Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-08-09
HOW TO HARVEST
ALFALFA RIGHT
An Expert Goes Into De-
tails and EluCidateS
the Why's and
WherefOreS.

same as hay, but in this way much
seed is wasted. If the alfalfa is
moved in the morning and raked
Immediately there is much less
shattered seed. If cut during the
heat of the day to prevent the
Smelling and waste of seed, men
should follow : the machine with!
forks, moving the cut alfalfa out of I
the way of the team and the ma
chine. When provided with a
buncher or windrower attachment,
the. mower sdoes better works apd
may BE economically used. Some I
objection is made to leaving. the
.,aifalfa in loose punches or lin open
windows, and unless the. weather
lbs fa6pfaRles and the purpose is to
thresh at%once, it is best to follow
!, tl4e rqoy9ef closely, placing the al
'faffa in larger piles or cocks, about
|. what a. Haenzcan lift atone forkful,
'tfftas aV5idiAg pulling the punches
apart in loading which would cause
the pods to break off and the seed
to shatter.
the cock in this way the seed is pre-
vented from bleaching so much, the
straw settles and sheds rain and is
preserved and cured better than
when left in the loose bunch or
windrow. Well cured alfalfa straw
has one-half the feeding value of
alfalfa hay The self-rake reaper
4
ent machine with which to harvest
the alfalfa seed crop. The gavels
are dropped from the platform out
of the way of the horses and the
machine. Usually men follow with
forks and lay three or four gavels
rain and preserve the seed and
straw in better condition than the
single gavels and the seed does not
shatter so badly in handling the
larger, compact bundles as the
smaller ones.
Some growers cut the crop with
a header, leaving the alfalfa in
windows across the field. This
method is only satisfactory in a dry
season, when the alfalfa is thrcshed
or stacked at once, as soon after
harvest as possible. Many western
growers harvest alfalfa with a bind.
err. The usual practice has been t.
remove the binder part, but leav,
the packers on and throw the bun
dies out loose, dropping in bucnhe'
by use of the bundle carrier o
punching with the fork. In recen
years, however, many prefer t
bind the alfalfa in bundles and shocl
The advantage claimed for thi
method is that it requires less help
as one man may do the harvestin
and put the crop into the shock
help is scarce; the alfalfa may b
cut little greener, the seed doe
not shatter so readily and the stray
may cure and keep better than whe
put up loose. When bound an
shocked the alfalfa should stand tw
weeks or so until dry enough
thresh.
If put into the stack, threshe
men prefer to have it loose, {
bundles are more apt to be dam
and tough, but if fully drie
when stacked, alfalfa should kes
well in the bundle. 1t is well
stack with layers of straw betwes
the layers of alfalfa, in order to tai
up the moisture. The CONNIE
practice, when it can be done, is
thresh from the field as soon aft
harvest as the seed is dried and Il
straw fully cured. If a machii
cannot be secured and weather co
ditions are favorable for stackin
better put in to the stack at on
when the crop is cured than to r
the risk of damage by wet wealth,
A single rain will not injurc I
alfalfa much if we'll punched
cooked, out continued vet weatf
causes the seeds to swell and p
haps sprout and when the pods {
they burst scattering the see
Some growers estimate that half
the seed is lost in this way b,
few days of unfavorable wealth
The longer the alfalfa lies in
field the easier the pods break
and the seed skaters when il
finally handled and stacked
thrashcd. Care should be taken
to stack or thresh when the str
is too green or tough and the s
not fully dry.-A. M. Teneyck
Denver Field and Farm.