Chapter III: Part 3

It has been found where alfalfa shows thrifty vigor, is making a good stand, and is at least two years old, that on the roots are little nodules or wart-like protuberances. On fields where the alfalfa is unthrifty or failing to make a good stand, examination will probably fail to discover any of these nodules. Scientists tell us that these nodules are the homes of bacteria, microscopic vegetable organisms obtaining their sustenance from the nitrogen of the air and the starch of the plant; that they collect much more nitrogen than they need, the over-supply being taken up by the alfalfa, which, after these nodules are formed and occupied, takes no more nitrogen from the soil, but annually stores about its roots more from the air, thus adding to the nitrogen supply in the soil instead of taking from it as do all other farm crops except the legumes. Each legume--clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, etc.--has a distinct species of bacteria, or at least bacteria with a distinct development, excepting, as has been found, that Sweet clover (_Melilotus alba_) and Bur clover (_Medicago denticulata_) develop the same species as does alfalfa.

BUYING INFECTED SOIL

Several methods of preparing land for alfalfa by introducing its peculiar bacteria have been suggested, and practiced to some extent. Many farmers and experimenters have used with success infected soil upon their lands; soil from established alfalfa fields, or that from along the roads or creeks where the Sweet clover or Bur clover has been growing. This soil is spread upon the field or sown with alfalfa just before the seeding. If the drill is to be used the inoculated soil is spread on and harrowed in. If the seed is to be broadcasted, the infected soil may be harrowed in with the seed. It is better, however, to harrow this infected soil in thoroughly before seeding. Experiment stations recommend an application of two hundred pounds of such soil to every acre, but good results have been secured from half that quantity. This will depend very much upon the nature of the soil, and the subsoil especially. Many fields seem to have these bacteria waiting for the coming of alfalfa. Land that has been well manured and contains abundant humus, and land that is light and friable will usually respond to the bacterial life attached to the alfalfa seed. Most farmers who have established fields will sell soil to their neighbors, which should be from the top six or eight inches, and include roots, stubble and earth. Both Sweet clover and Bur clover are found in almost every neighborhood in the northern states, while the latter is very general in the South.

Some alfalfa raisers make a business of selling and shipping inoculated soil. Probably any experiment station will ship small quantities to farmers within its state, at about the cost of digging, sacking and delivering at the railroad station. Therefore, if a farmer desires to use it, little labor or expense is attached to doing so. There is reason, however, to doubt the need of this method in any of the western or central western states where the suggestions mentioned in the first part of the chapter are closely followed. No doubt there are advantages in using it in most states east of the Mississippi river, in order to hasten the development of the bacteria and to make a good stand more certain. Preparation one or two years in advance as already described, by a light sowing of alfalfa seed for introducing its peculiar bacteria, is less expensive, and requires less labor and carries no risk of introducing the seeds of other clovers or weeds. Most farms have enough weed seeds already.

DANGERS OF INOCULATION BY SOIL TRANSFER

Touching upon the dangers possibly resulting from inoculation by soil transfer a bulletin from the United States Department of Agriculture has this to suggest:

“Satisfactory inoculations have been obtained by transferring soil from old fields on which the legume has been grown, but experience has shown that there are dangers incident to such methods of soil transfer which it is wise to avoid.

“The source of supply of such soil should be definitely known, and in no case should soil be used from fields which have previously borne any crop affected with a fungous disease, a bacterial disease, or with nematodes. Where a rotation of crops is practiced, it is often difficult to make sure of this factor, so that the method of soil transfer is, under average circumstances, open to suspicion, if not to positive objection. Numerous animal and plant parasites live in the soil for years, and are already established in so many localities that it is manifestly unwise to ship soil indiscriminately from one portion of the country to another.

“The bacterial diseases of the tomato, potato, and egg plant, and the club-root, brown rot, and wilt disease of the cabbage, all more or less widely distributed, are readily transmitted in the soil; while in the South and West there are the wilt diseases of cotton, melons, sweet potatoes, cowpeas, and flax, and various nematoid and root-rot diseases which might easily become a serious menace over areas much larger than they now occupy if deliberately spread by the careless use of soil for inoculation purposes. There are several insects and fungous diseases of clover to be avoided, and various diseases of beans and peas. There is also a disease of alfalfa, the ‘leaf spot,’ which is causing damage in some regions. These are only a few of many diseases liable to be transmitted in soils. The farmer should therefore be on his guard. The danger from such sources is by no means imaginary. The Department of Agriculture has had specific cases of such accidental distribution reported, and if the business of selling soil for inoculation is made to flourish by farmers purchasing without question ‘alfalfa soil,’ ‘cowpea soil,’ etc., there is every reason to believe that experience will demonstrate the folly of such haphazard methods.

“Of scarcely less importance is the danger of disseminating noxious weeds and insect pests through this plan of inoculation by means of soils. Even though weeds may not have been serious in the field, the great number of dormant seeds, requiring but a slight change in surroundings to produce germination, is always a menace. The enormous damage to crops caused by introduced insects and weeds should convey a warning and lead to caution. It is not the part of good judgment to view the risk as a slight one.”

