The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1875-03-25
Alfalfa,

apology to you and your readers Tor the
the present article, I would ask you to
insert the following
E. r. SwrTzER, SIR hear that you
tried Alfalfa last year. Please give your
experiment to the farmers through some
of the county papers. State how it
looked when the drought struck it and
your opinion of its value tor pas
ture and hay. L. F. PARSONS.
| respond 20 the above with pleasure,
because tie matter is one of vast impor-
tsnce 10 Saline county as we'll as ali the
West. The logic OF facts must have
convinced most minds, during the last
few years, that Saline county is not best
adapted 10 exclusive small grain culture
and that to attempt it Will create per-
petuaI struggle between the "woli at the
door" and the "natives" within. The
impression is slowly increasing that
"stock growing" in its many forms and
phases is after ali the most lucrative as
well as certain. We have a peculiar peo-
pie, country and climate, especially eli
mate, and We cannot recognize this fact
too soon. The early Kansas settler was
man of vivid imagination, considera-
bic undevelopcd poetic genius. nave
been straning my "visual organs" tor
five years 10 see the "nai!d ,clnterS' the
seattle staying fat on prairie grass etc,
that tradition hath handed down 10 US,
and az yet have not seen them. /
still olive by faith" ! shall see it, I'M
less starvation, or some other "Pr0UldeR-
tidt dtspeRSatioH the result Of fighting
against the fixed laws CT nature-sbail
intervene. In the mean time, to render
certainty" a little more absolute | SOW
ed some "Altalfa or Chill clover and
from this, friend Parsons wishes to hear.
With me ii was no fancy experiment. |
wanted TO know whether it would pay
to SOW tGn or twenty acres of it for act
ual profit, and SO ! sowed it Just as the
average farmer will SOW il III time, and
left it to struggle with weeds, drought,
and all the other accidents TO which it
would be subject. The seed was OBJ
tanned from St. Louis, and Sown about
the first Of May. The land had been
plouShed for two or three previous
years. Last spring | pIoughed it abOUt
Ave inches deep and 3owed spring wheat,
about one bushel to the acre, narrowing
1t III well. Over this the alfalfa was
sown by hand, and then narrowed with
the harrow turned CUP side down" as
lightly as possible. 1t soon Sproutcd and
grew slowly til the beginning cf the
drought, b. this time it was perhaps
eight inches high. Daring tho dryest
part of the season ii showed 10 sign 81
willing. 1t was now mown together
with the wheat at a height above the
ground OF perhaps two inches and i
halt. 1t stood now with its bare and
naked stalk freely exposed TO the sun
and without shade of any kind. The
roots Of many of the stalks were abont
one foot in length. Ii soon began to
make promising efert toward second
growth, and WAS growing more rapidly
than at first, when our distinguished
friends from Arizona made their appear
ance and ended all hopes Of the crop.
The ground looked naked and grey, the
weeds themselves gave up the ghost and
the patch looked indeed desOlate. The
fall OF rain after a time began and then
cor menced a vigorous growth, numer-
Gus branches were sent out in place OF
tho single dead ana damaged stalk.
During the fall it grew about six inches
and in this state went into the winter.
Several examinations this spring have
shown the bottom leaves, and in fact all
that were in any way sheltered to be to-
tally uninjured by the frost, and as green
as in the fall only the topmost leaves
seemed brown and dead | do not think
1 single stalk in the patch killed, either
by the drought Of the summer or the
,old of the wiHter. After sach an ordeal
Is it passed last summer, you Will I'M
Ierstand that my confidence in it is un-
United, that shall not hesitate to in
'est in and SOW it as far rs my ability
Will permit. | have sown timothy, but
shall spend no more time nor money up
IN il in Kansas. Ordinary red clover
las in no case within my knowledge
passed unscatbcl the fiery trial OF last
season. AT the same time that | sowCd
ny alfalfa, tried the ''ltaian rye grass.
Il is a perennial also, and is grown with
success rs soling and forage plant III
he moist climate OF the British Islands.
But il wants moist, low meadows to
,row it with success. II grows rapidly
wen here, but the drought finished II
,eioro the advent of the red-lcUgcd Ari-
.oEians. Bat that of which INDUCED
q ost hope was the "Alsike' clover. II
:. Hlso called Swedish clover. Ii comes
o Us with high recommendations, more
in regard TO its ability TO
withstand CO., /, growing in the extreme
orth and on poor o+duraie clays, 1t has
zen found hardy ana reliable in Illinois
nd other western and mi,.dl1 states. IT.
) finer and less Iuxurianj in z, or''h and
thought would make better hay and
ettcr pasture. | put il IN carefully ant
1r a while it promised well, made rap
/ and vigorous growth but yielded at
ist TO the "prcssure Of the times" The
raSshorpers did il no harm. 1t sue
umbed like the other before their arri- /
al. mus; confess that il " died hard;'
nd when the rains Of the early autumn
egan watched tor It's revival with anx- Z
oaS solici,ude; bu, the benefcent show
rs that clothed the "aliaI:a patch" with
S green, brought forth no symptoms OF
eturning lite from my dead alsikc. Nv
otlons Of the valge of alfalfa tor hay
nd pasture and some others in regard
D lis culture | will reserve until next
ieek. T.. r. SwITzER.
Mulhcrry I.llsx- G.rch ood 1871