Show ALFALFA PLANT NEEDS LIME soils sofia that have been irrigated for several years may be expected to be found deficient soils have in a general way been classed as aa soils containing a sufficiency of lime which Is true of 0 most of them in their oil ginal state s consulting chemists on this point in ID regail to alfalfa usually lead to very much qualified if not diverse opinions long and leaves the fanner without much enlightenment of late ears the climatic conditions have been adverse to alfalfa late frosts frosta all and lading down alfalfa for short periods having baving had something to do with short crops but there are probably some other reasons as well A soil deficient lit in buganic matter will not it Is known furnish a proper mt medium diuri for the development of the bacteria that are necessary for the at al falfas beat growth so that it if the soil eoll Is deficient in this the condit condition IOD should ha be remedied as a first step if thereafter the alfalfa falls to thrive and yield as aa heavy crops at as it used to wa 0 roust must seek the tbt reason A soil that hat has been irrigated tor for ten or twenty years and in which the water nater has been carrying the more soluble elements downward during that period may be expected to be deficient Jent in such characteristics as lime near the surface and when wells or dugouts aro arc dug it will be evident that this Is no theory but fact hard pans will be encountered of more or leg lea density at considerable depths to in fact lit in many cases they will not be reached in a visible condition except where it a railroad cut or heavy ecca Is made our present practice of leaving alfalfa down about two years bears and irrigating plentifully does not leid lead to its boring very deeply in search of moisture and as tho the linae lime sinks deeper year by year it becomes more and mole moie inaccessible to the plants the lemady Is not BO 60 bimble as aa it seems because in the worst at af fectea districts it Is hard to maintain a paying stand of alfalfa until it 11 reaches the depth of the limp lime deposit even where a stratum of gravel oi 01 permanent water ater does not arrest the root growth and allow the lime to pass entirely beyond its reach so little has been done in the aest in working out this problem that anal odous case in the east perhaps fur nih ni h as much light as our own condl eions alons in that case lime has made at al falfa to thrive where here it would not grow before and thele seems no afa son why it should not be so BO in the west experimentation along this line need not bo be costly as there are thou sands of tons of lime bang around the beet factories which can be used and a small experiment will prove the truth of its value or the reverse so BO long as aa the soil has a sufficient humus content oiher otherwise wise it will not A load of thirty hundred weight on a quarter of an acre Is enough with lime in such a free condition as this Is to test the matter as five tons to tho tha acre Is an ample application thereafter much lighter dressin dressings 9 Is at frequent intervals of two to three bears ears should be in line with anith the best agricultural practice and ground limestone substituted for slaked lime which though somewhat slower in its action has proved more economical |