Alfalfa is a long-lived plant and very deep-rooted. The long tap root
penetrates deep into the soil, thus securing all available moisture
and making the plant drought-resistant when once well established. The
plant is very tender when young, and great care is necessary in the
preparation of the soil when starting a new planting of this crop. The
seed bed should be thoroughly stirred, all lumps fully pulverized,
and the surface soil as smooth as an onion bed. It is important that
the ground be prepared some time in advance of seeding and frequently
stirred to start any weed seeds that may be present, and destroy them
before the alfalfa is sowed. On old land it is advisable to prepare the
seed bed in the spring and stir it at frequent intervals until August
before sowing the alfalfa seed.
Alfalfa does not do well on sour land, or land that is wet or
weed-infested. It does best on rich, well drained soil, well supplied
with lime. Lime is essential, and if the soil is lacking in lime it
must be supplied.
In many localities it is the practice to grow a crop of sweet clover in
advance of seeding to alfalfa.
From seven to twenty pounds of seed are required per acre. If good seed
is used and put in with a drill, ten to fifteen pounds should be ample.
In cutting alfalfa it is important that some care be used to select the
proper time. When the new shoots are well started is usually regarded
as the safest time, if the plant is cut for hay. The leaves constitute
the greatest portion of the feeding value, and much care is necessary
in handling the crop to avoid shattering.
In localities where the plant is grown for seed, a much longer blooming
period results and the beekeeper profits accordingly. Where cut for
hay, alfalfa loses much of its possible value through the cutting just
when it is reaching its period of greatest nectar secretion.
Harry K. Hill, of Willows, California, states that he gets three
distinct shades of pure alfalfa honey in the same year. The honey
from first extracting is much darker than later extractings.--Western
Honeybee, April, 1913.
ALFILARIA, see Pin Clover.
ALGAROBA, see Mesquite.
ALLIGATOR PEAR, see Red Bay.
ALLIUM, see Onion.
ALMOND (Prunus amygdalus).
The cultivated almond is closely related to the peach and is native to
Southern Europe, where it has been grown for centuries for its nuts.
[Illustration: Fig. 8. Almond orchard in bloom.]
The tree is extremely early in its blooming period and more tender than
the peach. It is grown in large orchards in parts of California, and
to some extent in Arizona. It grows on higher and dryer lands than any
other fruit trees in California. The tree will not thrive on wet lands.
Bees gather both honey and pollen from the flowers and in the almond
belt of California it is of great value for early brood-rearing. There
it blooms in February, and beekeepers sometimes move their bees from a
distance to the almond orchards to build them up for the orange flow.
ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum). Hybrid or Swedish Clover.
Alsike clover is one of the very best honey plants of America. The
beekeeper who lives within reach of large fields of this crop is
fortunate, for there is no better honey, and under favorable conditions
the crops harvested from alsike are such as to give little ground
for dissatisfaction. Some beekeepers have estimated that alsike will
produce 500 pounds of honey per acre in a good season.--American Bee
Journal, page 409, 1886.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Alsike clover.]
Alsike thrives on clay soil, or lands inclined to be wet, where the
other clovers do not succeed. It is sown very generally in a meadow
mixture with timothy or red-top. In localities where grown for seed
there is a long period of bloom, which is greatly to the advantage
of the beekeeper. It is good for either pasture or hay, and although
by itself alsike does not yield as many tons of hay per acre as red
clover, when mixed with red clover the two together make more and
better hay than red clover does alone.
Alsike is intermediate in size between white and red clover. The
blossom looks like that of white clover, except it has a pinkish
tinge of color not found in the white clover. The stem is upright and
branched and on land with sufficient moisture reaches a height of two
feet or more.
While alsike will grow nearly everywhere that red clover will grow, it
thrives best in the northern part of the country. Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Ontario and New York all report alsike as especially valuable
to the beekeeper.
The honey is white in color, mild in flavor and is regarded as one of
the best for table use. At times the yield is very heavy. In American
Bee Journal, Nov. 2, 1899, are given several instances of large yields
from this source. In one case a single colony of bees gathered 72
pounds in four days, or 18 pounds per day. Another report was of 251
pounds in 21 days, or 25 pounds per day, from alsike.
In number two of the first volume of the “Review,” Editor Hutchinson
states that ten colonies of bees gathered 300 pounds of extracted honey
from alsike, with only two acres within reach. This, of course, takes
no account of the honey consumed by the bees, but indicates that the
yield is good for the acreage within reach. In the following number of
the same journal an Ontario beekeeper reports that he had not known a
failure from alsike in eight years.
See also Clover.
ALTHEA, see Hollyhock.