The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1911-12-07
THE SEEDING OF
ALFALFA.
y D ALVIN KEYSER, Proessssr
II ef Agseaony, Cs1ssodo
" Asrie,ale.ral Csosss.
Prsparaeiea of H. LAID.
Continued from last week.

Prspasatioa of H. Lad.
Continued from last week.
Germination. the seed does not
have ahigh terminating power larger
quantity Of seed must be used. Besides
with poor termination. the young plants
sre liable to be weak. Termination il
easily tested by home methods. All
that is needed is q couple of dinner
plates and some muslin or cotton flan-
mel. enough 50 that when folded eight
times the size will be about four or five
inches square. This folded square
IL dipped in warm Water and then
wrung out. After wringing out the
water. the cloth is smoothed out flat
and opened in the center. One humid
red seeds are then counted out and
placed on one half of the cloth. The
other half is then folded back over and
the whole placed on one of the dinner
plates while the second is placed on top
of the cloth, bottom down. This home
made germinator is then placed where
it viii! keep warm. In thirty-six hours
the seeds ought to begin sprouting. In
four days termination should be COM
plete. If 80 per cent of the seed sprouts
the termination of the seed is only fair
Very good seed should show95 per cent
gerrrination.
Method of Using. hay produc-
ton the seed may be sowed either broad
i, cast or in drills, using not over ten
/, pounds of good seed per acre. If sowed
in drills, the seed should bc planted
quite shallow, not covering mcre than
one inch. If sowed broadcast, the land
may be rolled and narrowed once. or
in the absence of the roller, narrowed
once to cover the seed.
For the production of seed the best
method is to plant in rows twenty
inches apart and thin in the row.
More seed can be produced In this way
as the irrigation can be done by the
furrow methed and thus better controll-
ed. A part of the moisture control
can also be done by cultivation. For
seed production alfalfa wants only inst
enough water to fill the seed. To much
water makes,hsy instead of seed. By
irrigation in furrows which have been
logged out SO as to be smooth. the
water can be very easily controlled.
Time of Seeding. may oe
seeded best in the spring in most Of our
irrigated localities. Seeding may be
done any time from the middle of
March in Southern Colorado and the
Arkansas Valley, to the middle of May
in the higher attitudes 1t may be
sowed any time after danger of heavy
freezes has passed.
A Nurse Crop.-lf a nurse crop is
used; it must be remembered that it
is, under most conditions. not for the
benefit of the alfalfa. but it is used to
fsget some returns from the land. Oats
and barley make the best nurse crops
because they shade the lanl least.
About forty pounds of oats or fifty
pounds of barley are sufficient. These
should be preferably cnt for hay so as
not to shade the alfalfa too long. On
land so sandy that it is liable to blow
during the winds, it is often desirable
to use nurse crop to assist in prevent
ing this trouble. On heavy clay or
adobe lands nurse CROP will often
prevent baking. Under other condi-
tions, it is better not to use the nurse
crop.
CARE UNTIL STARTED.
After the crop is started it should
be given irrigation. Unless it is neces-
sary to clip to get rid of weeds. now
ing need not be done until the crown
buds start for the second crop.
One or more irrigations will be re-
quired for each cutting. On deep loamy
land, one irrigation will be sufficient,
on sandy lands more may be necessary
as they do not hold large supply of
water.
After the second spring it is good
practice to disk once. early in the
spring before the crop starts.
PREPARATION OF THE LAND.
For the Dry Lands:
The proper preparation of the soil
for dry land conditions is more difficult
than for irrigated conditions. Under
. dry farming. the reseuce of a sufficient