OTHER METHODS OF INOCULATION

There are two or three better ways of inoculating land than by using a neighbor’s soil. Some alfalfa raisers recommend the sowing of alfalfa meal with the seed. Another plan which appears reasonable and practicable is for the farmer who wishes to introduce alfalfa to buy alfalfa hay the year before and feed it to his live stock; then haul the manure to the fields and plow it under for the crop to precede alfalfa. It is claimed by those who have done this that a satisfactory stand is well-nigh certain, other conditions being met. It can be said, however, that some high authorities on this crop, men who have experimented on many different kinds of soil and who have succeeded under varying conditions, declare that neither soil nor seed inoculation is necessary. It is altogether probable that if a field has been well farmed for a few years previous to the alfalfa-sowing, with unusually good cultivation the preceding year, a heavy application of stable manure plowed under at least five months before, then given the proper preparation and seeding, using seed raised in about the same latitude and under similar conditions in which the new crop must grow, and with seed testing ninety per cent germinable, there should be little anxiety about the need of inoculation. Of course old, worn-out land may require more fertilizers, restoring to the soil not only necessary nitrogen that has been exhausted by other crops, but also the potash and phosphorus. In eastern states it has been found advantageous also to apply a very light top-dressing of stable manure just before sowing the seed. If lime is deficient, that must be applied. An examination of any particular soil will usually be made without charge by the state chemists, and the farmer may thus approximately ascertain just what the soil will need for alfalfa, corn, or any other crop he may desire to raise.

KEEP ON TRYING

It is important to say to the eastern farmers, especially, that there is little difference between successful alfalfa-growing and the successful growing of other crops. Poor farming never brings big crops, nor will poor land produce as big yields as the more fertile. Failure to restore to the soil the necessary elements of which it has been robbed means the same in New York, Kansas, Virginia, or anywhere else. Every farm plant, to prosper, must find in the soil, readily available, the elements needed for its development. If a farmer finds the soil lacking in elements needed for certain crops, he should either apply the deficiency or not attempt their raising. This is true of corn or wheat, cotton, or tobacco, no less than alfalfa.

Alfalfa needs especially nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. The average virgin soil in the United States contains enough of these to last several hundred years. If there had been at all times an intelligent rotation of crops, these chemical elements would be found in just as large proportions in the soil that has been farmed a hundred years as in the soil never cultivated. Hence, if after trying alfalfa a man meets with failure, he should not stop, and say, “Alfalfa won’t grow ‘here’,” but try it again _immediately_. If he discovers a seeming failure in March or April, he should disk and harrow and as early as possible sow about ten pounds of seed to the acre; in many instances he will have to clip his alfalfa in about six or eight weeks and can mow a crop of hay in September, or possibly two hay crops in the season. There have been various cases reported where three hay crops were secured the first season after such cultivation, when the fields had been pronounced a failure in March. Alfalfa may be sown on such ground as late as the first of June if the weeds have been thoroughly subdued. Or, if it has been sown in the spring and the weeds seem to be overtopping it in July, mow close to the ground, rake into windrows and burn. Then disk and harrow thoroughly and sow again. In all probability there will be something of a crop to mow early in September, with a considerable autumn growth to follow. If it is not desired to sow alfalfa in midsummer, disk this ground and sow to rye or oats for pasture; then late in August disk and put in readiness for September sowing. The failure may have been because the soil had not enough bacteria, or favorable environment for the bacteria. Some of the seed sowed at first undoubtedly germinated and some bacteria were developed; enough certainly to prepare the soil for the second sowing. It is unwise after such a failure to go to another field or to wait for another year. It is wiser to meet the conditions at once, and vigorously persevere.

In reference to the application of lime, mentioned on a preceding page, it should be noted that the later experiments seem to indicate that it is better to apply smaller quantities at shorter intervals than larger quantities at longer intervals; also that air-slacked lime is less caustic than the quicklime, and not so liable, when recently applied, to harm the young plants which may come in contact with it, hence more of the former may be used and with greater safety. Ordinarily quicklime is considered the most beneficial.

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_CHAPTER VI._

Cultivation

CLIPPING IS AN INVIGORANT

Strange as this title may seem it suggests a very important means of securing a satisfactory stand. In fact in some parts of the South, where the land has become very foul, it is occasionally recommended to sow the alfalfa in rows, eighteen inches apart, for regular cultivation the first season. After the second year the crowns will have sent up so many stems that the surface of the ground will be well occupied. Spurrier, in his work referred to in Chapter I, recommended drilling in rows and cultivating the first year. But it is better to get rid of the weeds before trying alfalfa. The cultivation here recommended is clipping, manuring, disking and harrowing. Frequently when alfalfa is sowed in the spring it comes up weak and spindling. In such case clip it just before ready to bloom, having the mower sickle set rather high. If the growth is not very heavy, leave this cutting on the ground; if quite heavy, remove it. The field may need to be clipped again during the summer, but the farmer can feel reasonably assured that he will have a good stand the following spring. If the leaves turn yellow, mowing is the remedy. If there is any sign of the “spotted leaf” disease, the mower should be used forthwith. Of course if alfalfa comes up strong, vigorous, and free from weeds, it should stand until blossoming is well begun and then be mown for hay.

