But it is not alone in the areas named that alfalfa has proved so helpful to agriculture. In Central Asia and northward it has for long centuries furnished the Tartars with the principal forage crop grown. In Turkestan and other places it will grow under conditions so dry as to forbid the vigorous growth of many hardy grasses. In Southern Asia, from India to Arabia, it has lost none of the popular favor accorded to it long centuries ago. In Southern Russia it is extensively grown, and up and down the basin of the Danube. In the Mediterranean provinces of Southern Europe it is still one of the leading forage crops. In France it stands high in the popular estimate, and also in some parts of Germany. And even in humid England it is grown more or less freely on dry, calcareous soils. And the day is doubtless near when in many parts of Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Eastern South America this great fodder plant will be found capable of yielding abundant harvests. In some parts of Argentina it has been claimed that it grows like a weed.

It is believed by many that alfalfa if exposed to very low temperatures will perish and that it cannot stand as much winter exposure as medium red or alsike clover. This is only true of some varieties. Other varieties, as the Turkestan, for instance, will endure lower temperatures and more exposure than the clovers named. Alfalfa has been grown with some success at the government experiment station, Indian Head, Sask, Canada, and yet it sometimes winter kills in Texas. As with clover, it is injured most by exposure to sweeping winds blowing over it in winter when the mercury is low, and the injury is more fatal just after the removal of a snow covering and when the plants are young. Ice forming over the fields after a sudden thaw and remaining for a time is very liable to kill the plants. It can stand considerably more summer heat than any of the clovers grown northward, as witnessed in the good crops grown in some parts of Louisiana during the hottest weather of summer. Nevertheless, with reference to temperatures, what may be termed a mild climate, such as characterizes Southern France in Europe and Western California in the United States, is best adapted to its growth.

It is better adapted to climates that are dry, where the plants can be irrigated, as then rains do not interfere with the harvesting of the hay. Even in the absence of irrigation, a climate that is reasonably dry is preferable to one where drenching rains frequently fall, which wash away the soil when sandy, or which fill it full of water when composed of clay. But where rains fall frequently and in moderation, as in the northern Puget Sound region, the effect is helpful to the growth of the alfalfa plants, although it may add somewhat to the labor of making alfalfa hay, and to the hazard in curing it. Alfalfa will maintain its hold for years on some portions of the table lands of the mountain States under conditions so dry that the plants can only furnish one cutting of hay in a season. It is safe to assume, therefore, that alfalfa can be grown under a wider range of climatic conditions than any other legume grown in the United States. But the influence which climate should be allowed to exercise on the use that is to be made of it should not be lost from view. In climates much subject to frequent rains in summer, it should be grown rather for soiling food and pasture than for hay, whereas in dry climates, and especially where it can be irrigated, it should be grown for hay, soiling food and pasture, but especially the former.

While alfalfa can be successfully grown in one or the other of its varieties in some portion of every State in the Union, it has its favorite feeding grounds. The best conditions for growing it are found in the valleys of all the Rocky Mountain States, where the growth can be regulated by the application of irrigating waters. In these the conditions southward are superior to those northward, because of the milder climate, which precludes the danger of winter killing by exposure, which occasionally happens in the more northerly of the mountain States, and because of the more prolonged season for growth, which adds to the number of the cuttings. This does not mean that the river bottoms in other parts of the United States will not be found good for growing alfalfa. It can be grown in many of these; in fact, in nearly all of them, and to some extent by the aid of irrigation, if the waste waters were stored, but the deposit soil in these valleys being of much closer texture than that in the western valleys, is, on the whole, lower in adaptation than the soil in the latter.

In the western valleys of the mountain States, alfalfa is the crop around which it may be said that agricultural production centers. It is the principal hay crop of those States. The extent to which it may be grown there is revolutionizing the production of live stock on the ranges, as it is providing food for them in winter, which is fast removing, and will probably soon entirely remove, the element of hazard from live stock dependent on the range pastures for support in that season. The dairy and swine industries in those valleys must largely depend upon it. Fruit orchards must ultimately grow on buried alfalfa meadows, and the rotation of all crops in the same will be largely dependent upon the growing of alfalfa. Next in adaptation to the mountain States are, it is thought, certain soils that lie between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi, especially such as are in proximity to rivers, or are underlaid with sheet water not far distant from the surface. But an unusually large proportion of the upland soil in these States, from Central Minnesota southward, have high adaptation for the growth of this plant. Particularly is this true of the soils of Nebraska and Kansas and of considerable portions of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.

In States east of the Mississippi, the adaptation is not so general, and is more dependent on soil conditions than on those that are climatic. In nearly all of the river bottoms of these States it will grow with more or less success. On nearly all upland soils it will also grow well, where the subsoil furnishes naturally good drainage. For the exception, see page 132. But in no State east of the Mississippi, is such a proportion of the area so highly adapted to growing alfalfa as in many of the States west of that river. In other States areas are found in which alfalfa will produce excellent crops, but usually these do not embrace the larger portion of the entire area in any State. In a considerable number of the States such areas are more or less limited, and usually they are distributed variously in the different States; that is, they do not lie side by side. The favorite soil conditions in these are a good loam, preferably more or less sandy and resting upon a porous subsoil.

A more exact idea will be given of relative adaptation in various States in what is now submitted. In California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, alfalfa is now grown chiefly by the aid of irrigation, and all of these States have highest adaptation for its growth. In some parts of California 6 to 10 tons of cured hay are obtained in one year, with pasture in winter additional. In Utah, good crops have been grown successively on the same land for more than a quarter of a century. In Colorado two cuttings are obtained the first season, and it is said that there the plants are not easily destroyed. It yields enormously in the irrigated valleys of New Mexico and Arizona.

In Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, it is grown with and without irrigation. In large areas in all these States, excellent crops are and may be grown, but the season of growth being shorter, not so many cuttings are obtained per year as in the mountain States further south. In Northern Idaho two cuttings may be obtained per year, even on high, dry land.

In North Dakota, especially westward, alfalfa gives promise of successful growth. It will grow well in much of South Dakota, especially on sandy soils not too distant from water. In Minnesota it has been grown successfully in Carver County since 1886. Good success is being obtained from growing it in other parts of the State, even in some parts of the Red River valley. In Western Iowa it is being grown with much success, and in some portions of Eastern Iowa. In Missouri, the two important centers for growing it are the northwest and the southeast, but in other areas it has also done well. In Kansas it will grow well in all parts of the State where the subsoil is porous. It has been cut for hay in that State in less than 60 days from the date of sowing. It grows equally well over at least two-thirds of Nebraska, especially the eastern half, and its growth in Nebraska is rapidly extending. In the Arkansas valley it luxuriates, and it is also being grown in Oklahoma. In Louisiana immense fields are being grown along the Red River and in other parts of the State. In Texas it is being grown more or less north, east and south, and especially in the valley of the Brazos.

In the Southern States alfalfa has not in many instances been given a good chance where tried. The plants have too frequently had to contend there as elsewhere with ill-prepared and weedy soils and imprudent pasturing. Yet it is being grown with considerable success, though as yet in limited areas, in all the Southern States. It has done well in parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, and in Georgia are some alfalfa meadows 25 years old. In the other Southeastern States, viz., Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida, it does well only in areas more or less circumscribed, but it has been grown with some success even in the rainy climate of Southern Florida.

In the States northward from the Ohio River, that is, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, the necessity for growing alfalfa has not been so much felt as in some other States, because of the excellence of the crops of clover grown in these. Its growth, however, is extending in all of these States. Much of the soil in Illinois, it is said, must first be inoculated with the bacteria proper to alfalfa before vigorous crops can be grown, and this is probably true of sections of Indiana soil. Some sections of Ohio are becoming noted for the crops of alfalfa which they have grown, and in Wisconsin Hon. W. D. Hoard succeeded in securing 5.7 tons of alfalfa hay in one season from four cuttings made on three-fifths of an acre.

In all the Eastern and New England States, alfalfa is being grown to some extent. In some counties of New York, as Onondaga and Madison, it is becoming the leading soiling and hay crop. In Massachusetts it has borne cuttings year after year on sandy loam soil. On Long Island three to four cuttings each season have been obtained for a series of years. It is believed that it will grow over nearly the whole of Southern Maryland and also in much of the eastern part of that State, and its growth has been quite successful in parts of Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Alfalfa will grow well in considerable areas in Canada. The statement would seem safe that at the present time profitable crops could be grown in some parts of every province of Canada in which the land is tilled. In Quebec, even on high land, it usually endures the winters. Near Montreal it has been cut for soiling food at the height of 30 inches as early as May 15th. In some parts of Eastern Ontario good crops can be grown, and also over considerable areas of Western Ontario. The author grew it with much success at the experiment station at Guelph in 1890 and subsequently, and during recent years considerable areas are being grown in several of the Lake Erie counties and in those that lie north from them. But in no part of Ontario are the conditions for growing alfalfa better than in some of the mountain valleys of British Columbia.

