The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-04-22
Alfalfa In Vermont

FHoft1 W N~NHSih
As a practical farmer, the author
would not advise the raising of alfal-
ia in Vermont to the exclusion Of
proven crops At any rate, it should
not be grown extensively at first. The
short season in Vermont makes it I'M
certain whether it win be practical
or not In Pennsylvania, three or
four crops can be cut. If alfalfa is
sown too early in the spring, however
the weeds crowd it out, so the usu-
al time for sowing is the middle OF
August Probably a month earlier
would be the proper time in Vermont.
After a crop of wheat has been har-
vested, six loads of manure preferably
horse manure, are drawn on before
the plowing. 1t is important in plow-
ing to have the furrow deep, and not
so wide as to destroy the action of
the capillarity. The next operation is
to drill in 500 lbs. of commercial fer
tilizer with a wheat drill The soil
is then made compact with ~oller.
Following this process, the disk har-
row is put in as deep as it will go,
for the more divided the particles of
soil are, the better the roots can
work their way through the soil in
search of moisture All this prepa.
ration has been done in July. Once
a week, at least, the land is narrowed
TO prevent the weed seeds from ger
minating The roller is also used to
compact the soil and conserve the
Tt,n 81
falfa, during the fore part OF August
three hundred or four hundred pounds
Of inoculated soil is drawn on and
narrowed in Immediately so that the
drying process will not incapacitate
any of the bacteria in the soil. AL
falfa is a leguminous plant The
! bacteria take the atmospheric nitro
gen and stir it in the rootsN and tops
Of plants SO that it has been found
+ that any leguminous plants that grow
with incubation have twice as mucI
, value in the tops as the same plan
. grown without incubation Afte
= these bacteria form and the col,
g weather comes on. these nodules 0
9 bacteria break and the bacteria ar
disseminated through the soil, an,
D the next year new ones are formed
9 incubation will not be effective
T. soil and moisture conditions are no
G favorable for the living Of that baC
r terra.
S The author follows his wheat wit
alfalfa He suggests that in Vernon
j it would be more practicable to hav
G it follow peas and oats, which make
Z an excellent crop for soiling and hay
Il besides the fact that the grain ca
be fed to animals.
d The field being prepared, the yer
IL best alfalfa seed procurable is sowl
u fifteen pounds to the acre, with
q Keyboone sower. Now the groun
: should be narrowed with a spike loot
5 harrow or weeder, ami rolled if tn
e soil is sandy or grayelly The resul
g ing field Of alfalfa is moved the ne,
e year for hay
B. Many people insist upon the appl
# cation of lime to the alfalfa field.
the soil is acid, there is no CORE
y tive like lime but. where there is
}. short rotation of crops, a constaI
Il and careful sowing of animal manu-
% and application of It, there is not veI
II much danger Of the land getting sou
a little time. however, may do goo,
e because the alfalfa bacteria will NJ
D. flourish in soil that is sour.
II IL is safe to reckon that So per ceI
or 80 per cent of the plants will CON
up the following year II does NJ
Y spread. When the patch gets so IN;
il is no longer satisfactory. il shoul
be plowed up and the ground used Il
something else An old alfalfa fiel
when plowed and reduced to fin
SOFT condition makes an excelel
place for a cove crop.
Valuable as alfalfa is as. a feed.
is not as has been claimed, as nutI
tive as an equal amount of wheat
Y W. +. McSparren.