It should not be supposed that the purpose in clipping and allowing the clippings to remain on the ground is primarily to make a mulch. It is to retard the weeds, and as no other way equally convenient and economical has presented itself, the young growths are mown and left on the ground.

In many parts of the country Crab grass (_Panicum sanguinale_) is the plant or weed that most persistently interferes with the prosperity of alfalfa during its first year, and frequent mowing is the remedy most recommended and resorted to, but there are growers who maintain that such treatment is not best. An extensive and very successful grower in southern Kansas tells the author repeated experience has demonstrated to his satisfaction that the advice to mow alfalfa frequently during the first summer may under some circumstances be quite wrong. If the season happens to be wet, and there is a rank growth of Crab grass, frequent mowing causes the Crab grass to set in a close sod and smother out the alfalfa. He says: “My practice has been, under these conditions, to let the Crab grass grow with the alfalfa until matured, before mowing. The young alfalfa will usually keep its head out sufficiently to breathe, and will survive until the Crab grass is matured and all is cut. If allowed to mature, the Crab grass will not start a second time, and the alfalfa immediately springs up and occupies the ground. Where the Crab grass is very rank it may sometimes be blown down in spots and smother out some alfalfa, but even under these conditions one will have a much better stand than is possible by repeated mowings. This is not mere theory, but has been proven correct by frequent experience and close observation of the other method during the same seasons.” Something similar may be said of Witch-grass (_Panicum capillare_), which, however, is less obnoxious than the Crab grass, because of not having the habit of rooting at the joints.

In many parts of the country Crab grass (_Panicum sanguinale_) is the plant or weed that most persistently as to make burning in the spring seem the most feasible means of getting rid of them, and fire is resorted to. Prof. A. M. Ten Eyck says he has seen this done a number of times without injury to the alfalfa crowns. He, however, recommends disking after burning, to loosen the exposed soil and leave the surface generally in a better condition. Sowing additional seed on the ground before such disking may do much to improve and thicken the stand.

The editor of the _Nebraska Farmer_ has been collecting information on alfalfa culture from every section of the United States for the past ten years, and as a result of this work unhesitatingly advances the opinion that “nine-tenths of the failures with alfalfa have been due to failure or neglect to cut it as should have been done when young. This is the law of alfalfa culture; it must be cut down. And the man who has not the courage, morally and physically, to use a mowing machine persistently had best pass by alfalfa culture. It takes moral courage to cut baby alfalfa; but it must be cut down to save it.”

MANURING

A light top-dressing of manure after sowing, or, in case of fall sowing, any time during the winter, helps to conserve moisture as well as to give the growing plants some nitrogenous food. Applying a top-dressing of stable manure at least every second or third winter is certain to prove profitable. If it contains coarse straw or other litter, this should be raked and hauled off later, but before the alfalfa grows too high, especially if the hay is intended for the city market. Many successful growers in Kansas, who claim to cut from five to seven tons of alfalfa hay per acre in a season apply a top-dressing of manure every winter. The highest yields reported from eastern states are where this practice is followed. Some experiment station men believe that where this is not done the crop will after eight or ten years tend to impoverish the land instead of further improving it.

DISKING

The foremost method of cultivation is with the disk harrow, one of the most excellent farm implements ever invented. Alfalfa sown in the fall is almost invariably helped by disking the following spring, with the disks set quite straight, so as not to cut the crowns but to split them. It is usually well to follow this disking with a tooth harrow, with its teeth set straight. Occasionally in a dry summer the disk may be used to great advantage after the second, and possibly the third, cutting also. Many disk their alfalfa field every spring, and some after each cutting, others do so only once in every two or three years, owing to weather conditions and the conditions of the alfalfa. In some instances the common harrow is used instead of a disk.

The disking has several beneficial effects. It splits and spreads the crowns, causing more and consequently finer stems to spring up, affording hay of the most delightful quality, easily cured; it loosens the soil about the crowns, conserves moisture and destroys the weeds. There need be no fear of killing the plants if the disks and the harrow-teeth are set straight and weighted or otherwise adjusted to give direct and steady forward movement. As an implement for the cultivation and invigoration of an alfalfa field the disk harrow has no equal, and its frequent use is by those who know it best deemed quite indispensable.

RESEEDING

If it is a question of reseeding the whole field, the problem is simple. In that case disk and harrow the ground and sow half as much seed as was sowed at first. But to restore bare spots is more difficult; the young plants from the reseeding in these spots will be shaded by the larger growth about them, and such reseeding seldom gives the desired results. There is no doubt that very many fields are given up as failures and inferior crops planted in them, when a thorough disking would have renewed the growth, saved a crop, and, what is more important, a stand of alfalfa. Many reports have come to the writer of fields that had little sign of life the first of March, yet when thoroughly disked, cross-disked and harrowed, surprised the neighborhood by showing in two weeks a strong growth.

Some wishing to be on the safe side, have sown a little seed after this heavy disking and harrowing, but many of them have reported an entire loss of the seed, as the plants from the previous sowing came up so thick as to choke out those from the later seeding. In some states a common plan of thickening a stand is to let the third crop ripen seed, and then about the last of September disk and harrow the seed into the ground where it grew. This frequently saves the stand and adds many years to its life. But where a field begins to fail after a third year it is usually better to plow it up and raise one or two crops of corn, a crop of oats or of millet, and then reseed.