But few crops, if, indeed, any, are being experimented with at the present time to so great an extent as alfalfa; hence, the expectation is reasonable that there will be an enormous increase in the area grown in the future that is near. The two chief causes of failure in the past were want of knowledge in growing and caring for it on the part of the growers, and the absence of the proper bacteria in the soil. Acidity in some soils and want of drainage in others are also responsible for many of the failures referred to. But even where it does grow reasonably well, some trouble is found from the alfalfa failing in spots. In some instances the cause can be traced, as when coated with ice in winter, or where the soil is not uniform, but in other instances the precise causes have not been determined. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, however, greatly increased areas will be grown in the future, especially in States in which the dairy interest is paramount or even important.

Soils.—It was formerly thought by many that alfalfa would only grow vigorously on soils and subsoils sandy in character, and underlaid at some distance from the surface with water. It is now being ascertained that it will grow on a great variety of soils, providing they are reasonably fertile, free from acidity, sufficiently porous below to carry away water with reasonable quickness, and not underlaid with hard pan or a subsoil so tenacious that it is almost impervious to water.

The best soils for alfalfa are those of the Western mountain States, and in these the deposit soils of the river valleys stand among the foremost. These soils are usually of much depth. Many of them have water underneath, and the subsoil is usually so porous that the roots can go far down in them, such is the character of nearly all the bottom land west of the Mississippi. But in nearly all of the mountain region of the West, from Banff in British Columbia to Mexico, alfalfa will grow well under irrigation, or in the absence of irrigation, if ground water is not too distant from the surface. In this region alfalfa grows more vigorously and more persistently than in almost any other portion of the United States.

In regions where alfalfa is not dependent upon irrigation, the best soils probably are deep, rich calcareous loams, clay or sandy, and underlaid with what may be termed a mild or reasonably porous clay subsoil. With such soils the plants may be in no way influenced by sheet water below, as on some of these in Nebraska, for instance, such water is fully 150 feet below the surface. These soils are usually possessed of abundant food supplies to nourish the plants, and the roots can go far down into the subsoils to gather food and moisture. Such lands are found more or less in nearly all the States of the Union east from the Rocky Mountains; hence, when the requisite bacteria are present, good crops can be grown on them in every State in the Union.

On the ordinary black soils of the prairie, alfalfa will usually grow reasonably well if underlaid with clay not too distant nor too tenacious. When the roots get down into the subsoil, they can usually find much food in the same, and unless in very dry areas a sufficiency of moisture, but in many instances it may be necessary to introduce the requisite bacteria, and to apply farmyard manure to encourage sufficient growth to carry the roots down quickly to the subsoil. In some prairie soils the growth will be vigorous from the start, but usually these are lands that have grown hardwood timber, and that have in them more or less clay.

In climates where the rainfall is considerable, alfalfa will frequently grow well on gravelly soils and on those that are stony. Some of the best alfalfa soils in the State of New York, New England States, and in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario are of this character.

Alfalfa will frequently grow fairly well even on stiff clays, and in some instances on gumbo soils. But these soils must not be so retentive as to collect and hold water for any considerable time within a few feet of the surface. Such lands have usually much staying power; hence, alfalfa grown on them frequently improves for years after it has been sown. On the reddish soils that cover much of the South, it has been found, as in growing alfalfa on stiff clays in the North, that where deep subsoiling is practiced alfalfa is not only more easily established, but it also grows with added vigor.

On upland soils sandy or gravelly in character where the rainfall is much less than normal and where the subsoil is not underlaid with sheet water, alfalfa will not usually succeed, notwithstanding that it may grow well on these soils where the rainfall is normal. On such soils it is not easy to get a stand of the plants, as they are much apt to perish in the dry weather of the first season, but if once established on such soils the plants have much power to grow even where the rainfall is considerably less than normal.

Alfalfa will not grow well in soils naturally wet until they are drained. And when drained it will not grow with normal vigor, on what may be termed slough soils, where the subsoil is far down and covered with a deep covering of vegetable mold. What are termed slough soils in the Western prairies, therefore, are not well fitted for the growth of alfalfa. On these it may not succeed well, when it may grow with much vigor on the adjoining upland. When some wet soils are drained, alfalfa may not succeed well on them for a time and later may grow luxuriantly. This may arise from the lack of time for proper aeration after being drained, or from the want of lime to further correct acidity in the soil, or from the want of the proper bacteria. Notwithstanding that alfalfa will not grow well on undrained lands that are naturally wet, and notwithstanding that it will perish if the roots reach standing water at a distance too near the surface, the best crops by far are usually grown on irrigated lands. This arises, first, from the ability to adjust the supplies of water to meet the needs of the plants, and second, from the congenial character of the soil and subsoil. Next to these the best crops are grown where congenial soils are underlaid with ground water, not too near nor too distant from the surface. On these soils the plants are largely supplied with moisture from the water below ascending on the principle of capillary attraction. How near or how distant such water should be will depend somewhat on subsoil conditions. It would seem correct to say that it ought never to come nearer to the surface than 3 feet, nor should it be more than 20 feet down. The most suitable distance would be, say, 8 to 16 feet. When the roots of alfalfa reach water at too short a depth they will die.

Alfalfa may sometimes be grown satisfactorily on soils subject to overflow, but usually there is hazard in growing it on these. If the overflow occurs comparatively early in the season, if it is not of great depth, if it is of short duration, and if the waters quickly drain out of the subsoil possessed by the alfalfa, it may receive little or no harm from such overflow. Instances are on record wherein ice has formed on alfalfa and yet the plants survived, but such a condition will usually prove fatal to them. But should the overflow take place in hot weather, usually it will injure the plants seriously, and may, indeed, completely destroy them. So great is such hazard, that care must be taken against the application of an excess of irrigating waters under such conditions. Overflow waters that are stagnant are more injurious probably than those that are in motion, owing, it may be, to the less supply of dissolved oxygen in the former.

Soils suitable in themselves, but lying on stiff clay bottoms or underlaid with hard pan within two or three feet of the surface, will not maintain a good stand of alfalfa. The plants in these may grow well for a time, probably a year or two, after which they will fail. The roots are not able to go down to gather food. When the subsoils are simply stiff clays, deep subsoiling, as already intimated, may render much service, but when composed of hard pan this may not be practicable. In moist climates, however, reasonably good crops have been obtained from soils with underlying rock not more than four feet below the surface.

The fact should not be overlooked that soils may have the requisite physical conditions for growing alfalfa, and they may possess in fair supply the essential elements of plant food, and yet alfalfa will not succeed at the first when sown on these, because of the absence of the soil bacteria, the presence of which is essential to the vigorous growth of the plants. Because of this, growers should be slow to conclude that alfalfa will not flourish on the soils on which they sow it until they have first tried to grow it on those soils that have been inoculated with the requisite alfalfa bacteria. For the methods of procedure in such cases see page 53. Some persons claim that soils which will grow medium red clover in good form will also grow alfalfa in good form. This does not necessarily follow. While there is much of similarity in the soils suitable for the growth of both, alfalfa may fail on lands that grow red clover luxuriantly until the bacteria proper to alfalfa have been introduced. Soils may be tested for bacteria, and even in winter, by sowing some seed in pots and treating them like well-cared-for house plants. When the plants are 2 to 3 months old, if tubercles are found on the roots, the conclusion would seem safe that such soil does not require inoculation.

Place in the Rotation.—In a certain sense it can scarcely be said of alfalfa that it is a rotation plant, because of the long term of years for which it is grown in an unbroken succession. Nevertheless, in all places it cannot always be maintained for a long term of successive years without renewal. In the Eastern States it is frequently, though not always so crowded by various grasses, that the fields in which it grows are broken up at some period short of ten years, and not infrequently at the end of five or six years. When thus grown, it becomes a rotation plant, though grown in what may be termed long rotations. But even in the West, where, under irrigation, it may be grown for a quarter of a century or even for a longer period without renewal, it may be used when desired in short rotations. In such situations it grows so readily and becomes established so quickly, that the fields may be broken with a view to alternate with other crops at the end of the second year, or of any year subsequently from the sowing of the seed that may be desired. Alfalfa in these soils will serve even better than medium red clover in such situations, since while it is growing, it will produce more hay or soiling food, and consequently should excel the former in the fertility which it makes available.

East of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River, alfalfa will frequently follow cultivated crops, as corn, potatoes and field roots, and when the fields are broken, it will be followed by crops other than legumes. On many soils the influence which this crop has on relieving the surface soil from excessive moisture, through channels opened into the subsoil by the decaying roots, is so helpful as to considerably stimulate production in addition to the fertilizing influence which it exerts directly. Particularly good crops of corn, the small cereal grains, and even field roots may be grown after alfalfa.

On soils east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio, the rotation will be somewhat similar. But on Southern soils alfalfa will frequently follow immediately crops especially grown to be plowed under as green manures for the benefit of the alfalfa. These crops include cow peas, soy beans, crimson clover, and to a limited extent, burr clover. It will also be followed frequently by crops of cotton and other non-leguminous plants, the growth of which in the United States is confined to the area now being considered.

