The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-04-22
ALFALFA.

Hardly a mail comes TO the Colo
RADIO Agricultural college that does not
contain an inquiry in regard to the
sowing OF alfalfa. the varieties best
adapted to particular localities, the
the conditions n methods necessary
for good results, writes p. X. Biinn, of
that experiment station.
The Colorado experiment station
has been testing the different varieties
and endeavoring by the systematic
selection of the best individual plants,
to develop a superior type ofsalfalfa for
hay and seed production. The results
of the work have been very promising,
INDEED; but at present there Is no seed
available for distribution, although eff
forts to produce seed sufficient for
wider tests are being put forth, The
varieties that have given the best re-
suits in nearly all the tests have been
the northern grown types. Some or the
Turkestan strains, the Grimm alfalfa,
and the varieties that have been in
troduced under the name OF Sand
Lucerne, are the most hardy and Wig
orous types. The Arabian variety has
not been hardy, even in southern Colo
RADIO, and the same has been found to
be true of all the seed from the rot
countries. Nearly all our native al
faIfa, especially that from California,
and the southwestern states, has
reached us by what might be called the
southern route, 4. e., II was brought
lea; then across into Chill, and thence
north into the southern and southwest
ern part OF the United States.
While IL has been q great acquisition
to our western agriculture, IL has lac6ed
hardness to some extent, and this prob
ably accounts for the extrsvagRnt rec
ommendation for plantig 20 to 80 pounds
OF seed per acre.
Usually it Is the lack of proper con-
dition. rather than the lack Of guam
tity OF seed. that is responsible Tor q
failure in getting a stand OF alfalfa
A pound Of alfalfa seed contains about
22S, 900 seeds, and 10 pounds OF seed per
acre would give 30 or more seeds to
a square foot Of ground. II the seed
is vigorous and hardy and the condi-
lions favorable, 10 pounds OF seed
should insure a stand of from three to
five good stools per foot, which Ii SUM-
Client,
Alfalfa is as hardy as clover, and
should be sown early in h spring
spring rains, which win insure its
growth, for IL years we have sown
alfalfa seed the last Of March or the
first OF April, and we have never
a failure at Rocky Ford. Colo. On sew
eral occasions the young alfalfa seed
ings survived a freeze of from 5 to 10
degrees of temperature below 80, n
gave no evidence Of injury. A fatal
error Is often made by sowing h al
falfa seed too deep in h drills with
grain three to four inches deep; alfalfa
will seldom reach the surface under
such conditions. The usual method Is
to broadcast the seed just ahead OF the
grain drill, either with an attachment
on the drill or by hand; in this same
way some of the seed is covered about
the right depth, by narrowing after the
drill. But much OF II Ii so near the
surface that II will not survive; there
fore much seed Is wasted. The ideal
method would be TO have a drill that
would accurately regulate the amount
of seed and SOW uniformly by drills not
much over three-fourths of an inch In
depth. We are sadly in need of q drill
especially designed for sowing alfalfa
seed. II one has only q small area OF
two or three acres to SOW, IL might pay
to take the pains to SOW with a com
mon garden drill, so as to insure q uni
form depth of planting. .
All the tests the writer has made
with the drilling OF alfalfa in rows
have shown encouraging results in both
hay yield and In the production OF seed,
and regulate and control moisture. IL
also economies seed. for II drills is to
20 inches apart. four TO Ave pounds OF
seed per acre VIII give a good stand OF
alfalfa.