ALFALFA UNDER IRRIGATION

The greatest yields of alfalfa are produced by irrigation. Reported yields of six or more cuttings, aggregating eight to twelve tons per acre each year, are almost invariably, yet not always, from districts where irrigation is practiced. It is claimed by experiment station experts from the irrigation states that the tendency is to use too much water; too much at a time and too often. The general recommendation is to irrigate thoroughly before the ground is plowed or disked, and not again till the alfalfa is about four inches high. Then again a week before each cutting. It has been found that old alfalfa fields do not need as much water as new fields, the alfalfa roots seeming to find moisture and bring it to the surface.

It is insisted that the surface must be perfectly smooth to keep water from settling into low places and smothering the plants. Some farmers do not irrigate for the second crop if as much as two inches of rain falls after the first mowing. Others claim that old fields do not need flooding for the second crop even if there has been no rainfall after the first cutting.

Wilcox in his “Irrigation Farming”[3] says: “The critical time with alfalfa is the first six weeks of its growth. Flooding during this period is quite certain to give the plants a backset from which they seldom fully recover before the second, and sometimes not before the third year, and it is not often in the arid states that rain falls with sufficient frequency to dispense with the necessity for irrigating the plants while small. By soaking the earth from thirty-six to forty-eight hours before seeding, however, the plants will make vigorous growth until they are ten to twelve inches high, after which they may be irrigated with safety.

[3] “Irrigation Farming,” by Lute Wilcox: 314 pp. Orange Judd Company,
New York.

“When alfalfa has become established, a single copious irrigation after each cutting will ordinarily be found sufficient. Irrigation before cutting is undesirable, because it leaves the earth so soft as to interfere with the movement of machinery and loads. It also makes the stalks more sappy, and, while they will retain the leaves better, there is more difficulty to be experienced in the curing at harvest time; and taken all in all, we much prefer to irrigate after each cutting. In Colorado we cut alfalfa three times and often four times in a season, hence the stand gets as many irrigations. Some people irrigate very early in springtime, before the crowns have awakened from their hibernal rest, but this practice is not right. The chill of the water in very early spring is not conducive to quick growth and may often retard the plants in getting an early start. We do not irrigate prior to the first cutting unless the season is particularly dry and the plants seem to actually demand water. We irrigate late in the fall and apply a top-dressing of light barnyard manure, which is found to be of great service in several ways.”

INFLUENCE OF IRRIGATION UPON COMPOSITION

I find no report of experiments published by any station in which the influence of irrigation upon alfalfa hay is made a special study, but Bulletin No. 80 of the Utah station contains a great deal of information along this line relative to grain crops, potatoes, and mixed grasses. In summing up the results of the experiments, the following conclusions are

“Heavy irrigations increase the percentage of weight of the heads of plants; light irrigations increase the relative weight of leaves.

“Irrigation modifies definitely the composition of plants and plant parts; the seeds are affected more than any other plant part.

“The percentage of protein in corn kernels was increased from 12.05 to 15.08, as the amount of irrigation decreased; in oat kernels from 14.07 to 20.79; in wheat kernels from 15.26 to 26.72. In all these seeds the fat and nitrogen-free extracts were increased by liberal waterings.

“Increased irrigations increased the starch content and decreased the protein content of potatoes.

“The water in plants is somewhat dependent on the water in the soil.

“The proportion of ear corn to stover increased regularly with the increased application of water.

“The percentage of grain in the wheat crop increased with increased irrigations.

“The yield of wheat increased up to thirty inches of water.

“Crops in an arid district require a greater number of pounds of water for one pound of dry matter than in humid climates.”

The experiments cited do not include alfalfa, yet the results with other crops would indicate that the percentage of protein in alfalfa hay may be less where the crop is grown by irrigation than where it is grown by dry-land farming. The composition of the hay, however, will depend upon the quantity of water supplied to the crop and not upon the method; that is, alfalfa which receives as much natural rainfall as other alfalfa would receive by irrigation, would be similarly affected in composition, and from the experiments with grains reported in the bulletin noted, it would appear that with the application of large quantities of water the percentage of protein is decreased; yet, the yield is increased, and although the feeding value of the crop may be a little less, the quantity may be greater, due to large applications of water.

WIDE VARIATIONS IN CONTENT

Professor Ten Eyck compiled from their station bulletins the following figures on the composition of alfalfa hay in four different states:

----------+--------+----------+----------+----------+---------
|Bulletin| | Carbo- | |Number of
| Number | Protein | hydrates | Fat |Analyses
----------+--------+----------+----------+----------+---------
| |_Per Cent_|_Per Cent_|_Per Cent_|
New Jersey| 148 | 15.84 | 38.97 | 3.82 | 2
Colorado | 39 | 17.36 | 36.71 | 1.65 | 9
Utah | 61 | 9.22 | 43.25 | .97 | 29
Kansas | 114 | 11.89 | 41.03 | .66 | 3
----------+--------+----------+----------+----------+---------

On this showing he remarks:

“Although it was not definitely stated, I take it that the Colorado and Utah hay were grown by irrigation, while the New Jersey and Kansas hay received no irrigation. It will be observed that while the percentages of protein and fat in the Utah samples are low, the percentage of carbohydrates is high; yet the Colorado samples grown under irrigation show a larger percentage of protein and fat than the Kansas samples grown without irrigation. The crude protein often varies in quantity according to the stage of maturity of the alfalfa when it is cut for hay, as shown by experiments at the Kansas station, and described in Bulletin No. 114.