In the area west of the Mississippi and east of the semi-arid region beside the mountains, alfalfa may follow the small cereal grains, and may in turn be followed by them and also by millets. It may also follow and precede corn, or the non-saccharine sorghums, where the climatic conditions are suitable for growing the latter.

In the irrigated regions of the West, alfalfa may be made to serve almost any purpose in the rotation that may be desired. By growing it as a rotation crop in these valleys it may be made to furnish the soil indefinitely with supplies of nitrogen and humus. In these soils it may be made to follow directly almost any crop grown on them, and similarly it may be made to precede the growth of almost any crop for which the locality has marked adaptation. Small cereal grains, timothy, vegetables, field roots, potatoes, corn, small fruits and orchards may be profitably grown on buried alfalfa meadows. This does not imply, however, that alfalfa meadows should not, as a rule, be maintained for a long term of years.

Preparing the Soil.—In preparing the soil for alfalfa the aim should be to make a seed-bed clean, rich, fine, moist, even, and sufficiently firm or friable, according to the conditions. The subsoil should also be made sufficiently dry and open. From what has just been said, it will be apparent that in properly preparing the seed-bed, it will be necessary to study closely the requisite conditions.

The advantage from having a clean seed-bed will be apparent when it is called to mind that alfalfa is a somewhat delicate plant when young, and that because of this, it is ill able to overcome in the fight with weeds. Cleanness in the surface soil may be obtained by summerfallowing the land, by growing a root crop or a crop of corn or any of the non-saccharine sorghums. When the seed is spring sown, this preparation must be given the year previously, but when autumn sown, it may be given the same season. In preparing the land thus, the aim should be to make the surface as clean as possible, rather than to get weed seeds out of the lower strata of the cultivated soil, in which they will likely perish before the field sown to alfalfa is broken up again. Summerfallowing makes an excellent preparation for the land, because of the fine opportunity which it furnishes for cleaning the same perfectly and leveling it off properly. The excellent condition in which it puts the seed-bed, viewed from the standpoint of the duration of the years of cropping that are likely to follow, would seem to more than justify such preparation of the land. The outcome may more than justify the loss of the crop for one season when thus summerfallowing the land. But it may not be necessary to lose the production of one season whether the seed is sown spring or autumn, as the summerfallowing in the North may follow the pasturing off of some crop, and in the South the interval for fallowing the land may be sufficiently long after the harvesting of an early winter grain crop, before sowing the seed in the autumn. (See page 136.)

When sowing the seed autumn or spring, on land that is filled with weed seeds near the surface, it is frequently better to defer sowing the seed for some weeks to give time for sprouting many of these than to sow at once. This suggestion is specially applicable to spring sowing. It should also be mentioned that when the weeds infesting the soil are annual or even biennial in character, the harm done to the alfalfa by these will be much less than when the land is infested with perennials at the time of sowing. The former may be prevented from seeding by clipping back frequently, while the latter remain in the soil, increase from year to year, and injure the plants by crowding. Where crab grass grows abundantly, as in some parts of the South, unless the alfalfa is sown and cultivated, spring sowing ought to be avoided. But it is less objectionable to sow alfalfa on land that is weedy when the adaptation of the land for the crop is high than when it is low, as the alfalfa in the former instance has so much more power to fight its own battle. On good alfalfa soils, therefore, it may be wiser in some instances to sow alfalfa in weed-infested land than to defer sowing for a whole year in order to clean the land.

It is greatly important that the land shall be rich in available plant food on which the seed is sown. If naturally poor, it should be well fertilized before sowing. When this cannot be done, it is better not to sow. A vast preponderance of the land in the Rocky Mountain region, when first broken, would seem to possess abundantly all the essential foods required by alfalfa; hence, for a time, at least, it is not necessary to enrich these before sowing the seed. The sandy and hungry gravelly soils, which are considerable in the South, in the Atlantic States, and in some of the Central and Northern States, should be fertilized before laying them down to alfalfa. Such fertilization usually calls for both humus and readily available plant food, and these are most cheaply supplied by growing certain green crops and plowing them under, or by applying farmyard manure. These may be supplemented when necessary by commercial fertilizers. Some precede alfalfa on such soils by growing cow peas or soy beans, followed by crimson clover, both crops being plowed in, and shortly before sowing the alfalfa they apply more or less of phosphoric acid and potash, which is usually incorporated in the surface soil by the harrow. On some soils, as in some parts of Florida, two successive crops of cow peas should be plowed under before sowing alfalfa. When farmyard manure can be used in fertilizing those leechy soils it is well when it can be applied on the surface in a somewhat decomposed form and also kept near the surface during the subsequent cultivation given when preparing the seed-bed. In the North it is best applied in the autumn or winter, and in the South in the summer. But on loam soils with a reasonably retentive subsoil, the better way to apply farmyard manure is to make a heavy application of the same to the crop preceding the alfalfa. It has thus become incorporated with the soil, and many weed seeds in it will have sprouted before sowing the alfalfa. The results from applying manure on soil somewhat stiff and not highly productive have been noticeably marked. This may have been owing in part to the mechanical influence of the manure on the land. The relation between the free application of farmyard manure and abundant growth in alfalfa is so marked in all, or nearly all, soils west of the Mississippi River that in many instances better crops will be obtained from poor soils well manured than from good soils unmanured. The relation between abundant manuring and soil inoculation is worthy of more careful study, in the judgment of the author, than has yet been accorded to it.

Fine pulverization of the surface soil is advantageous when sowing alfalfa, because of the influence which it has upon the retention of moisture near the surface, and upon the exclusion from the soil of an overabundance of light. It is in clay soils, of course, that this condition is most difficult to secure. The agencies in securing it are the cultivator, the harrow and the roller, and in many instances the influences of weather, after the land has been plowed, especially when plowed in the autumn prior to spring seeding.

Moistness in the seed-bed sufficient to promptly sprout the seed is a prime essential, but it is very much more important where the seasons are dry than where the lack of rain is but little feared. When the seed is sown after summerfallow or cultivated crops, it is usually considered preferable to make the seed-bed without using the plow, but to this there may be some exceptions. If sowing is deferred for a few weeks in the spring on such lands, or on other lands autumn plowed or early spring plowed, a free use of the harrow ought to be made in the interval, because of the favorable influence which this will have on the retention of moisture. In preparing some soils for autumn sowing after a grain crop, as in some parts of Nebraska and Kansas, it is only necessary to use the harrow; in preparing others the disk and harrow; and in yet others the disk and harrow and roller. In preparing other soils, as the clays of the South, it may be necessary first to plow and subsoil, and subsequently to use sufficiently the harrow and roller.

Evenness in the soil on the surface is important when it is so retentive that water may collect in the depressions after heavy rain. In such places the plants are much liable to fail, especially in the early winter, or even shortly after they may have begun to grow, if moisture is excessive. In order to smooth and even the land sufficiently, it may be necessary to run over it some form of leveller. This does not mean, however, that it will not be necessary sometimes to plow the land in ridges, or "lands," as they are sometimes called, but it does mean that the slope from the center of the lands toward the furrows shall be even and gradual, in order that an excess of surface water, as in rainy climates, shall be carried away by the latter.

Firmness in the seed-bed is necessary chiefly to prevent too much drying out near the surface in dry weather, and the holding of too much water in the spaces between the particles near the surface in wet weather, followed by freezing of the soil. The less deep the stirring of the cultivated portion when preparing it, the longer the interval between such stirring and the sowing of the seed, and the heavier the pressure when rolling, the more firm will the seed-bed be. The deeper the land is plowed, therefore, the longer should be the interval before it is sowed, but ample rainfall will shorten this period. Firmness in the seed-bed is more important, relatively, in summer or early autumn when evaporation from the surface soil is the most rapid. On some soils of the Middle States which border on the Mississippi, the early sown autumn crop will sometimes perish after the plants have grown some distance above the ground, because of want of firmness in the soil; hence, in such locations harrowing the surface of the ground thoroughly may sometimes be a more suitable preparation than plowing and harrowing.

Friability in the seed-bed is important when the soils are heavy. The influences which promote it are the presence of humus, liberal cultivation, and sometimes weather influences, as rain and frost. Unless heavy clay soils are brought into this condition, the roots of the alfalfa will not be able to penetrate the soil quickly enough or deeply enough in search of food.

As has been intimated, it will not avail to sow alfalfa in soils not sufficiently drained naturally or otherwise. Usually, good alfalfa soils have sufficient drainage naturally, the subsoil being sufficiently open to admit of the percolation of water down into the subsoil with sufficient quickness. But good crops of alfalfa may be grown on subsoils so retentive that underdrainage is necessary to facilitate the escape of an excess of moisture with sufficient quickness. The question has been raised as to whether the roots of the plants will be much liable to enter and choke the drains at the joints between the tiles. While it would not be safe to say that this would never happen, it is not likely to happen, owing to the character of the root growth. Where too much water is held near the surface, in climates characterized by alternate freezing and thawing in winter, the young plants will certainly be thrown out through the heaving of the soil.

