OREGON
George W. Dunn, Jackson county.—For eight years I have grown 60 acres of alfalfa on bottom land with granite loam soil, gravelly and sandy. The plant does not grow well unless the soil is deep and well drained, and will not grow where there is a clay subsoil or stagnant water. Well water is reached at a depth of 10 to 12 feet, and the soil, unless cultivated or irrigated, becomes dry and hard in the summer. As soon as the heavy frosts in the spring are over, seed may be put in, after thorough, deep plowing and pulverizing. I always sow broadcast, 20 to 25 pounds to the acre, then harrow in and clod-mash or roll. Water for irrigation is obtained from streams, and it should be applied as quickly as possible, the best way being to flood the whole field for a few days, and then take all the water off, as standing water will kill the plant quicker than anything else. The quantity of water needed the first and later years does not seem to differ materially. As soon as the young alfalfa is high enough, it should be mowed. This kills the weeds, and gives better chance for growth. Then I cut for hay, but it does not pay much the first year. If land is well drained, the plant lives through the winter easily, and by the second or third year is at its best. In ground adapted to its growth, it is almost everlasting, unless killed by gophers or hogs. After the first season, there are three or four cuttings, averaging each from one to three tons to the acre. For hay, I cut as soon as it begins to bloom freely, ordinarily raking the next day, and cocking the third, in this dry atmosphere. The stack does not shed water well, and the best plan is to put in a good barn. The hay bales well, and the size of bale is simply a matter of opinion or convenience, there being no difference in the keeping quality. The second crop is the one for seed, as the first always contains more or less foul stuff, and the third will not mature seed. I dispose of hay at from $4 to $10 a ton—the same price as other hay in the same market—and it is in great demand for milch cows. The seed costs me from 10 to 16 cents a pound. The straw makes good feed, but of course is not so good as the hay. For feeding farm animals, alfalfa is superior to clover or timothy. We produce as fine beef here, by feeding alfalfa alone, as can be done in Kansas or elsewhere by feeding ordinary hay and corn. The pasturage is profitable and satisfactory for horses and sheep, and for hogs it is unsurpassed—they will grow and fatten on it without other food. Cattle on the pasture sometimes bloat, but not when they are used to it, or when it is dry. I keep about 150 head, and in eight years have lost but two. The roots will grow to, but not into, water, and thrive in deep gravelly or sandy soil. The plant sends down a large, straight taproot, which, as it approaches water, branches and spreads out into numerous small rootlets.