“The general conclusion may be that the protein content of alfalfa hay will decrease to some extent, according as the supply of water furnished the crop is increased; that is, by supplying the right quantity of water, a better quality of hay may be grown by irrigation than is often grown in humid climates in soil which receives only the natural rainfall. From what I know of the Colorado and Utah stations, I would judge that the quantity of water supplied at the Utah station was much larger than that supplied at the Colorado station. At the Colorado station the supply of irrigation water is often limited, and hence, the larger percentage of protein and fat which appears in the samples of hay grown and analyzed at that station.”

The annual report of the secretary of agriculture (1904) says that at the Utah station a series of co-operative experiments is in progress to determine the water necessary, and the most favorable method of application, to insure a maximum yield of alfalfa, and also experiments to determine the minimum application of water required to secure a crop. “It has been found that abundant irrigation throughout the season, 61 inches of water being applied, gave a yield of 6.2 tons per acre, while four irrigations in the early part of the season with only 25 inches gave five tons per acre, showing that beyond a certain supply the excess is wasted.”

A. S. Hitchcock, in United States Farmers’ Bulletin No. 215, speaking of the Utah experiment just mentioned, says that where the supply of water is limited a much less quantity than is ordinarily used will produce paying crops. The minimum quantity to produce a crop of alfalfa, and the time at which the water should be applied, depends upon the soil and climatic conditions. Below are results of experiments in 1903, by the Utah station:

WATER REQUIRED BY ALFALFA; QUANTITY AND DATE OF APPLICATION

-------------------------------------------------------------+-------
Date of each irrigation and quantity of water applied | Total
--------------+--------------+--------------+----------------+ Water
First | Second | Third | Fourth |applied
-------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+--------+-------
|_Acre_| |_Acre_| |_Acre_| | _Acre_ |_Acre_
| _in._| | _in._| | _in._| | _in._ |_in._
June 16| 3.360|July 29| 3.359| .... | .... | .... | .... | 6.719
June 29| 5.970|July 29| 3.359|Aug. 19| 3.359| .... | .... |12.688
June 16| 5.070|July 8 | 5.036|Aug. 6 | 5.003| .... | .... |15.109
June 29| 7.020|July 8 | 5.036|Aug. 19| 5.002| .... | .... |17.058
June 15| 5.030|July 3 | 5.100|Aug. 1 | 5.036|Aug. 24| 5.002|20.168
June 20| 6.774|July 8 | 6.694|Aug. 19| 6.682| .... | .... |20.150
July 8|12.490|Aug. 9 |12.506| .... | .... | .... | .... |25.002
June 20| 8.303|July 6 | 8.352|Aug. 19| 8.362| .... | .... |25.017
June 15| 6.320|July 6 | 6.248|Aug. 1 | 6.248|Aug. 29| 6.250|25.066
June 16| 6.250|June 23| 4.280|June 30| 5.705|July 7 |[4]5.230|61.465
June 23| 6.250|July 7 | 6.220|Aug. 15| 6.250|Aug. 31| 6.250|24.970
June 16| 6.250|July 7 | 6.220|Aug. 6 | 6.750|Aug. 31| 6.250|25.470
June 23| 6.610|July 7 | 3.720|Aug. 15| 3.250|Aug. 31| 3.750|17.330
June 16| 3.980|July 7 | 3.720|Aug. 6 | 3.750|Aug. 31| 3.750|15.200
-------+------+-------+------+-------+------+-------+--------+-------

[4] This plat was given 5 inches of water on each of the following
dates: July 14, July 22, July 28, August 4, August 17, August 25,
August 31, September 8.

DATE OF HARVEST AND YIELD OF HAY

--------------------------------------------------+--------+----------
Date of harvest and yield of hay at each cutting | Total |Calculated
----------------+----------------+----------------+ yield | yield
First | Second | Third | of plat| per acre
-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+--------+----------
|_Pounds_| |_Pounds_| .... |_Pounds_|_Pounds_| _Tons_
June 26| 264 |Aug. 12| 50¹⁄₂| .... | .... | 314¹⁄₂| 3.145
June 26| 177 |Aug. 12| 101 | .... | .... | 278 | 2.780
June 26| 261 |Aug. 12| 68¹⁄₂| .... | .... | 329¹⁄₂| 3.205
June 26| 204 |Aug. 12| 108¹⁄₂| .... | .... | 312¹⁄₂| 3.125
June 26| 191 |Aug. 12| 85¹⁄₂| .... | .... | 276¹⁄₂| 2.765
June 26| 175 |Aug. 12| 74 | .... | .... | 249 | 2.490
June 26| 93 |Aug. 12| 62 | .... | .... | 155 | 1.550
June 26| 99 |Aug. 12| 44 | .... | .... | 143 | 1.430
June 26| 224 |Aug. 12| 140 | .... | .... | 364 | 3.640
June 18| 176¹⁄₂|Aug. 10| 177¹⁄₄|Oct. 16| 120¹⁄₂| 474¹⁄₄| 6.243
June 18| 170¹⁄₂|Aug. 10| 136¹⁄₂|Oct. 16| 73³⁄₄| 380³⁄₄| 5.017
June 18| 147 |Aug. 10| 141 |Oct. 16| 61 | 349 | 4.598
June 18| 105 |Aug. 10| 112¹⁄₄|Oct. 16| 46 | 263¹⁄₄| 3.468
June 18| 112¹⁄₂|Aug. 10| 106 |Oct. 16| 35 | 253¹⁄₂| 3.340
-------+--------+-------+--------+-------+--------+--------+----------