The subsoiling of lands not sufficiently open below will be greatly helpful to the growth of alfalfa. This may also be true of lands not over-retentive naturally, but made so by the treading of the animals for successive years on the soil under the furrow when plowing the land. In some conditions, without subsoiling thus, the growing of alfalfa will not be successful, but in doing this work, care should be taken not to bring up raw subsoil to the surface. In subsoiling for alfalfa, usually the more deeply the ground can be stirred by the subsoiler, the better will be the results that will follow. Subsoiling is particularly helpful to the growing of alfalfa on many of the clay soils of the South.

In the far West, toward the mountains, and probably within the same, are areas in which excellent stands of alfalfa may be obtained by simply sowing the seed on surfaces stirred with a disk or with a heavy harrow weighted while it is being driven over the land. The implements should be driven first one way and then the other, and, of course, the seed is harrowed after it has been sown. Where the soil is sufficiently level, this plan of preparing will prove satisfactory, more especially where water can be put upon the land, but it will also succeed frequently in the absence of irrigating waters. In some instances the disking and sowing are both done by the same implement, which is driven both ways across the field.

Alfalfa is sometimes sown, and with profit, on steep hill sides which are inclined to wash. When set on these it tends to prevent the washing of the land. In such situations it is better to sow with a nurse crop, which will help to hold the soil until the alfalfa becomes rooted. Where land is so loose as to blow and irrigation cannot be practiced, only as much should be sown each season as can be covered with stable litter and well-rotted straw drawn out at the proper season.

Sowing.—The best season for sowing alfalfa will depend upon such conditions as relate to soil, moisture and climate. On rather stiff clay soils, the other conditions being right, the most satisfactory results are obtained from sowing the seed in the spring, and on land that has been plowed in the autumn and exposed to the mellowing influences of winter. But to this there may be some exceptions. On lands so light as to lift with the wind, that season should be avoided in sowing, if possible, when lifting winds prevail. Such winds are common in some localities in the spring, and may uncover the seed in some places and bury it too deeply in others.

Where moisture is deficient the seed must be sown at those times when it is most plentiful. This may be in the autumn, but more commonly it is in the quite early spring. In some of the mountain States the best results have been obtained under semi-arid conditions from sowing the seed in the late autumn, so that it would be ready for germination at the first commencement of the period of growth in the spring. Under some conditions the too dry character of the weather may preclude the sowing of alfalfa in the summer and autumn months. Where moisture is plentiful all the season of growth, alfalfa may be sown almost any time, except the early spring or late autumn. Where irrigating waters are plentiful, the only hindrances to sowing alfalfa at any season of the year are such as may arise from climate. Far South in very mild areas it may be sown almost any time.

Where the temperatures are low in winter, the best results are obtained from sowing alfalfa in the spring and early summer, otherwise the plants do not become sufficiently well established to withstand the rigors of the winter following. Under some conditions, sufficiently satisfactory results follow sowing in the early summer, even in Northern latitudes. Where the winters are sufficiently mild and the moisture is sufficiently plentiful, early autumn sowing, as in August or September, according to the locality, is, all things considered, the most satisfactory, for the reason, first, that it follows, or may follow, a crop grown the same season; second, that the plants are less hindered in their growth by weeds when they are young; and third, that they produce crops of soiling food or hay the first season after sowing. Many weeds do not grow in autumn and winter; hence, the less injury done by them to alfalfa plants, since the latter are so strong by spring that they overshadow the weeds in their effort to grow. When alfalfa is sown at such a time, the growth of one year virtually is gained by the process.

North of parallel 40 deg., that is, north of the latitude of Columbus, Ohio, and Denver, Colorado, speaking in a general way, alfalfa is more commonly sown in the spring, but not usually so early as clover, lest the young plants, which are more tender than clover plants, should be nipped by spring frosts. This danger is frequently present in the region of the upper Missouri. East of the Mississippi it may usually be advisable to sow in the spring some distance south from the latitude named. West from the same are areas where early autumn sowing is frequently the best. In much of the Southern and Southwestern States, early autumn sowing is considered better practice than spring sowing, but to this there are exceptions. Under some conditions alternate freezing and thawing of the land near the surface tend to throw out young plants, as, for instance, those autumn sown, more readily than plants from spring-sown seed.

Alfalfa is usually sown much the same as medium red clover (see page 75), but there are the following points of difference: 1. Since alfalfa is more commonly sown in dry areas, it is more important, relatively, that the seed shall be buried more uniformly and deeply in the soil in such areas. 2. Since it is liable to be more injured, relatively, by a nurse crop than the clovers, it is more frequently sown without one. And 3. Since it is expected to furnish food for a much longer term of years than any of the clovers, it is relatively more important that the seed shall be sown with a view to seek a uniform and sufficient stand of the plants.

Whether the seed is sown by hand, or by any of the hand machines in use, the results will usually prove satisfactory, but in climates where moisture is deficient, decidedly better results are obtained from sowing the seed with some form of seed drill. A press drill is preferred in soils so light and open as to dry out easily or to lift easily with the wind. Under conditions of ample moisture, a light covering with a harrow will suffice, but under conditions the opposite, more covering is necessary. In areas where spring and early autumn showers are frequent, the roller will provide a sufficient covering, especially where the soils are well charged with a clay content. On other soils, as those which cover much of the prairie, the seed should be buried from 1 to 2 inches deep.

Where alfalfa is much sown on soils well supplied with humus, and on the soils which prevail in the Rocky Mountain region, many growers sow the seed with the grain drill, and before sowing they first mix the seed with some material, as earth, some kind of coarse meal, bran or other substance to make it feed out more regularly. In some instances one-half of the seed is sown the first time the drill is driven over the land, and the balance is sown by driving again over the same at right angles to the drill marks previously made. When thus sown, the plants are more evenly distributed over the soil, and produce, it is thought, a more uniform quality of stalk. This method meets, in part, at least, the objection sometimes made to drill sowing, that it does not distribute the plants sufficiently in the soil.

In the Northern and Atlantic States, also west of the Cascade Mountains, and in some parts of the South, alfalfa is frequently sown with a nurse crop, and under favorable conditions the results are usually satisfactory, if the nurse crop is not sown too thickly. The best nurse crops in the areas named are barley and winter rye, but oats will answer also, if sown thinly and cut for hay. It has also been sown quite successfully along with winter wheat in the spring and also with spring wheat. When sown with winter wheat or winter rye, it is usually advantageous to cover the seed well with the harrow. In many instances, however, even in these areas, it is thought better to sow the seed without a nurse crop, in order that the plants may have all the benefit from moisture and sunlight which it is possible to give them. This is specially desirable when the fear is present that they may succumb the first winter to the severity of the weather. As weeds grow rapidly along with the plants, the mower should be run over the field from one to three times during the season. If the mowing is done at the proper time, it will not be necessary to remove what has been cut off by the mower. It may be allowed to lie as a mulch on the land. But should the growth of weeds be excessive before the mowing is done, it would then be necessary to remove them, in order to avoid smothering the plants. The clipping back of the alfalfa plants is helpful, rather than hurtful. When not thus clipped back the leaves frequently assume a yellowish tint on the top of the plants, which gradually extends downward until the greater portion of the leaves may be thus affected. Such condition frequently betokens a lack of nitrogen, but it may also be induced by other causes. When it does appear, the mower should at once be used and also as often as it appears. As soon as mowed off the plants usually stool out, sending up fresh shoots more numerously. They thus form a crown, somewhat like the crown in clover plants. Root growth is also strengthened, and the plants are thus made much stronger for going into the winter. Each clipping during the season, of course, cuts down weeds and prevents them from making seed. If not thus clipped, they would frequently injure the crop more by shade and crowding than would a nurse crop. The mulch thus made through clipping back the plants is in many instances quite helpful to them, because of the check which it gives to the escape of ground moisture. There is some difference in the view held as to whether close clipping is preferable, but the balance of authority is in favor of reasonably close clipping.

Alfalfa is usually sown alone, but in some instances it maybe advantageous to sow more or less of some other kind or kinds of grass or clover along with it. When grown for hay it is usually preferable to sow the seed without admixture. But there may be instances in which medium red or alsike clover may improve the crop the first year or two that it is mown for hay. But where red clover grows much more vigorously than alfalfa the first season, it should not be thus sown in any considerable quantities, or the clover plants will injure the alfalfa plants by crowding and overshading. Nevertheless, alfalfa may frequently with profit form a considerable factor in clover grown as pasture.

Where the main purpose of sowing alfalfa is to provide pasture, various grasses and clovers may be sown along with it, and in varying quantities, according to the attendant conditions. The choice of the variety or varieties to sow along with the alfalfa should be based on the needs of the stock to be pastured, and on the degree of the vigor with which these grow and maintain themselves in the locality. In the Northern States and Eastern Canada timothy and Russian brome grass (Bromus inermis) may be chosen. In areas with Southern Illinois as a center, red top and timothy should be satisfactory. In the Southern States, the claims of orchard grass and tall oat grass would probably be paramount. In areas with Iowa as a center, nothing would be more suitable, probably, than Russian brome grass. In the mountain States, with Wyoming as a center, timothy and alsike clover would be suitable. In the dry upland country in Washington and Oregon, Russian brome grass or tall oat grass would answer the purpose. In many areas the plan of sowing clover chiefly with the alfalfa is a good one, providing the alfalfa is cut for a year or two, and is then grazed, as by that time grasses indigenous to the locality, or which grow well in the same, come in to such an extent as to form a very considerable proportion of the pasture. Blue grass frequently behaves thus in the North, and crab grass in the South.

