| Show SOWING ALFALFA CROP NO PLANT 18 MORE AFFECTED BY conditions in all region not under irrigation advice ie almost universally given to plant in row prom 30 to 36 hinchee apart by enof THOMAS SHAW the last word ha not been eald yet as to the best way to sow alfalfa some who pose ag teachers on this question are very sure that their ad vice is correct the less the expert ence these men have bad in growing it the more positive are they that they are correct there la no plant that Is more affected by conditions the plan therefore that Is best in one locality may be tar from the best in another it Is greatly important therefore that all those differences shall be noted and noted carefully in all the region not under alon from the western rim of the red river valley to the cascade mountains the advice Is almost universally given to grow alfalfa in rows from 30 to 36 inches apart under some conditions of growth the advice Is good under other conditions it Is misleading where the conditions are very dry it may be best to grow the crop in rows spaced thus widely but it will ably be found that in much of the dry country it will be better to grow it in rows not more than say 12 inches dis tant one objection to growing the crop in wide spaced rows arises from the soiling of the crop when it Is being harvested when it Is mowed much of it falls on bare bull the horses that draw the mower tramp over it this aids in the soiling of the crop more or less it Is then raked and the raking process adds more to the adherent dust of course where the conditions are such that it cannot be grown without spacing the rows thus widely this Is one of the things that must be borne with if the crop Is sown with the grain drill and every other drill tube Is plugged the rows will then be about twelve inches apart the plants will then have a fair amount of room if small quantities of the seed are used the crop may then be kept clean with the disk and barrow a process that Is much quicker than the cultivation of the wide spaced rows can be there would then be enough of plants on the ground to keep the crop from being soiled with earth while jt Is being harvested the question may be raised bow Is one to know in the absence of expert ence whether to plant in wide spaced rows or in those that are clobert the answer Is that it can only be known by trying before rushing blindly in to the matter and planting a large area one way or the other it Is better to go a little slower and plant only a moderate quantity by each of the two methods of course where one of these has been tried and found sue cess ful under the same conditions this experience may be safely taken as a guide for that locality where the rainfall Is not less than 14 or 15 inches in a year it has yet to be proved that it Is belter to grow alfalfa in wide rows than otherwise when it Is grown or hay possibly it may be different when it Is grown for seed more light Is wanted on this question should the average rain fall be as low as 10 to 12 inches it will probably be found that it will pay better to grow it in wide spaced rows in dry areas the preparation of the eol Is greatly important the prepa ration should be such that much moisture will go down it the moisture Is not far down in the subsoil when the alfalfa Is planted the roots will not go down where the roots do not go down the plants will not make sufficient growth the results will not prove satisfactory too much care cannot well be exercised in so ban adling the soil that it will be well stored with moisture when the seed Is sown then sowing ie greatly important when the plants are too thick there le cit enough moisture tor each should they be thin it Is surprising how ahey stool or rather bunch out when they come up thickly and get firmly rooted it Is difficult to thin them in fact it Is almost imps elble to do so eave by the aid ot a plow it the rows are one toot distant and the stand in the rows is too thick the plan may prove good which runs the plow across the rows at intervals to cut out some of the plants this can only be effectively done before the roots have become too strong |