“It will be observed that the maximum crop was produced by applying plenty of water throughout the growing season. However, it is also to be noted that a much less quantity of water, when applied at intervals of three or four weeks, produced a fair crop. Fifteen and 17 inches of water applied in this way produced more than half as much as 61 inches applied at frequent intervals. Furthermore, three irrigations of 15 to 17 inches produced about the same results as the same amount applied at four irrigations. In applying irrigation water to fields it is necessary to saturate the soil to a reasonable depth. All the water that drains off beyond the amount required for use is lost to the crop. It is not necessary to apply water again until the crop has removed a large part of the available supply.”

_CHAPTER VII._

Harvesting

CALLS FOR INTELLIGENCE AND PAINSTAKING

Considerable space in this volume is devoted to the discussion of soil and seeding, but their importance cannot well be over-estimated. Really the whole subject of alfalfa might well be treated under the two heads, “Seeding” and “Harvesting,” so very inclusive are these two phases of the subject. Without careful seeding one cannot have a crop to harvest, and without careful harvesting he might almost as well not have a crop. Both call for intelligence and painstaking farming, and much patience and hard work. But the rewards of these virtues and labors are heavy yields from the most valuable forage plant. If it is worth nine times as much as timothy, it can well demand a little more time and labor than the average crop.

GREAT VALUE OF LEAVES

The first point to accentuate as we approach the subject of harvesting is the preeminent value of the leaves. These contain from seventy-five to eighty per cent of the protein of the whole plant, that valuable compound that goes to produce milk and meat. It has been estimated that a ton of properly cured alfalfa leaves is equal in protein to 2800 pounds of wheat bran; and when it is also estimated by careful observers that the loss of leaves in harvesting, even under favoring circumstances, ranges from fifteen to thirty or more per cent it is readily seen that the harvesting is an important part in alfalfa haymaking.

WHEN TO CUT

For the best hay the cutting should begin when the alfalfa is about one-tenth in bloom. Of course, if the acreage is small, calling for but one or two days’ cutting, it might stand without particular harm until a fifth or fourth was in bloom. Cutting should be completed, if possible, by the time one-half is in bloom, as after that it is cut at a loss of leaves. As they have more experience the tendency among farmers is to cut alfalfa earlier than had before been believed at all desirable, and some experienced growers and feeders now insist upon cutting just before the blossoming stage is reached.

Experiments seem to show that horses like the hay that has been cut when at least half in bloom, or later, better than do other stock. For sake of the after effects on the plant, it is highly important that the first cutting be made in the early bloom, as, if it is delayed, the second crop starts more slowly and gives a lighter yield. Frequently a short delay in cutting the first crop means that the field will produce but two crops instead of three or four. So important is this that Prof. H. M. Cottrell declares that he has found it profitable to cut the first crop of a season in earliest bloom even if it were to be injured by being rained upon, or in fact entirely lost.

MOST PROTEIN IN EARLY CUTTINGS

The Utah experiment station found by a feeding test that the early cut alfalfa was worth far more than any later cutting. It reported:

------------------------------+----------+-----------
|Hay worth,| Beef, lbs.
Stage of Growth | per ton | produced
------------------------------+----------+-----------
When ¹⁄₁₀ in bloom | $5.35 | 706
When in full bloom | 4.90 | 562
When ¹⁄₂ of blooms have fallen| 4.35 | 490
------------------------------+----------+-----------

The Kansas station found the protein content to be:

Stage of Growth Protein content
When ¹⁄₁₀ in bloom 18.5 per cent.
When ¹⁄₂ in bloom 17.2 „ „
When in full bloom 14.4 „ „

CONSTANT WATCHFULNESS DEMANDED

In humid regions, the alfalfa farmer at the time of the first cutting often finds himself in a trying position. The value of the leaves demands early cutting, and this may be just when it is likely to rain with great frequency. He knows that a wetting will injure his hay, and that this results in more or less loss of some of its most valuable parts from the hour of cutting until it is thoroughly cured. The Colorado station reports that alfalfa hay left out for fifteen days after cutting and rained on twice, lost 26.1 per cent of its feeding value. Hay left out for seven days and having only one light rain, lost 10 per cent. Another lot left out three days, without rain, lost 5 per cent. Wetting delays the curing, and by the washing the hay loses much sugar, dextrin and other soluble matters, and also develops fungi. However, the only thing to do is to cut, exercising good judgment of course as to the amount each day.