The amounts of seed to sow will vary with the character of the soil and climate, with the use that is to be made of the alfalfa, and with the manner in which it is sown. On soils and in climates quite favorable to the growth of alfalfa it is common to sow more seed than in those with less adaptation, and with a view, probably, to check coarseness in the growth of the stems. If sown thinly in such areas, the rank growth which follows would be coarse. This explains why in the Western and mountain States more seed is usually sown than in the Eastern and Northern States. Averaging the whole country, 20 pounds of seed per acre is more frequently mentioned as the proper amount to sow than any other quantity. In the Northern States many growers sow 15 pounds per acre, and judging by the yield obtained, this amount of seed has proved satisfactory. Some growers even mention 10 to 12 pounds as satisfactory. The amounts last named are certainly too small for average conditions. Fifteen to 20 pounds may be fixed upon as the proper amounts to sow on soil in good condition for speedy germination. But many growers claim satisfactory results from sowing larger amounts of seed than those named. Under semi-arid conditions, where irrigation cannot be given, a moderate amount of seed will be more satisfactory than very thick seeding, as when sown too thickly the plants would suffer more from want of moisture than if sown more thinly. The aim should be to obtain a stand that will cover the ground evenly and as thickly as will admit of the vigorous growing of the plants. Because of the relatively long duration of the period of the growth of alfalfa fields, it is specially important that good stands shall be obtained at the first, and for the further reason that the plants will then be better able to contend with intruding weeds, the great bane of alfalfa meadows.

When alfalfa is grown mainly for seed, it should be more thinly sown than when it is grown for hay or soiling food. It has been noticed that when the plants stand thickly beyond a certain degree, they do not seed well. Twelve to 16 pounds have been mentioned as quite enough to sow for such production in the mountain States. Where both objects are important, medium thick sowing would be the most suitable.

When sown in combinations such as have been named above, it will be necessary to modify somewhat the amounts of alfalfa seed sown, according to the proportion of the other seeds sown with the alfalfa. But since many grasses are more aggressive than alfalfa, it is not necessary to reduce the amount of alfalfa seed sown proportionately to the amounts of the other seeds that may be sown along with it. In many instances it may be proper not to reduce the amount of the alfalfa seed at all, as some of these grasses will soon crowd the alfalfa plants, to their injury, even though the usual amount of seed should be sown. The amount of the grasses sown with the alfalfa will, of course, vary. It will seldom be necessary in any instance to sow more than 6 or 7 pounds per acre, and under many conditions not more than 5 pounds. When alfalfa is sown with timothy and clover in temporary meadows or pastures, it is seldom necessary to sow more than 3 to 5 pounds per acre, and the same is true of it when sown in a permanent pasture. The crop is so little grown for hay in mixtures, that it is scarcely necessary to dwell upon the nature of these, or the respective amounts of seed to sow in making them.

When alfalfa is sown with the grain, there will be a saving of seed to the extent of at least 20 per cent., as compared with broadcast sowing. This arises from the more general sprouting of all the seeds, since they are planted at a more uniform depth, and from the subsequent loss of a smaller percentage of the plants through drought, and it may be other causes. But when sowing broadcast, it will in many instances prove more satisfactory to add 20 per cent. to the amounts mentioned above, as suitable for being sown without admixture with other grasses and clovers, rather than to deduct 20 per cent. from these amounts when sowing the seed with the drill.

Cultivating.—Under some conditions, it is, in a sense, necessary to sow alfalfa in rows, and to give it cultivation during the first season and sometimes for a longer period. In some parts of Florida, for instance, the most satisfactory results have been obtained from sowing in rows with 12 to 24 inches between the rows, and then to cultivate between these as may be necessary to keep down the growth of weeds. Under some conditions also in the Atlantic States, the most satisfactory results have been obtained from sowing alfalfa in rows 14 to 16 inches apart and cultivating between them. Even hand hoeing the first season may be justifiable along the line of the rows for small areas, but with the price of labor as at present, would be too costly for large areas. When grown in rows as indicated in the Atlantic States and westward from these, the yields of seed have been more satisfactory than when sown broadcast, but the crop is less satisfactory for hay, owing to the coarse and uneven character of the stems. The amounts of seed wanted for such sowing will, of course, vary chiefly with the distance between the rows. As small an amount as 6 pounds or even less will in some instances suffice per acre.

Pasturing.—The practice of pasturing alfalfa the first season, especially where it cannot be irrigated, is usually condemned, lest it should weaken the plants unduly for entering the winter. It would seem probable, however, that under some conditions such grazing would be helpful rather than hurtful. The cropping of the plants by stock, in the influence which it exerts upon the plants, is akin to that which arises from cutting them back frequently during the summer. The animals thus grazed will also crop down weeds. This, at least, is true of sheep. The author has succeeded in getting a good stand of alfalfa by sowing seed at the rate of 15 pounds per acre, along with 2 to 4 pounds of Dwarf Essex rape seed, and grazing the same with sheep. Other growers, during recent years, have succeeded similarly. The grazing should not begin until the plants have made a good start, but it should not be deferred so long that the rape and the weeds will unduly shade the alfalfa plants. The pasturing should not be too close, nor should it be so long continued that the alfalfa plants will not be able to provide a good growth in the early autumn before the advent of winter.

The management of the spring-sown crop the first season requires careful attention in areas where the hazard exists in any considerable degree that the plants may take serious harm at that season, or, indeed, fail altogether. In Western areas, from Canada to Kentucky and Missouri, it is important that the stubbles of the grain shall be cut high, amid which alfalfa grows when it is sown with a nurse crop. When not thus sown, it is of prime importance that the plants shall stand up several inches above the surface of the ground before the advent of winter. This is specially important in States west of the Mississippi River. The objects effected are three-fold. First, the snow is arrested and held for the protection of the plants, and to furnish them with moisture when the snow melts. The extent to which the stubbles and the erect young alfalfa plants will hold snow is simply surprising. On the exposed prairies, the snow usually drifts so completely from unprotected lands, that during almost any winter a large proportion of the area will be quite bare. The melting of the snow thus held is also of much value to the crop in the moisture which it brings to it, especially in areas where the rainfall is less than normal. Second, the plants are thus protected from the sweep of the cold winds which blow so much of the season in the unprotected prairie, and which are frequently fatal to various winter crops. Third, they are also protected from the intensity of the frost, which may in some instances kill young alfalfa plants in areas northward.

In the Northern States east of Minnesota, the New England States, and the provinces of Canada east of Lake Huron, the considerable covering on the ground is not so important, relatively, to protect the plants against the coming winter, but it is also of considerable importance, as sometimes the early snows melt so completely that the fields are left bare in midwinter. The warm temperatures which melt the snow may be followed by a cold wave, which may be greatly injurious to the plants. There may be instances, as where the snow usually falls very deeply, in which the covering left would prove excessive, and so tend to smother the plants; hence, sometimes it may be necessary to guard against too much covering.

If the plants should lack age or vigor on entering the first winter, a top-dressing of farmyard manure will render great service in protecting them. This, however, is only practicable with comparatively limited areas. It is sometimes practiced in the North Atlantic States, where the manure thus applied will prove greatly helpful to the growth of the alfalfa during the following season. These precautions to guard against the severity of winter weather are not nearly so necessary in the Rocky Mountain States where irrigation is practiced. In these, alfalfa spring sown is sometimes pastured during the following winter, and without any great harm to the crop. Thus greatly do conditions vary.

It may also be well to remember that where rainfall is usually plentiful and sometimes excessive, that a better stand of the young plants can be obtained when the rainfall is moderate than when it is copious. Saturated ground is hurtful to the young plants. They will not grow properly under such conditions and are likely to assume a sickly appearance. Mildew may appear and the plants may fail in patches. And this may happen on land which will ordinarily produce reasonably good crops of alfalfa after they have once been established.

The value of alfalfa in providing pasture is more restricted than in providing hay. This arises in part from the injury which may come to the plants from grazing too closely at certain times, and in a greater degree from injury which may result to certain animals which may feed upon the plants, more especially cattle and sheep, through bloating, to which it frequently gives rise.

This plant is pre-eminently a pasture for swine. They may be grazed upon it with profit all the season, from spring until fall. No plant now grown in the United States will furnish so much grazing from a given area in localities well adapted to its growth. Swine are very fond of it. Some growers do not feed any grain supplement to their swine when grazing on alfalfa, but it is generally believed that, under average conditions, it is wise to supplement the alfalfa pasture daily with a light feed of grain, carbonaceous in character, as of rye, corn or barley, and that this should be gradually increased with the advancement of the grazing season. One acre of alfalfa will provide pasture for 5 to 15 head of swine, through all the grazing season, dependent upon the degree of the favorable character of the conditions for growth in the alfalfa, the age of the swine, and the extent to which the pasture is supplemented with grain. But in some instances the area named will graze at least 15 hogs through all the growing season without a grain supplement.

