Alfalfa will frequently grow fairly well even on stiff clays, and in some instances on gumbo soils. But these soils must not be so retentive as to collect and hold water for any considerable time within a few feet of the surface. Such lands have usually much staying power; hence, alfalfa grown on them frequently improves for years after it has been sown. On the reddish soils that cover much of the South, it has been found, as in growing alfalfa on stiff clays in the North, that where deep subsoiling is practiced alfalfa is not only more easily established, but it also grows with added vigor. On upland soils sandy or gravelly in character where the rainfall is much less than normal and where the subsoil is not underlaid with sheet water, alfalfa will not usually succeed, notwithstanding that it may grow well on these soils where the rainfall is normal. On such soils it is not easy to get a stand of the plants, as they are much apt to perish in the dry weather of the first season, but if once established on such soils the plants have much power to grow even where the rainfall is considerably less than normal. Alfalfa will not grow well in soils naturally wet until they are drained. And when drained it will not grow with normal vigor, on what may be termed slough soils, where the subsoil is far down and covered with a deep covering of vegetable mold. What are termed slough soils in the Western prairies, therefore, are not well fitted for the growth of alfalfa. On these it may not succeed well, when it may grow with much vigor on the adjoining upland. When some wet soils are drained, alfalfa may not succeed well on them for a time and later may grow luxuriantly. This may arise from the lack of time for proper aeration after being drained, or from the want of lime to further correct acidity in the soil, or from the want of the proper bacteria. Notwithstanding that alfalfa will not grow well on undrained lands that are naturally wet, and notwithstanding that it will perish if the roots reach standing water at a distance too near the surface, the best crops by far are usually grown on irrigated lands. This arises, first, from the ability to adjust the supplies of water to meet the needs of the plants, and second, from the congenial character of the soil and subsoil. Next to these the best crops are grown where congenial soils are underlaid with ground water, not too near nor too distant from the surface. On these soils the plants are largely supplied with moisture from the water below ascending on the principle of capillary attraction. How near or how distant such water should be will depend somewhat on subsoil conditions. It would seem correct to say that it ought never to come nearer to the surface than 3 feet, nor should it be more than 20 feet down. The most suitable distance would be, say, 8 to 16 feet. When the roots of alfalfa reach water at too short a depth they will die.