LOSSES IN CURING

Headden found, at the Colorado station, that in an average alfalfa plant the stems amounted to forty to fifty per cent of the weight, while with very leafy, small-stemmed plants the leaves sometimes form more than sixty per cent of the entire weight. The leaves were readily lost if the hay was not handled carefully. He concluded that the minimum loss from the falling off of the leaves and stems in careful haymaking amounts to from fifteen to twenty per cent; and in cases where conditions have been unfavorable, as much as sixty or even sixty-six per cent of the entire dry crop is lost. Stated in another way, with the best of conditions, and with great care, for every 1,700 pounds of hay taken off the field, at least 300 pounds of leaves and stems are left scattered on the ground, “and, in very bad cases, as much as 1,200 pounds may be left for each 800 pounds taken.” A study of these facts should induce the careful haymaker to use all possible skill in curing alfalfa, and they show that it will be profitable to expend more than the usual amount of labor in saving the leaves, considering that they are worth, pound for pound, nearly four times as much as the stems.

HARVESTING IN HUMID REGIONS

Ordinarily, it is not well to cut alfalfa immediately after a heavy rain, because the wet ground will operate against proper curing. Begin cutting in the morning, when the dew is well off. If the weather is fair, the tedder ought to follow about two hours behind the mower. It is a mistake to think that the sun is the great curing agent. Too long exposure to the sun makes the curing all the more unsatisfactory, besides drying the leaves in such a way that they crumble and drop off.

As long as alfalfa remains “alive” water will be exhaled from the surface of the leaves and be pumped constantly from the stalks in a natural way much as though they were still standing. On the other hand, if newly cut alfalfa is spread too long in hot sunshine, the leaves are scorched to such an extent that transpiration of moisture from pores becomes impossible. Hence, that in the stalks can only escape by simple evaporation, which is very slow. By this means much undesirable, in fact harmful, moisture in the hay is brought to the barn or stack, although the leaves of the hay are dry and crisp.

As J. E. Wing has well said in his bulletin (Bul. No. 129 prepared for the Pennsylvania department of agriculture), “there is a principle to be observed in making alfalfa hay that applies to making hay from all clovers. If it can be so managed that the leaves are not at once burned and dried to powder, the moisture from the stems is the more easily removed. Leaves are natural evaporators of sap; stems are not. Therefore, while the leaf has yet pliancy and some semblance of its natural condition, it is most efficiently carrying away the sap of the stem, but when it is dried up it no longer aids in drying the plant at all. Therefore, the best hay in all respects is made partly in the shade, in loosely turned windrows, or in narrow cocks.”

Two or three hours behind the tedder start the rake and keep it going regardless of the noon hour, and unless the hay is very heavy it may be put into small cocks, this to be completed before the dew forms. In humid regions, hay is cured best and with greatest safety by the use of hay-caps, and these should be put on the cocks also before the dew forms, and removed each morning. The hay may be left in these cocks for four or five days, as found necessary, and then stacked or stored in the barn. This may not follow, however, unless the weather is favorable. Many prefer to leave the hay in the windrows until the second morning, turning them by hand or otherwise before noon and putting into cocks in the afternoon, letting these stand for two or three days. If it is left in the cocks over three days, they should be moved or the plants under them will be smothered. All agree that alfalfa should not lie in the swath over two or three hours. Most who have ever used a tedder like it if the alfalfa is less than half in bloom. If half or more in bloom, the tedder may cause the breaking off and loss of many leaves. Most experiment stations recommend that the hay be put into small cocks on the day of the cutting, if the weather is at all fair, not risking it in the windrows over night. It is a fact that cocked green alfalfa, even without caps, will shed much rain, while when fairly well-cured it will not do so.

A Colorado farmer reported that he started the mower one morning as soon as the dew was off, followed it with the tedder one hour later, and with the rake one hour behind the tedder; he kept a force of men only two hours behind the rake putting the alfalfa, yet quite green, into small cocks. These stood through two days of heavy rain. Later the cocks were opened and found to be unharmed, and after one day the hay was put into stacks in excellent condition. This was a somewhat unusual circumstance, surely, and might not often occur in a climate less dry than that in some parts of Colorado.

A grower in southern Kansas, however, who harvests about one thousand tons of alfalfa per year, and is working with it nearly every day from the second week in May until November 10, insists that alfalfa, under the same conditions of rainfall, is much easier to save in fair feeding condition than red clover. He finds the side-delivery rake especially excellent for turning over the green or wet windrows to the sun and air with the least loss of leaves, and cured thus, after being wet, the natural color is better preserved. “That alfalfa hay has a higher feeding value than almost any other, even when saved under the most unfavorable circumstances, should be impressed upon the inexperienced.”

THE USE OF HAY-CAPS

Any man who goes into the business of raising alfalfa anywhere in the rain belt cannot well afford to ignore hay-caps as a part of his equipment. Comparatively the cost is slight and the trouble of using them small considered in the light of their great utility, although the expense, and the use and care of them may at first blush appear to be quite formidable. American haymakers do not seem to appreciate the bad effect of dew upon the color and aroma of all kinds of hay. Prof. F. H. Storer in his “Agriculture” (Vol. III, p. 559) says: “One advantage gained by the use of hay-caps to protect the cocks during the night, is that they hold in the raked-up warmth, and keep the hay from cooling off. Thus it happens that the hay not only improves a little as to dryness during the night, but is all ready to dry rapidly when the cocks are again exposed to the air and sunshine, on being uncovered in the morning. All this as a normal and constant benefit, to say nothing of the advantages derived from the caps in case light rains, or even heavy rains, should fall before the cocks are again opened. The caps keep dew from settling upon the hay, moreover, and thus prevent the loss of aromatic matters that would result if the dew were to dry off from the hay.”