Swine may be turned in to graze on alfalfa when well set, as soon as it begins to grow freely in the spring. It should be so managed that the grazing will be kept reasonably tender and succulent. For swine pasture the plants should never be allowed to reach the blossoming stage. This can be managed by running the field mower over the pasture occasionally when the stems are growing long and coarse. Close and prolonged grazing by swine will tend to shorten the period of the life of the alfalfa. The extent to which this result will follow will depend upon soil and climatic conditions and the closeness of the grazing. To avoid such a result and also to secure the utilization of the food to the utmost, some growers advocate cutting the alfalfa and feeding it to swine as soiling. The advisability of handling it thus will be dependent to some extent on the relative price of labor.

The best results, relatively, from growing alfalfa to provide pasture will be found in the Western valleys, where alfalfa grows with much vigor, and in certain areas of the South, where it grows freely and can be pastured during much of the year. In areas eminently adapted to the growth of clover, it is not so necessary to grow alfalfa for such a use. In Western areas, where Canada field peas are a success, and especially where artichokes are not hidden from swine by frost, pork can be grown very cheaply, and without the necessity of harvesting any very large portion of these crops, except through grazing them down by swine.

Such conditions would be highly favorable to the maintenance of health in the swine, and the quality of the pork made would be of the best. In some instances a small stack of Canada field peas is put up in the swine pasture that the swine may help themselves from the same the following year, as in rainless or nearly rainless climates, where such grain will keep long without injury.

Alfalfa furnishes excellent grazing for horses, more especially when they are not at work. Like other succulent pastures, it tends too much to induce laxness in the bowels with horses which graze it, without any dry fodder supplement. But it has high adaptation for providing pasture for brood mares, colts, and horses that are idle or working but little. While it induces abundant milk production in brood mares, and induces quick and large growth in colts until matured, it is thought by some practical horsemen that horses grown chiefly on alfalfa have not the staying power and endurance of those, for instance, that are grazed chiefly on Kentucky blue grass and some other grasses. There is probably some truth in the surmise, and if so, the objection raised could be met by dividing the grazing either through alternating the same with other pastures or by growing some other grass or grasses along with the alfalfa.

The alfalfa furnishes excellent grazing for cattle, whether they are grown as stockers, are kept for milk producing, or are being fattened for beef. For the two purposes first named it has high excellence, and it will also produce good beef, but alfalfa grazing alone will not finish animals for the block quite so well without a grain supplement as with one. But the danger is usually present to a greater or less degree that cattle thus grazed may suffer from bloat, induced by eating the green alfalfa. This danger increases with the humidity of the atmosphere, with the succulence of the alfalfa, and with the degree of the moisture resting on it, as from dew or rain. This explains why in some sections the losses from this source are much greater than in others. It also explains why such losses are greater in some areas than in others. It is considered that grazing alfalfa with cattle in the mountain valleys is less hazardous than in areas East and Southeast, as the atmosphere is less humid, the danger from the succulence can be better controlled by the amount of irrigating water supplied, and because of the infrequency of the rainfall. Nevertheless, the losses from bloat are sometimes severe in both cattle and sheep in the mountain States, notwithstanding that some seasons large herds are grazed upon alfalfa through the entire season without any loss.

Cattle grazed upon alfalfa may be so managed that the extent of this hazard will be very much lessened, if not entirely obviated, but with large herds some of the precautionary methods now to be submitted may not always be practicable. They should never be turned in to graze upon alfalfa when hungry. Some grazers adopt the plan of leaving them on the grazing continuously when once put in to graze. Others leave them in for a limited time each day at the first, increasing the duration of the pasturing period from day to day. After managing them thus for a week or two, the animals are only removed from the pasture for such purposes as milking. Others, again, feed some alfalfa or other food in the morning before turning them on to alfalfa pastures. Another plan adopted is to graze them on a field of other grazing, located, if possible, beside the alfalfa field, until after the dew has lifted, and then to open the gate into the alfalfa pasture. This is readily practicable with a herd of cows, but not to anything like the same extent with a large herd being grown for beef.

The danger from bloat in pasturing sheep upon alfalfa is at least as great as in pasturing cattle on the same, and the methods of managing them while thus being grazed are not far different. So, too, the experiences in such grazing are very similar. The losses from such grazing some seasons have been slight. Other seasons they have proved so heavy as to make such grazing unprofitable. When sheep are being grazed on alfalfa, a light feed of grain given in the early morning reduces materially the danger from bloat. It also enables the flock-master to finish his sheep or lambs for the market cheaply and in fine form, since this small grain factor, not necessarily more than half a pound a day, whether given as wheat, rye, barley, oats or corn, puts the ration practically in balance for the purpose named, and it may be given to the sheep daily in troughs without taking them out of the pasture.

It is thought that there is more danger to cattle and sheep from grazing on alfalfa than on any of the clovers, and probably such is the case. But whether this is true or not, the danger is very considerable, and is enhanced by the presence of frost as well as the presence of moisture, from much succulence in the plants, from rain and from dew. So great is the danger that the inexperienced should proceed with much caution in such grazing. When bloat does occur, the method of dealing with it is given on page 95.

The tendency to produce bloat in alfalfa pastures decreases with the extent to which other grasses are present in the pastures. Should alfalfa be grown, therefore, for the purpose of providing pasture, some other grass or grasses should be sown along with it. Which of these should be thus sown ought to depend chiefly on the adaptation of the grasses for producing vigorous growth under the conditions present. In the States east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, and in all of Canada east from Lake Huron, alfalfa may be made an important feature in pastures variously composed. For instance, on suitable soils alfalfa may be made an important feature in pastures composed otherwise of medium red and alsike clover and timothy. The author can speak from experience as to the slightness of the danger from grazing cattle and sheep on such pastures. In the Southern States tall oat grass could be sown with the alfalfa, and probably orchard grass. In some areas alfalfa will maintain its hold on lands smitten with Johnson grass, both producing freely. In much of Kansas meadow fescue would answer the purpose, northward brome grass would probably answer, and in some places timothy. In Idaho and the States adjoining, tall oat grass, meadow fescue and orchard grass will all be helpful, and in some of the mountain States it has been found that when alsike clover is grown freely in alfalfa pastures, the tendency to bloat is not only lessened in the animals grazing, but the value of the pasture, especially for winter grazing, is greatly improved. Some grazers, especially in the mountain States, have adopted the plan of sowing other pastures, as wheat or barley, beside the alfalfa pastures, and these are made accessible at will to the animals that are being grazed. The plan has some commendable features, but grazing animals thus does not reduce the danger as much as when they are grazed on pastures in which other grasses grow up amid alfalfa. In some of the Western States pure alfalfa meadows are grazed through successive seasons with but little loss, but in such instances the grazing began in the spring and was continuous. Judicious care should be exercised in grazing alfalfa lest the stand of the plants shall be injured. The liability to injury in the plants from injudicious grazing increases with the lack of adaptation in the soil and climate for abundant and prolonged growth in the alfalfa.

In a large majority of instances, as previously intimated, it is not wise to graze down alfalfa at all closely the season of sowing, and in some instances it should not then be grazed to any extent, lest the plants be unduly weakened for entering the winter. In cold areas the hazard is much greater from such grazing than in those that are mild, and likewise, it is greater when the growth is only moderately vigorous than in areas where alfalfa grows with the vigor of a weed, as in Western mountain valleys. In areas where the winters are cold, and especially where the snowfall is light and the winds have a wide sweep, the animals which graze upon alfalfa should be removed in time to allow the plants to grow up to the height of several inches before the advent of winter. The growth thus secured will catch and hold the snow, and the protection thus furnished is greatly helpful to the preservation and vigor of the plants. Experience has shown that in Northern areas pasturing alfalfa in winter, especially when the ground is bare and frozen, brings imminent hazard to the plants. On the other hand, grazing in winter in the mountain valleys, when as far north as Central Montana, may be practiced with little or no hazard to the stand of plants when these have become well established. In such areas alfalfa may be grazed practically as may be desired, providing this grazing is not too close.

Cattle injure alfalfa less than other animals when they graze upon it, as they do not crop it too closely; swine injure it more, if the grazing is constant. Horses do even greater injury, through biting the crowns of the plants too closely; but sheep injure alfalfa pastures more than any of these animals, when the grazing is close, owing to the extent to which they trim off the leaves.

As Soiling Food.—For being fed as soiling food, alfalfa has the very highest adaptation, owing, 1. To the long period covered by the growth. 2. To the rapidity of the growth resulting in large relative production. 3. To the palatability of the green food produced. 4. To the entire safety to the animals fed. And 5. To its high feeding value. In Louisiana, for instance, alfalfa may be made to furnish soiling food for nine months in the year. In the North, of course, the duration of production is much less, but it is seldom less than five months. The growth is so rapid that cuttings for soiling food may usually be made at intervals of four to six weeks, according to season and climate; hence, the cuttings for soiling food will run all the way from two to eight or nine each season. It is so palatable that horses, mules, cattle, sheep and swine relish it highly. When wilted a little before being fed, the danger of producing bloat is eliminated. Its feeding value is nearly the same as that of the medium red clover, thus making it in itself what may be termed a balanced or perfect food for horses, mules, cattle and sheep until development is completed and subsequently when they are at rest; that is, when they are not producing, as in the form of labor or milk.

