Show ALFALFA IN DRYLAND bryland DRY bry LAND ACRES mission of crop not yet thoroughly understood method of obtaining good stand the mission of alfalfa under tinder dry farming conditions Is as yet but imperfectly understood very many persons cherish the idea that in such areas alfalfa can only be grown successfully cess fully under irrigation that this view falls short of the truth I 1 have no doubt whatever says a writer in dakota parmer it has been grown in too many instances with measurable success and over too wide areas to leave this question in doubt but the measure of the success that may be obtained from it and the best methods of getting a stand have not yet been worked out the yields that it will furnish when properly established under dry land conditions will of course vary as the conditions vary the number of the cuttings will also vary with the season in some instances two cuttings have been obtained and even three in some instances two to three tons per acre have been secured but it would not be correct to say that so many cuttings should be looked for every year the farmer in such areas should not complain it 1 he only gets one good cutting in a year and if the yield enot more than one to two tons per acre tho farmer who cangel can get that much from year to year from his alfalfa field is following a very safe line of farming for iscis storing his land with humus while it is furnishing him with fodder which Is not easily obtainable from some other sources under dry conditions the best methods of obtaining a good stand under dry conditions have not been completely worked out usually however it will be wise to prepare the land the year before by careful summer fallowing following or by growing some kind of cultivated crop in good form if the land has been man tired previously so much the better the alfalfa is sown the following spring after all danger of frost is past the crop the first year may not be large the crop the second year may not be full but under favorable co conditions n dit 1 on 8 of growth it will be the following seasons the crop should be maximum for dry conditions from year to year what has been said is not meant to imply that a stand of alfalfa cannot be obtained from newly broken land for it can but the fact remains that as a rule a good and comp completa com lefe e stand Is ia not easily obtained on quite n new ew land and it will not yield so well in succeeding years for instance a stand may sometimes be obtained by simply disking up the sod and sowing alfalfa on the sod thus prepared it may also be obtained obtain bd by plowing that is breaking up tip sod in the spring and after good pulverization of the surface sowing the alfalfa crop liere also the stand Is not likely to be so BO perfect or the yield so good as if sown by the method first outlined As AB a rule it will be better to sow without a nurse crop but this does not mean that a stand cannot be obtained when sown with a nurse crop |