I would like information about spurry. How much frost will it stand? What is time for sowing? Its value as crop to plow under? From a California point of view, spurry is a winter-growing weed which has been approved by orchardists in Sonoma county because it yields a considerable amount of vegetation for turning under with the spring plowing of the orchard. For this purpose it should be sown at the beginning of the rainy season. Its value as a crop to turn under depends upon the amount of growth you can get. It is not a legume and, therefore, does not have the value of the nitrogen-gathering plant. Still, it yields humus and, therefore, is valuable for winter growing as ordinary weeds, grasses, grains, etc., are. Light Soil and Scant Moisture. Advise me as to plowing under a crop of last year's weeds where I intend to plant beans, corn, etc. The soil is "slickens," on the Yuba river, and the weeds grew up last year in a crop of volunteer barley, which was hogged off. I expect to plow five inches deep, and calculate that the barley straw and weeds will contribute to the supply of humus, which is always deficient in most of our soils. I expect to try to grow beans without irrigation, and wonder if the trash would hold the soil too open so as to dry them out. Considering the character of the soil which you describe and the shallow plowing you intend we should certainly burn off all the trash upon the land. With deep plowing early in the season this coarse stuff could be covered in to advantage, but it would be dangerous to do it in the spring. Clean land and thorough cultivation to save moisture enough for summer's growth is the only rational spring treatment. Clovers and Drought. I have sandy loam with some alkali. In wet years it is regarded as too damp in some places. Can you give me any information on the following points? I have practically no water for irrigation and I feel sure that alfalfa would not grow without it. Do you think that clover would make one or more cuttings without water? Red and white clover are less tolerant of drought than alfalfa, which, being a deep-rooting plant, is especially commended in dry-farming undertakings. Red clover will grow better on low wet lands than will alfalfa, but the land must not dry out or the red clover will die during the dry season. None of the plants will stand much alkali. Clover for Wet Lands. What kind of alfalfa will do best on sub-irrigated land which is very wet? I have sown it in alfalfa and it grows finely for two or three years, but then the roots rot and die.