The highest use, probably, from feeding alfalfa when green will arise from feeding it to milch cows. Its high protein content in combination with its succulence pre-eminently adapts it to such a use. Wherever alfalfa can be grown and will produce even two cuttings a year, it will serve a good purpose in producing milk. Every dairyman dependent more or less on soiling food will find it to his advantage to grow alfalfa where it may be grown in good form. When fed to milch cows, some meal added, carbonaceous in character, as corn or non-saccharine sorghum seed, may prove a paying investment, and it may also be advisable to alternate the green alfalfa, morning or evening, with such other green crops as oats and peas, millet, rape, corn or sorghum when in season, to provide variety. But even though alfalfa alone should be thus made to supplement the pastures, the outcome should be at least fairly satisfactory. When fed to horses that are working, some care must be exercised in feeding it, lest too lax a condition of the bowels should be induced, and a grain factor should be fed at the same time. It has frequently been given to sheep that were being fitted for show purposes, but may also be fed green to the entire flock, with a view to supplement the pastures. It has special adaptation for promoting large growth in lambs, and, indeed, in any kind of young stock to which it may be fed. When fed to swine, a small grain supplement properly chosen and fed will insure more satisfactory growth. It is thought that more satisfactory results will be obtained from allowing the alfalfa to get fairly well on toward the blossoming stage before beginning to feed, and to continue to feed until in full bloom. This in practice may not always be possible, but usually an approximation to it may be reached, especially when the production of the alfalfa will more than supply the needs in soiling food. The ideal plan is to commence cutting the alfalfa as soon as a good growth is made, cutting enough daily or every other day to supply the needs of the animals. If the growth becomes too much advanced before the field is gone over thus, the balance should be made into hay, and the cutting should begin again where it began previously.

There is no question but that considerably more food can be obtained from a given area when green alfalfa is fed in the soiling form, instead of being grazed. The difference in such production would not be easy to determine, but of the fact stated there cannot be any doubt. Ordinarily, each cutting of green alfalfa for soiling should not produce less than 4 tons; hence, where 8 cuttings can be secured, not fewer than 32 tons of soiling food could be obtained per season. But whether the increase from soiling alfalfa, as compared with pasturing the same, would repay the cost of the extra labor, will depend upon conditions that vary with time and place. Alfalfa fields thus managed or cut for hay will also produce for a longer period than when the fields are grazed.

Continuity in the production of soiling food may not be possible some seasons in the absence of irrigation; hence, under such conditions provision should always be made for a supply of such other soiling foods as may be needed, and of a character that will make it practical to turn them into dry fodder when not wanted as soiling food. But where irrigating waters are unfailing, it is quite possible to furnish soiling food from alfalfa soils through practically all the growing season. Dairymen thus located are in a dairyman's paradise.

Alfalfa, like clover, may be made into silage. In dry climates this would seem to be unnecessary, but in rainy climates it may be wise in some instances to make alfalfa ensilage, the better to insure the curing of the crop. What has been said with reference to clover ensilage will apply almost equally to alfalfa. (See page 103.) It would be more desirable, usually, to make the first cutting from alfalfa into ensilage than later cuttings, because of the showery character of the weather at that season, but the strong objection stands in the way of doing so, that no carbonaceous food, as corn, sorghum or soy beans, is ready for going into the silo then as they are later, with a view of aiding in the better preservation of the ensilage and of making a better balanced ration. Good alfalfa silage is more easily made when the alfalfa has been run through a cutting-box than when in the uncut forms.

Harvesting for Hay.—The best time to harvest alfalfa for hay is just after the blossoms begin to appear. Ordinarily, not more than one-third of the blossoms are out when the harvesting should begin, but when the hay is to be fed to horses the cutting may be deferred until more than half the blooms are out. If cut earlier, the loss of weight in the crop will be considerable, as much as 30 to 45 per cent., as compared with cutting when in full bloom. If cut later, the stems become over-woody, and the loss of leaves in curing will be much greater. When the cutting is delayed beyond the period of early bloom, the growth of the next cutting is retarded, and when it is deferred until some of the leaves turn yellow or until some seed is formed, in many situations the influence on the succeeding crop is seriously adverse, and in some instances this influence would seem to react against the vigorous growth of the plant during the remainder of the season. In other instances, as where the conditions are quite favorable to the growth of the plant, these results are not present in so marked a degree. When large areas of alfalfa are to be harvested, the importance of beginning early cannot easily be overestimated. It would be much better to sacrifice something in loss of weight in the hay, through cutting too early, than to meet with greater loss in weight in the next crop or crops by cutting too long deferred.

Much that has been said about the harvesting of medium, red clover will apply equally to alfalfa. (See page 95.) The mowing should begin as soon as the dew has lifted in the morning. The tedder should follow after the hay has wilted somewhat, and later, the horse rake, the aim being to get the crop made into winrows, preferably small, before nightfall, and when the weather is uncertain, the aim should be also to put the hay up into small cocks the same evening. This may not always be practicable. If the loss of leaves is likely to be considerable when raking the hay, raking should be deferred until the influence of evening dews begins to be felt. After the hay has become wilted it should not be stirred or handled any more than is really necessary, that loss of leaves and of the tips of the stems and branches may be avoided, and the handling during the curing process should be done to the greatest extent practicable before or after the sunshine has waxed strong. In showery weather, when small areas are being harvested, hay caps can be used with profit. Where large areas are to be harvested and where there is no danger of rain, the crop when nicely wilted is drawn into winrows, and in these the curing is completed without further stirring or handling. From the winrows it is drawn usually on rakes of a certain make, and the rake loads thus slid over the ground are lifted bodily onto the stack by the use of the "rickers." (See page 100.)



Storing.—When cured in cocks, these are preferably made small to facilitate quick curing, but usually from two to four days are necessary to complete the curing. If the cocks require opening out before being drawn, the work should be done with care. Ordinary stacking and storing may be done in practically the same way as in handling medium red clover, and the same care is necessary in protecting the stacks. In areas where considerable rain falls in the autumn, hay sheds will prove a great convenience in storing alfalfa in the absence of better facilities. In the Eastern States alfalfa is sometimes stored in mows undercured, by putting it into the mow in alternate layers with straw. The straw not only aids in preserving the alfalfa in good condition, but the alfalfa imparts an aroma to the straw which induces live stock to eat it readily. In showery weather this method of curing alfalfa merits careful attention where straw can be had near at hand and in sufficient quantities.

The method is sometimes adopted of cutting alfalfa even for hay by using the self-rake reaper. The sheaves thus made are allowed to lie on the ground undisturbed until they are ready for being drawn. By this method of cutting, the loss of leaves is almost entirely avoided, but there are these objections to it: that it exposes unduly to sunlight during the curing process, and in case of rain the sheaves are easily saturated and do not dry readily unless turned over.

Rain falling on alfalfa will injure it quite as much as it does red clover. (See page 96.) In climates with much rainfall in May or June, when the first cutting of alfalfa is ready for being harvested, according to locality, in instances not a few much difficulty is found in curing alfalfa without loss. Sometimes the entire cutting will be rendered practically useless by rain. Because of this, as previously intimated, it may be well to arrange, where practicable, to cut the first crop of the season for soiling food.

The number of cuttings during the year depends on such conditions as relate to the length of the season, the character of the soil, the abundance of moisture present, and the use to which the alfalfa is put. In some of the river bottoms southward in the Rocky Mountains, where irrigating waters are plentiful, it is claimed that alfalfa may be made to furnish one cutting for soiling food every month in the year. Even in the Northern western valleys, as many as five or six cuttings for the use named may be obtained. North from the Ohio and Potomac rivers three to five cuttings of soiling food may be looked for each season, and south of these rivers even a larger number. North of the same rivers the hay crops run from two to four, and southward from the same they are seldom less than three. In the western valleys they range from three to five or six, according to location. In States bordering on the semi-arid States eastward and some distance south of the Canadian boundary, from three to four cuttings may usually be expected. In Colorado and States north and south from the same, two good crops of alfalfa may be cut from spring-sown seed the same season, but where irrigation is not practiced it is seldom that one crop of hay is harvested under similar conditions of sowing. But in the semi-arid belt not more than one cutting is usually obtained each season in the absence of water. But the number of cuttings will be reduced when one of these is a seed crop. When a seed crop is taken, the vitality of the plants is apparently so much reduced for the season that the subsequent growth is much less vigorous than if seed had not been thus taken.

The yield of hay from each cutting will, of course, vary much with conditions, but it is seldom less than a ton. An approximate average would place the average cutting at about 1-1/4 tons, but as much as 2 tons have been obtained per acre at a cutting, and, again, not more than 1/2 ton. In New Jersey an average of 4.57 tons per acre was obtained under good conditions of management, but without irrigation, at the experiment station for three years in succession. In Kansas, 4 to 6 tons per acre may usually be expected from good soils. In Tulare County, California, as much as 6 to 10 tons have been secured under irrigation.

