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Show DRY FARM ALFALFA When Well Established It Will Survive Droughts. Its Deep Rooting Tendency May Enable En-able Crop to Grow Without Irrigation Irriga-tion If Roota Can Penetrate Moist Soli Number to Acre. If a farmer on thn dry plains hns a well that will furnish Just enough water wa-ter for f,0 head of stork, it would bo folly for him to try to keep fiO or 75 hend on the same supply of water i.nd It Is equally ridiculous for him to attempt at-tempt to crowd plants In soil where the moisture Is limited. Some plants may develop wth less moisture than others, but alfalfa Is not one of them. On the other hand It Is conceded by all western farmers that an abundance of moisture Is the key to success In growing alfalfa for hay. When It Is well established, alfalfa will endure long droughts and silll revive when wuler Is applied. To thai extent. It Is adapted to dry farming and Its deep rooting tendency may enable the crop to rtow without Irrigation If the roots rnn penetrate to moist soil. There are many localities on the plains where (he run-off from heavy showers could be collected and diverted by ditches upon soil suited to alfalfa, writes P. K. IMInn, In the Denver Held and Farm. Often In a draw, where moisture from the surrounding prairie Is Inclined to center, good encouragement for seeding seed-ing to alfalfa Is offered. The number num-ber of plants to the acre that can be maintained In the dry farming district dis-trict has not been determined but on a suinll tract at Itocky Ford without Irrigation for 11 previous months I produced at the rate of two and three-fifths three-fifths tons the acre the first cutting, cut-ting, and It made a second growth equally as good that was left for aeed. The plat had been aeeded the previous year to Turkestan alfalfa and thinned to single plants 20 Inches apart each way. It reoelved one Irrigation and was thoroughly cultivated that year. The growth the following year was made on the moisture that was stored and conserved In the soil but Bitch phenomenal yields can hardly be expected without Irrigation. In favored favor-ed spots, however, alfalfa can certainly certain-ly be grown If once established and ' properly managed. The growing of alia al-ia If a seed offers great opportunities to ' the farmer on the dry lands, because the fact has been well demonstrated . that alfalfa yields seed best when the plant makes a slow, dwarfed growth, when It really lacka for moisture, but has enough to set and fill the seed. ! When grown under dry conditions the teed has more vigor and vitality than ' hat produced with an excess of moist- ' ire, and It Is usually free from dod-ler dod-ler and other noxloua weeda. If the lei J baa had any cultural care. There a a demand for dry land alfalfa aeed g hat far exceeds the supply. In es-abllshlng es-abllshlng alfalfa for aeed production inder dry conditions It Is recommend-;d recommend-;d to sow In rows 18 or 20 Inches apart kith two to three pounds of good seed o the acre. A thin, uniform atand Is g ibsolutely necessary, evet to thin- , ilng, as In beet culture, but the stand , an usually be regulated by the imount of aeed aown. It has been f, ound that plants 20 Inches apart c kill support each other and not lodge p ir lay on the ground, aa In the thicker it thinner stands. With a good stool- ng variety like the Grimm or the (l rurkestan. planta six to twelve Inches n ipart In the row are thick enough. If ill the seed would germinate, one g tound the acre would be ample. tut It Is difficult to sow a small quan- r Ity uniformly In the row and for aeed j traduction, It might pay to apace and "j htn the plants. The row system Is r, ssentlal, aa It permlta Inter-tlllage to f, 'radicate weeds and to conserve the nolsture and also allow deep cultlva-ion cultlva-ion to absorb winter storms, allowing n opportunity to farrow out the rows ,nd to direct or divert any surface wa-er wa-er that may or may not be needed. 1 t Is the only system that will allow 0 he tillage so essential to all dry faming. fami-ng. The four-row beet cultivator, ' rith Its weeding knives and other at- achments. Is an Ideal Implement for ultlvatlng the crop. A four row drill ' dapted to sow alfalfa seed Is needed " 9 complete the equipment, but the rdinary beet drill, with the addition f an alfalfa or grass seeder aach- f( lent, can be modified to suit the work, he seed should be sown shallow, not 1 ver an Inch deep, and good results ' ave been secured with the common arden drill by marking out the ground 11 ith the row a gauged In acta of four n o correspond to the four-row cultlva- ' or. Where there la an opportunity to e Irrigation or flood water, the field 11 hould be ditched In every other row. nd the furrows logged out with a sled nade of ahort loga eight to ten Inches n diameter, and from three to four n eet long, spaced to fit two furrows ao ' rat the water may be run through as P lulckly aa possible, for the alfalfa crop or aeed will need aa little water aa b an be applied. A short rush of water ifter a sudden ahower can be deliver- o d over considerable ground If the ield la properly ditched. The great n lecret In this country Is to save all k uolsture from every aource. b |