ALFALFA A TENDER PLANT
In some respects alfalfa does not seem to be a natural pasture plant. The stems are delicate, it will not thrive in a hard, trampled soil, and the crowns when broken off will not revive; if some of the plants bloom and drop their flowers early in the season, they lose vigor and many of them die. These peculiarities would at least indicate that it should not be pastured at all until it has become established, has its crowns well spread, has abundant stems and its roots have a strong start on their underground career. Not an animal should be turned on an alfalfa field until the second or third year if it is desired that the stand endure for several years, nor should it be pastured too early in the spring or too late in the fall. There should be something of a growth left for winter protection. Careful alfalfa raisers are known who pasture their older fields, but never put on a full quota of stock until they have cut over the field when the plants are first coming into bloom. They insist that this cutting invigorates and gives the plants new life. They then pasture quite closely until some time in September, after which there is time for some final growth for winter protection.