The yields from the various cuttings are by no means uniform, especially in the absence of irrigation. They are much influenced by rainfall. In such areas, the second cutting is usually the best for the season, the subsequent cuttings being considerably less. Where irrigation is practiced, the crops are much more uniform, but even in mild climates, as the season advances, there is a tendency to lesser yields, indicative of the necessity of at least partial rest for plants during a portion of the year. The yields of alfalfa are usually exceeded by those of no other crop, where the conditions are quite favorable to its growth, even in the absence of irrigation. At the New Jersey Experiment Station, as stated in Bulletin No. 148, one acre of alfalfa produced 36,540 pounds of green food; of corn, 24,000; of red clover, 14,000; of crimson clover, 14,000; of millet, 16,000; of cow peas, 16,000; and of oats and peas, 14,000 pounds. But where only two, or even three, cuttings can be obtained per year, some crops may produce larger yields than alfalfa. In the distinctive alfalfa belt in the West, no forage crop can be grown that will compare with it in the yields obtained. The protein in alfalfa is also relatively high. At the station quoted above it was found one ton of alfalfa contained 265 pounds of protein; hence, its high relative value as a food; red clover, 246 pounds; timothy, 118 pounds; and wheat bran, 118 pounds. At the Delaware Experiment Station, in Bulletin No. 55, it is stated that maximum crops of cow peas and of crimson clover gave 720 pounds of protein, while a maximum crop of alfalfa gave 1230 pounds.

Where alfalfa is irrigated, it is usual to apply irrigating waters just after each cutting of the crop. It is a matter of some importance that the water shall be applied at once as soon as the previous crop has been harvested, otherwise time will be lost in growing the next crop. There are instances where it is necessary to apply water before the first crop is grown, but usually the moisture which falls in the winter and spring will suffice to produce the first crop of the season. Some irrigators apply water some time previous to harvesting the crop, but not so late as to leave the ground in a soft condition when mowing is begun. The amount of water required will vary with the soil, the season of the year, the distance of the ground water from the surface, and the precipitation. The more porous the soil and subsoil, the hotter the weather, the less the precipitation and the farther below the surface, up to a certain limit, the greater will be the amount of water needed. There are situations, as in some of the islands in the Yellowstone River, in which ground water is so near the surface that alfalfa grown on these is able to get enough of water from this subterranean source to produce good crops. Care should be taken not to apply water in excess of the needs of the crop, or the yields will be proportionately reduced. The amounts that will best serve the end sought can only be ascertained by actual test. Caution is also necessary where the winters are cold not to apply water late or in excessive quantities, lest a sappy condition of the plants shall be induced, which will make them succumb to the cold of the winter following. Moreover, on some soils alfalfa fields will produce good crops, if irrigated only the first season, until the roots get down to moisture, the irrigating waters being utilized when more needed.

Alfalfa hay is fed freely to all kinds of domestic animals on the farm, and with results that should prove highly satisfactory. Properly fed, it is an excellent food for horses and mules. It not only serves to maintain flesh, but it is favorable to glossiness in the coat. Horses that are working hard should be accustomed to it gradually. When it is fed to them too freely at the first, it induces too much of a laxity in the bowels, too free urination, and profuse sweating. When fed to such horses or mules, some authorities claim that several weeks should be covered in getting them on to what is termed a "full feed" of alfalfa. When fed to milch cows, free lactation results. Alfalfa fine in character is now manufactured into food suitable for calves and other young stock. Cattle and sheep are now fattened for slaughter on alfalfa hay fed alone, but when thus fattened the finish made is not equal to that resulting from adding grain to the alfalfa. To meet the needs of the best markets, alfalfa alone does not produce enough of fat or of firmness in the flesh, but it has been claimed, and probably it is true, that one-half the amount of grain required for finishing along with carbonaceous fodder, such as corn stalks or timothy, will give equally good and quick increase when fed with alfalfa hay. It is most excellent fodder on which to grow cattle and sheep, even in the absence of a grain supplement. The later cuttings of the season are thought to be the most suitable for calves and also for sheep and lambs, because of the greater fineness of the fodder and the greater abundance of leaves on it. Alfalfa hay is used with much advantage in wintering swine, especially brood sows. Swine have been wintered on alfalfa hay without any grain supplement where the winters are mild, but they will fare much better with a grain supplement. It is thought that half the usual amount of grain fed will produce equal results when fed with alfalfa, to those obtained from feeding a full allowance of grain in its absence. Alfalfa and sorghum properly grown make an excellent food for swine, and the two may be profitably fed thus where the conditions may be over-dry for corn, but not for sorghum. When feeding alfalfa, the aim should be to use it in conjunction with a carbonaceous food, as corn. Fortunate is the country which grows good crops of corn and alfalfa.

Securing Seed.—Localities differ much in their capacity to produce alfalfa seed. The best crops of seed are now grown west and southwest of the Mississippi River. Certain areas in the semi-arid country east of and between the ranges of the Western mountains seem to have special adaptation for growing seed. At the present time the greatest seed-producing States are Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and California. But in some areas east of that river paying crops can be grown. It has also been noticed that when the crop is sown less thickly than it is usually sown for hay, the plants seed more freely, when sown with sufficient distance between the rows to admit of cultivating the crop, and when such cultivation is given, the influence on seed production is also markedly favorable; such treatment given to the varieties of recent introduction may possibly result in the production of seed from the same, notwithstanding that they bear seed very shyly when grown in the ordinary way.

Nearly all the seed now grown in the United States is produced by fields that have been sown in the usual way, and primarily to produce hay, but in some areas, especially where irrigation is practiced, it is sometimes grown mainly for seed. On the irrigated lands of the West it is customary to grow the first cutting of the season for hay and the second for seed. But in many instances the second cutting also is made into hay, and the seed is taken from the third cutting; even in the States east of the Mississippi, and also in Ontario and Quebec, seed is usually taken from the second cutting. But in Montana, Washington and Idaho, on the higher altitudes, seed is not unfrequently taken from the first cutting for the season, since, in the short season for growth of those uplands, seed from cuttings later than the first does not always mature so well. In a large majority of instances seed does not form so profusely from plants of the first cutting as from those of later growths. This is thought to arise, in part, at least, from the fact that bees, and it may be other insects, are then less active in searching for food, and because of this do not aid in the fertilization of the plants as they do later. Nor does seed of the first cutting ripen so evenly. An important justification is also found for taking seed from the later cuttings, in the fact that when a crop has produced seed, it grows less vigorously during the subsequent period of growth that same season. So pronounced is this habit of growth in alfalfa, that in many localities, if the first growth is allowed to produce seed, but little subsequent growth will be made again the same season. The second cutting, all things considered, is the most favorable to seed production, as, unless on irrigated lands, the third cutting is not usually possessed of that vigor necessary to induce abundant seeding in the plants.

The yields of seed are also much influenced by moisture. An excess of moisture is more unfavorable to the production of seed than a shortage in the same. Hence, in areas where the rainfall for the season is very abundant, but little seed will be produced. Where irrigation is practiced, the excessive application of water would have a similar effect, though less pronounced in degree; hence, the apportionment of the water to the prospective needs of the seed crop calls for careful adjustment. Where the first crop is grown for seed, where irrigation is practiced, in many instances no water is applied until after the seed crop has been harvested.

The seed is ready for being harvested when a majority of the seed-pods assume a dark brown tint. The pods of later formation will still possess a yellow tint, and some of them may still possess the green color. These do not produce seed nearly equal in quality to the pods which ripen earlier. To wait for all the later maturing pods to ripen before harvesting the crop would mean the loss of much of the best seed through shattering. Another test of maturity is made by shelling the pods in the hand. When the seed can be thus shelled in a majority of the pods in a single plant, it is ready for being harvested. Alfalfa seed shatters easily; hence, it is important to harvest the seed crop with promptness when it is ready, to handle it with due carefulness, and in some instances to refrain from handling during the hottest hours of sunshine.

The seed crop is sometimes cut with the mower and raked into winrows, and in some instances put up into cocks. When it is handled thus, the aim should be to do the work, as far as this may be practicable, in the early and late hours of the day, but not, of course, while much dew is on the crop. Sometimes the seed is drawn from the winrows to the thresher; in other instances from the cocks, and in yet other instances it is stacked before being threshed, a work that calls for the exercise of much care in the storing of the crop, lest the seed should be injured by heating in the stack. This method of harvesting is usually attended with much loss of seed.

There is probably no better way of harvesting alfalfa than to cut it with the self-rake reaper or the binder. The loose sheaves dry quickly, and when lifted, the aim is to carry them directly to the thresher. Less seed, it is considered, will be lost in this way than by the other mode of harvesting given above, and the work is more expeditiously done. But owing to the difficulty in securing a thresher to thresh the seed, it is sometimes found necessary to stack the crop, but in areas where irrigation is practiced such stacking is seldom necessary.