Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1914-02-12
Alfalfa hEGD0
FIRM Sect BED /
FALLcW 10 SAVE MOS.
TuRE--pLoW DEEP MoRk
LAND DOWN WELL MAX.
ING GOOD sEEnBEp
ALFALFA FIELDS
LAST FOR YEARS
Hy VI q. HANEY, Agricultural Exten-
slon Department.
international Harvester Co. 81 New

sion Department
international Harvester Co. of New
Jersey.
The preparation OF q seed bed AZ es-
genital mainly ais d means nf storing
moisture. When the rainfall lis under
twenty inches, the land should be
plawed ten inches deep md summer
fallpwed or, II the soil would drift
from such treatment d thin planting of
corn may be grown nthe land to pres.
vent drifting. If 1t is not necessary
to consider storing moisture 1T Id pre-
ferable to preeede the alfalfa by
cultivated crop, such as corn, pota-
toes, or beans. II possible the land
should be MANFRED,
A Firm Seed Bod Essential.
Alfalfa requires q Arm seed bed. For
this reason lit Is not advisable to pillow
the land Immediately before seeding.
as 1T is almost impossible to get the
soil sufficiently Arm again
In western Kansas. herds OF cattle
are rounded up and driven over the
fields to pack the soil after blowing 1t.
II, In order to get the land leveled up
and In shape to seed, 1t is necessary to
pillow Just before seeding, this blowing
should be as shallow as possible, and
packer. roller, and harrow used 10
make 1t solid agnin. Before seeding,
the surface Of the field should be pro-
yided with perfect drainage BY the
use of leveler, grader. and ploW.
bitches may be made broad with slop-
Ing banks, 81 as not to interfere with
seeding or moving. Alfalfa will not
grow where water stands and freezes
over 1t In winter or gets stagnant In
summer.
IL good surface drainage Is provided
20 that the crowns Of the plants have
plenty Of air and the soil is sweet.
there need be very little concern as
to how deep 1t Is to the water table,
In regions OF plentiful rainfall 1t is
advisable to plant alfalfa OF land hav
ing good natural drainage
The land seeded to alfalfa will not
need to be prepared again for six to
ten years, hence, three Or four times
as much work can we'll be put on 1t
in preparation for alfalfa. Al satisfac,
tory preparation made on the I III C3
farm at Grand Forks, n. u, In 1918,
was as follows:
The land was lii wheat In 1912.
fshould have been fall ploWed but
we did not get the farm until march,.
was MANFRED during the winter, dou-
ble-disked as early as possible, piowed
as q as dry enough labout the mid.
die Of May1, and plow followed by
Campbell sub-slrface packer and hars,
row. Wild oats started so the land
was double-disked ten days later, and.
narrowed the second day after disk,
ing. AS the land was rather cIoddyi
and no rain fell, b frog-foot roller was.
used. land leyeler Was then run
both ways. as the field vas full OF dead
burrows and. back burrows from prev-
ious forty years plowing. The land
Iegeler wal followed BY the pegstooth
harrow.
About ten days later another fine
crop Of weeds was double.disked and
the harrow used later. The middle of
june the field was narrowed and rolled
again with frog-foet roller, Just pre-
yious to seeding with the grain drill.
The single disk drill loosened up the
surface sufficiently for d soil mulch.
Except in a few dead burrows which
were filled with loose, dry dirt, the
seed was put in moist oilsabout one
49, sE4..4MA..AnaNE. ELAE a e.
fact that there was not 4 rain of one
half inch at any one time previous to
July list, and the rainfall for the seq.
son was as follows: April, I.08 In;
May, I.52 in.; June, 1.2l In; July. 1856
In. we have a good. thrifty stand 81
alfalfa. The field lis even and in fine
condition and should continue to Yield
for ten years, though we will doubtless
not leave It down thataeng