked 27th March. The first 
cutting of alfalfa was made 4th June, and the second disking 6th June. 
Through July and the early part of August the alfalfa was cut from day to 
day and fed green to dairy cows to help out dried-up pastures. On 20th 
August the field was disked, and 3rd October the last cutting of alfalfa made. 
The alfalfa in both fields made fine late fall growth and went into the winterin 
good condition. 
The stand of alfalfa on both fields disked in 1900 was good. <A. harrow 
with sharp 16-inch discs was used, the discs being set at a slight angle, just 
sufficient to turn the soil over, and the harrow was weighted to make the dises 
split the alfalfa crowns to a depth of 2 inches. The disking split the alfalfa 
roots, and this made them throw out many new shoots. The disking made an 
earth mulch over the field and prevented the evaporation of water, so rapid in 
a dry time from an alfalfa field just after being cut. The discs were set so that 
they barely turned the soil over, and, running at a depth of 2 inches, they 
turned the roots of the crab grass and weeds up to the sun, which killed them. 
These disked fields were clean and free from crab grass in the fall. 
We have not disked one-year-old alfalfa. "rom these experiments we 
feel safe in recommending disking all alfalfa of two years’ or more standing. 
Make the first disking early in the spring and then disc immediately after each 
cutting. If the stand of alfalfa is fair to good, set the discs as we did in the 
experiments made in 1900. If the stand is poor and the growth of crab grass 
thick, set the discs to cut deeply. Disking is of as much value to alfalfa as 
cultivation is to corn. 
WHEN LUCERNE IS MOST PROFITABLE TO CUT. 
Even in times of plenty it is as well to harvest fodder crops when they 
are most profitable. One of the crops that suffers considerably by age 1s 
lucerne. Various experiments have been conducted for the purpose of 
ascertaining the food value of the plant, also its digestibility, with sheep, 
while the crop was in its various stages of growth; and according to the 
conclusions of the Ontario Department of Agriculture, lucerne should be cut 
when about one-third in blossom, as there is a marked diminution in total 
quantity as well as digestible food in the two following weeks. In the 
experiments at Ontario the first plot was cut when the buds were well 
formed; the second nearly two weeks later, when the blossoms were one-third 
out; and the last nearly another two weeks later, when the plant had passed 
the full bloom stage. After cutting, the crop was weighed, cured in the usual 
way, weighed again, and a sample taken for analysis, the rest being used in the 
experimental digestion work. With one exception, the largest yield, whether 
in the green state, as hay, or as dry matter, was obtained from the second 
cutting, made when the plants were about one-third in blossom. It is possible 
that the weight of the crop would have increased for a few days longer, but tt 
is clear that by the time of the third cutting there had been a marked decrease, 
which can be at least partially accounted for by the large number of leaves 
which had fallen off previous to the third cutting. Chemical analysis showed 
that the percentages of the most valuable food constituents also decreased 
by the third cutting. As the plants matured, the percentage of 
crude protein decreased and the crude fibre increased, pointing to the 
advantage of earlier cutting; at the same time, however, the absolute 
weight was increasing up to the time of the second cutting, and owivg 
