Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-01-08
THE. ABSORBING TOPIC.
How to Increase PrOvendsr, Rain or No Balm

EDITOR HERALD: The rain storm
of the north closes without career
ing down the coast upen Southern
California, as the north rain storm
is wont to do OF the felicitous years
of broad and .reachi8g pluvial
regime. Yesterday ives the day
for hanging our north sky wall
with the pebulous, pictorial posters
OF the impending drama by Jupi-
ter Pluvius. The posters were in
place betimes Last evening was
the time for the den0usDent.
Alas! the unravelipg was that OF
clouds. The audience retired, and
Southern California was Gaiugei-
with star. gleams! This m orning's
excessively scintillant sun lets the
eye forty miles deep into the sky
ward air stratum, where, usdoubt-
edly, lies the secret OF the absent
rain meteors. But, who can read
forty miles deep into thin air? No
Barnum's non-appearaBce explain.
alton undignifies the upper deep.
No apology, Delphic oracle, or di-
vinable cast of horoscope. famil-
isrize mortals with his Nj sjesty,
Jupiter Pluvius.
Yesterdays and last nights les
sons need not more than oDe-third
fully alarm Southern alifnrnia,
for, it is only the 7th Of January.
1t is time, however, to be on the
fotearming schedule. In hsrmony
with the policy Of mankind,
preparations for the WORST, allow
me TO suggest methods of Increas.
ing provender, rain or no rain.
While the export Of large bands
of live stock should begin to engage
the calculations of those concerned,
universal thought may we'll conceu-
trate. in devisiDg ways and means
for economically and abundantly
provisioning the usual homestead
array of horses, cows, pigs and
poultry.
The almost incredible provision
ing capacities Of an acre planted to
mapgel wurzels bring that vegeta.
bic into unusual prominence.
However, the more highly oonoen-
trated nutritive qualities of the
sugur beet, though yielding less
tonnage to given area ttan
mangels, entItle the sugar beet to
the preference.
Alfalfa, sown this or next month,
would, within the present year,
largely contribute provender.
An intelligent renter and expe-
rienced farmer, once said to me,
that a lessee from year to year
could afford 10 SOW alfalfa and pay
all expenses of seed and labor for
the first seasons yield Of hay and
pasture. The remark was intended
to apply, Unfortunately, teyears
and seasons as they come.
He who sOws alfalfa this year
will more than reimburse himself
by this years product, even If IF
teen inches of rain come within
the present and the next month.
But if the entire rainfall of this
season do not exceed five inches,
the special extra profits of the pres
ent years product Of present
years sewing would more than
twice return the outlay for seed and
labor, and would practically even.
tuate in results equivalent to usual
profits, u gift Of seed and labor,
with a gift of money besides. Not
only would this seasons sowing
yield tons of hay to the acre next
summer, but would afford consid.
erable grazing, while the rains of
1882 8 may be bringing out other
feed.
OF course there must be artificial
ly applied water in the absence of
adequate rainfall or capillary
moisture. The bes, results would
follow copious monthly irrigation.
AS comparatively few are expe-
rienced in sowing alfalfa, 1t may
as well be said that for the specifies,
larger as we'll as enduring profits,
sowing of 80 pounds of seed to
the acre is not excessive. The
usual cause Of failure to attain the
larger profits is deficient stand.
The prolific sources of failure to
get a good stand are, not seed
enough, covering too deep, and the
drying out of the surface soil to the
depth of unsprouted seed. In soil,
neither too sandy nor too stiff, one
inch is about the proper depth for
the seed. 1t is well known how
quickly dries out the inch thick
surface stratum of soil, opened to
the sun and wind by pulverization.
Alfalfa seed will not sprout in the
dessicated soil. 1t Is impossible,
without loss, to irrigate sown af-
falfa seed. The seed perish Of wa.
terpack. The water sprinkler's
imitation Of gentle rain would an
swer, but 1t is impraoticable for
areas greater than few yards.
The probabilities against q good
stand admOnish the tyro to trust
not himself, and warn the expert
to refurbish his experience.
The drying out obstacle 10 more
formidable as the sowing recedes
from the moist low lands and
climbs the mesas, and as the sun
climbs toward his June sky way,
lepgthening his days.
Wherever the drying out fatality
is apprehended, glut the soil with
water and plow deeply as quickly
as the abatement OF saturation will
permit. Let the smoothing har-
row hurry the plow, the sower
hurry the barrow and the covering
harrow the sOwer.
After all, evaporation sometimes
gets on too rapidly for germina-
ton. The last remedy is to run q
roller after sowing ana narrowing
in the seed.
Now when the weeds and alfalfa
are q foot high. After the second
moving the alfalfa Will smother
the weeds.
Alfalfa grows better among and