The method of seeding found most satisfactory is with horse-drills, which deposit the seed at a depth of an inch or less, in rows six to eight inches apart, fifteen to twenty pounds per acre, on land in fine tilth, harrowed smooth, and somewhat compacted rather than light and po rous. By some growers, half of the seed is drilled in one direction and the other half crosswise of this, to facili tate its more equable distri bution. Other growers sow the seed broadcast from either the hand or a machine. Sowing in August is more popular than spring seeding, and without a nurse crop. A disk-harrow, which stirs the soil surface, destroys weeds, and splits and spreads the root crowns, causing an increased number and finer growth of stems, is the approved cultivator, and on many fields it is used immediately after each mowing, always adding vigor to the suc ceeding growth.
Alfalfa in the East.
It should be known that alfalfa was independently introduced in the East, although its present vogue has been quickened by the interest arising in the West. An earnest attempt was made to introduce it into New York state (under its French name, lucerne), in 1790 to 1800. In 1793, Robert Living ston had fifteen acres growing in Jefferson county, divided into seven plots, each given different treatment. It is reported as "growing luxuriantly" during the first season, then turning yellow and "pining away." In 1819, it was tried in Central New York by Sterling Lamson and Moses Dewitt with about the same result, although straggling plants from this parentage, it is thought, are still growing. In 1852, Henry _Wigs exhibited a few plants before the American Institute in New York.
All of these attempts seem to have proved un satisfactory, and alfalfa-growing on a successful basis can be traced to a shipment of seed in the chaff, which was hand-gathered on the Pacific coast and sent to Onondaga county, New York, in 1867. With this came the inoculation which seemed nec essary to prevent the plants dying the second year because of the lack of root nodules.
In 1894, the New York State Experiment Station at Geneva issued a bulletin on "Alfalfa Forage for Milch Cows," and the agitation of the subject at farmers' institutes, together with the reports of successful fields in Onondaga county, New York, seemed to awaken new interest in the crop ; and a little later, when it was learned definitely that old fields where it was growing successfully contained bacteria which could be transplanted to other fields and cause the plant to grow there, its spread be came more rapid and today marks one of the great achievements of science as applied to agriculture. Where drainage and physical conditions are favor able in the East, alfalfa will flourish, if seeded prop erly and the soil inoculated when necessary.
It is usually advised, in the East, to sow alfalfa in spring (between oat and corn planting) unless the land is very foul, in which case the land may be cleaned and the seed sown in July or August.
In the East, where dairy farming in the future must occupy the attention of a large proportion of land-owners, the advent of alfalfa marks a new era. Home-grown protein in alfalfa will solve the ques tion of economical milk production, whether the silo can be made available or not.
The first and last cuttings of alfalfa can be ensiled if the weather conditions are not favorable for curing it for hay.. The writer put the first alfalfa into the silo in 1891, and has stored more or less of it in that way each year since with satis factory results. This method solves the curing of the first crop, which is the greatest difficulty to be overcome in the East. Alfalfa is now being ground into meal, and if the last crop, cut before it is in blossom, is used for this purpose, it makes a very satisfactory product. The first alfalfa meal was ground in Fayetteville, New York, in 1891, the machines being made by Samuel Jackson.