Some experiment station men insist that where alfalfa is allowed to stand for many years it will cease to have a fertilizing value; that alfalfa draws heavily on the potash and phosphoric acid in the soil, and will after, say, eight or ten years begin to deplete it of these important elements. Therefore they insist that alfalfa should not be allowed to stand for over six or eight years unless it is given an annual top-dressing of manure. They favor plowing up the alfalfa after about five years and cropping to corn or cotton. Former Governor Hoard in speaking of the value of alfalfa as compared with that of clover in a crop rotation says that, “alfalfa having a much larger root development goes deeper down, thoroughly subsoils the ground, brings up phosphorus and potash from the lower strata, and leaves much more vegetable matter to decay and furnish humus. Nothing else we have ever tried equals alfalfa for putting the soil in good tilth.” SPREADS THE BACTERIA OVER THE FARM Men who are raising alfalfa for use in a regular rotation never leave it over six years; many prefer five, while others make it a rule to plow up their fields every four years; thus the bacteria becomes fixed in the soil of the whole farm. Such farmers use alfalfa as they formerly used clover, to restore fertility needed for profitable crops of grain, hay and forage. The sod is hard to plow. It is well to do the breaking immediately after the season’s cutting, if possible; disk and harrow it several times and sow to rye for winter pasture, and plant to corn or cotton or potatoes in the spring. The winter’s freezing will help to put it in fine tilth. If it is desired to follow with wheat (not always advisable, however, on account of causing a too rank growth), the sod may be plowed after the year’s second mowing, disked and sowed to rye to prevent the soil from leaching.