Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-11-07

the location ti tHr iclt. AllalfA can
bee grown ON wide variation of soils,
vet ou It's first trial ON farm II is
best ~ sow ON high. we'll drained land.
\ rich clay loan Oh top of gravel or
limeStou, Is the IDEAL location, but it
will grow ou all types Of soil, varying
from q hcay! clay to medium sandy
loHm. If other conditions are favorable.
\ gentle slope should be selected. ON
level hand water will gather on the
surface from rains or melting snow.
and il freezing weather follows ice
will form and smother the plants. The
fields will then become ratchy ANA
should he pioWed and reSceded. For
the same reason Il creek or river bot
tom that is subject to overflow should
not be selected. rs the alfalfa plants,
if submerged fer a few hours, will die
from suffucatjon Land that has the
water line only two or three feet he
low the surface should be avoided. as
/ the plant needs well drained soils.
/ The natural home for alfalfa is on
/ limestone soils or soils that have Il
goodly supply of carbonate of lime in
/ them. No matter how favorable other
/ conditions may be. if the soil is sour
and gives a strong acid reaction it will
I be necessary to neutralize the acidity
| TO some extent before it will be posi-
| bic to get the best results.
! Acid land can occasionally he deter
mined by plants such as sheep sorrel
and mares tail that thrive thereon. 1t
can always he determined 10y testing
with blue litnus paper which can be
obtained from the druggist. Take some
moist earth from a few inches beneath
the surface of the ground and press
it firmly over Il strip of litmus paper.
| DO not handle the litmus paper when
the hands are moist, as the perspira
| ton from them may cause the paper to
show an acid reaction when no acid
is present in the soil. After the paper
| has remained in the soil for ten or
fifteen minutes. If it has changed in
color from blue to pink or red the
soil is acid and this acidity should be
corrected to certain degree before
alfalfa can be grown to advantage.
The beginner should SOW only small
acreage until he he's studied the condi-
tons Of the farm In rela ton to this
crop. One or two acres are sufficient to
start with. Land that has been in
young sod the previous year and then
run to potatoes, corn, peas or some
root crop whore clean culture was
practiced is most suitable. This
should be fall plowed seven or eight
inches deep. so as to have deep. mel
low seed bed
! In the early spring run the disk over
the land and then follow with fine
tooth harrow at weekly intervals until
about June 1. so the weeds will sprout
and be killed. The alfalfa seed is then
sown without any nurse crop, using
twenty pounds per acre. The practice
Of sowing alfalfa with nurse crop is
being displaced by the method of SOW
ing the seed alone and with much bet
| ter results. Where the land Is ex-
tremely weedy 1t Is advisable to sum-
mer fallow and SOW to alfalfa the first
week in August. If weedy the land
should be plowed after the crop is re-
moved and fine tooth harrow run at
intervals to kill weeds through the lat
ter part Of summer and early fall. Fer
best results one ton Of earth per acre
should be scattered Immediately pre-
ceding the sowing Of the alfalfa seed.
Occasionally the alfalfa will come into
bud and hesitate to blossom. Sprouts
will then Immediately start at the base.
1t should be cut when those conditions
prevail, even though no blossoms ap-
pear.
In the afternoon Of the same day of
cutting, If weather has been favorable
the alfalfa can be raked and put into
small cocks The cocks should not be
left standing in the field more than
two or three days during wet weather
without moving or the alfalfa plants
underneath the cocks will be partially
or completely smothered. BY running
pitchfork into cock of alfalfa near
the bottom one can easily move the
pile. II alfalfa is exceedingly green
when cooked or rainy weather sets III
it will heat unless the cocks are open.
ed every day or two. In favorable
weather no more difficulty will be ex.
perienced in curing alfalfa than In cur
ing heavy growths Of clover, much
better quality will be secured if the
crop is cured under hay caps.
The Importance and popularity Of the
plant are such that the present acreage
in Wisconsin will probably double in
the next three years. For the past
twelve years the department of agron.
omy of the Wisconsin experiment sta.
ton has carried on experiments and
issued bulletins bearing uT1n the cul
: ture Of alfalfa. The call for infOrma.
ton has been so great that the last
bulletin is entirely exhausted. and ne
cessity demands new edition.
J An association of select alfalfa
, growers and eXperimenters, known as
the Alfalfa Order Of the Wisconsin
Experiment association has been re
Gently organized. The aim and pur
, poses of the organization are to grow
alfalfa and disseminate knowledge re
/ garding it. The association is coop