“With regard to the exclusion of dew, it is not alone its power to carry off aroma that should be considered. When dew ‘falls’ it must tend to carry with it any particles of solid matter that may happen to be in the air from which it is deposited, and, in this way the spores of fungi, such as would cause the hay to mold, are put upon it. It can scarcely be questioned that many of the organisms deposited with the dew are likely to promote hurtful decomposition, especially in case the hay should remain or become damp, and the less of these organisms that infest the hay the better it will be.”

When the farmer considers that a ton of well-cured alfalfa hay is worth about as much as a ton of wheat bran, he ought to see that it is profitable to protect it from the rain and the dew. He would scarcely hesitate to provide suitable covering if he had several tons of bran in the field exposed to the elements. Hay-caps will soon pay for themselves by the finer quality of the hay they assure, aside from the larger quantity of the best grade that their protection guarantees.

Storer further says, “there can be no question as to the very great merit of hay-caps when properly used. They are simply pieces of stout, cotton cloth of suitable size, say 40 to 45 inches square as a minimum, (60 inches square would be far better--Author) which are thrown over the cocks when rain is imminent, or at nightfall. These cloths may have wooden pegs or some sort of weight attached to each corner to hold them in place; the pegs can be driven into the ground or pushed under the hay, as seems most suitable to the size of the cock or conditions of the weather. The porosity of the cotton cloth hinders dampness from collecting beneath it at the top of the cock which it covers.”

Curing alfalfa in dry regions where the problems and dangers of rainfall do not need any large consideration, is attended with few of the difficulties which confront the grower in a region of much humidity. In western Kansas and Nebraska, and in Texas and other states where summer rains are somewhat infrequent, the mowers start at the beginning and do not stop until the field or fields of alfalfa are all in the swath. The rakes follow close behind, frequently the side-delivery rake, and then the gathering implement, usually designated as a “go-devil,” keep only about a half-day behind, dragging the cured hay to the stack or rick where the horse-fork lifts and carries it to the center of the stack, to be distributed and placed by men with pitchforks. The market and feeding value of hay so cured and gathered, is deemed by some authorities as not the highest. Curing in the windrow alone is likely to be a mere drying (perhaps too rapid drying) of one side of the exposed portions. Alfalfa should cure successively in the swath, windrow, cock and stack or mow, to develop its greatest value. The man who has so many acres that he cannot cure it in this way might do better with fewer acres for hay, and pasture hogs on the remainder, or use the land for other crops. Still it is true that alfalfa even poorly cured has no inconsiderable feeding value. Many farmers in the West and Middle West claim to secure very good hay by early following the mower with the tedder, this with the rake, and then the “buncher,” letting the hay remain in bunches over night and dragging it to the stack the next day. Others take from the windrow to wagons by a hay-loader, preferably one operated by a belt.

After all is said and done, and regardless of thrift and yield, it is unquestionable that the grower of alfalfa in humid regions meets with difficulties in the matter of satisfactory curing that in some years are almost or quite disheartening, and of a character to which his brother in arid territory is virtually a total stranger. Curing in the two regions presents different problems, with advantage all the time favoring the man in the country of little rainfall.

Second and later cuttings are not so much endangered by rains as is the first, and, hence, these are usually cured in better condition. Notwithstanding this, virtually all tests point out that the first cutting has more feeding value and is better relished by all kinds of stock. Most farmers are agreed that it pays to cut every time the alfalfa blooms, up to the last of September in the North, and possibly a month later in the more southern latitudes. A few have reported that they prefer to make but two cuttings a year, claiming to realize a greater feeding value by so doing; but it seems that the loss in leaves and protein, together with the fact that live stock has less relish for the more mature cuttings, makes frequent cutting by far the most profitable.

To sum up, the points to be emphasized in cutting alfalfa for hay, and its treatment immediately after, are:

_Cut in early bloom._

_Handle as little as possible._

_Prevent its being wet after cutting._

_Cure if possible partly in the swath, in the windrow, in the cock and in the stack or mow._

_Cut as often as it blooms, which will range from twice in New England to nine times a year in southern Oklahoma, southern California, Texas and Louisiana._

_In a region of frequent rains protect with hay-caps._

HARVESTING FOR SEED

The first cutting should not be used for seed for three reasons: First, if that cutting is delayed until the seed has ripened, the second and third cuttings will be very light, and in the extreme northern alfalfa territory there may not be even a second. A stronger reason is that at the time of the first cutting, favorable weather is likely to be much less certain and rains will interfere with the stacking of the seed crop, which, to insure its best value, must be put in the stack or mow without wetting. Another is that the seed pods at that season are not usually so well filled and the proportion of fertile seeds is less because the bees and other insects have not so early in the season had time and opportunity to aid in the pollenation.