The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1907-07-25

Modern Meslods That Are Eelpful te
Farmer. Fruit Grower and Stockrnan.
Best Meth6d Of Seeding Alfalfa.

RcSG nASllIou Oh Alfalfa.
E. M. Nashville, Tenn, writes: /
am thinking of sowing 100 acres
in alfalfa in Wilson County. The
soil is a strong, dark deep loan. /
think I know pretty well how the
ground should be prepared and the
time of sowing in March, but I am
not quite so positive about the way
OF putting it in-by wheat drill or
how? / investigated the matter in
Texas and feel sure our farmers are
making a great mistake in not plant
ing more.
Answer: 1t is a hard matter for
me to say how we'll alfalfa might
succeed on the soil of which you
speak. If you have been in Texas
and seem the conditions under which
1t is cultivated to best advantage,
you can Judge pretty we'll whether
the soil you have in mind will prove
satisfactory or not. Alfalfa required
a deep, loamy soil in order. that its
tap roots may make a vigorous
growth and so be able to gather
enough food to sustain the plant
through a series of years. It also
requires a rich soil, use we'll sup
piled with vegetable matter. If you
have a soil of. this character, there is
no reason wkF alfalfa should not sue
coed on it provided you put, 1t in
| properly and i~nnoculate the soil so
/ as to insure the proper development
of the root tubercles.
In our opinion it is generally best
to seed alfalfa in the fall because
! more time can be taken to prepare
the land properly, and If it can be
tsown about the first to fifteenth Of
September, it will make a strong
root growth before winter and can
be cut for hay the next season. Be-
sides, it does not have to contend
with crab grass which is n of the
worst enemies and which frequently
all but chokes it out if seeded in the
spring as the alfalfa is delicate when
young and ~vigoroussa growth as the
crab grass during the first season.
AS to the method Of seeding al
falfa, prepare your land thoroughly,
pillow it deeply and subsoil it. You
can afford to put a good deal Of
! work on the preparation Of 1.-The seed
bed so as to secure the finest possible
filth. Compact the soil we'll. scat
ter the seed broadcast, or put in with
an attachment to an ordinary seed
drill, or scatter with a barrow seeder,
and cover with a common weeder.
It is generally an advantage to cross
drill or cross seed alfalfa as thai
insures a more perfect stand. About
twenty pounds of seed should be
usedper acre and it is important that
you examine the seed and test its
vitality before planting.
Alfalfa is a great crop, a wonder
full crop in fact where It can be sue
cessfulIy cultivated and farmers
should give careful attention to it,
but they should rot go about its
culture in a reckless name as the
plant is somewhat difficult to estab-
lish, and if one fails when under
taking it's cultivation on a large scale
it is likely to preju6ice them against
it's culture for many years to come
which would be exceedingly unfortu-
nate. 1t would be better for the
farmer to go slowly, plant small
areas and study all the conditions re-
quired to secure success with the
plant before undertaking its culture
on too an elaborate a scale.-Andrew
NJ. Soule. I'd" @i'"