Which cutting is best for seed depends, of course, on the way the plant grows in your locality.  Where it starts early and gives many cuttings in a season with irrigation a later growth should be chosen for seed than with a short season where fewer cuttings can be had.  The second cutting is best in many places, but O. E. Lambert of Modesto after threshing about 30 lots in one year tells us that some growers had left second, some third and some fourth cuttings for seed.  He found the second cutting very poor both in yield and grade, much of it not being well filled and the seed blighted, as the growth of hay was too heavy.  The seed on third cutting was good both in grade and yield.  Much of the seed on fourth cutting was not matured.  For good results the stand should be thin.  Our drier, heavier lands give the best results, sub-irrigated lands not seeding.  All irrigation should stop with the previous cutting for hay.

Siloing First Crop Alfalfa.

How about putting first cutting of alfalfa and foxtail into the silo?  Do you think there is any danger of fire in a wooden silo, and do you add salt and water when filling, and how long after it is cut would you advise putting it into the silo?

Put it through the silo cutter as soon as you can get it from the field.  Do not let it cure at all, and be sure to cut and pack well.  If at all dry, use water at the time of filling, and some salt then also, if you desire.  There is no danger of firing if you put it in with good moisture, and by short cutting and hard packing you exclude the air.  If you do not do this you will get a silo full of manure, and possibly have a fire while it is rotting.

Soil for Alfalfa.

What kind of soil is best for alfalfa on a dairy ranch?

An ideal soil for alfalfa is a deep well drained soil into which the roots can run deeply without danger of encountering standing water or alkali.  Still we are finding that alfalfa is very successful on soils which are not strictly ideal, providing the moisture is supplied in such a way that the soil shall not be waterlogged nor the water be allowed to remain upon the surface during the hot weather, because this kills the plant.

Handling Young Alfalfa.

I have alfalfa that is doing very well for the first year.  My soil is sandy loam with light traces of white alkali, although it does not seem to be detrimental to the growth thus far.  I am in the dairy business and will have by winter enough manure to top-dress the field.  Would it be good policy to use the manure, or would it be more satisfactory to top-dress with gypsum?  Would it injure alfalfa to pasture lightly after the last cutting?

Presumably your soil contains enough lime, and therefore the application of gypsum at this time of the year would not be necessary.  It may be desirable to top-dress with gypsum near the end of the rainy season to stimulate the growth of the plant.  Gypsum, however, has no effect upon white alkali.  So far as alkali goes, gypsum merely changes black alkali into white, thus making it less corrosive.