Show SECURE LARGEST RETURNS FROM alfair A Z an A N A nice bunch of alfalfa prepared by the tha united stater staten department of agriculture the in method etho 1 I of handling the alfalfa held to get bet tho the largest rectums Is one which interest a large number of farmers both growers of at alfalfa and pro prospective tivo growers experiments recorded in the united states state department men t bulletin no effect of frequent cutting on tho the water requirements of alfalfa and its bearing on pasturage indicate that the tha total consumption of water by alfalfa can be ba controlled to a considerable extent by pasturage or frequent clipping without serious injury to the p plants lanti thus thua by pasturing or clipping tho the crop its ita gro growth will can be regulated to accord with tho amount of available moisture in the soli oft with a limited amount of stored moisture lus evident the greatest production can bo be obtained by allowing tho the crop to grow when the water requirement qui rement Is tho the lowest in tile the spring or fall fait and by keeping the leaf surface at a minimum during the summer through clipping or pasturage the effic lenex of 0 reducing the size of tho the aerial portion of the plant as a means of moisture conservation during periods bt drought has often been observed whenever the moisture supply falls short of the amount necessary to produce normal crops throughout the season summer bummer appears to afford a simple and practical means of obtaining a return from alfalfa commensurate with the available moisture and at the same time reduces the danger of drought injury when the moisture supply la Is ado adequate quate for continuous crop production throughout the season it is believed that close pasturage or clipping would result in a marked reduction in tho the amount of at alfalfa produced consequently where grazing la Is practiced greater production can be secured by intermittent grazing that tha Is by employing several fields which aro are pastured in rotation A practice similar to that suggested above has been cra gradually dually developed in australia and gives the best return in the management of australian alfalfa land the practice Is to grow a liay hay crop in tile the early spring and t pasture the alfalfa during the remainder of tho the year aside from tile the ha hay Y obtained alfalfa Is very valuable in australia for grazing purposes purposes ies because it responds to summer rainfall while the native grasses being annuals afford no late pasturage on a largo large ranch near wagga bagga wag bagga wagga 9 a N S IV W 1000 acres 0 peru alan alfalfa has been handled under this combined system of hay bay and pasturage the alfalfa at athla ranch carries three sheep per acre during the summer autumn and winter months about the first arst of september early spring the sheep are taken off the alfalfa makes a luxuriant growth during the tha cool spring months and a crop ot of from 1500 to 2000 pounds per acre of cured hay bay la is obtained the hay is produced when the weather Is cool and the transportation rate low in other words when the crop Is making the most moat effle efficient tent use of the water supply the normal rainfall in this region la is about 21 inches and Is quite uniformly distributed each month having more than one inch ot of rainfall and only two months june and october corresponding sp to our december and april respectively more than two inches this combined of at hay and pasturage has found much favor in new south wales and Is carried out in a rolling plains country where there Is no chance of and on loam or sandy loam soils |