The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-04-27
Lucerne, Of Alfalfa, in Indiana.

Lucerne, which has been largely
used in Europe as a forage plant,
has not attracted the attention witch
perhaps it deserves, in the central
and eastern portions of the United
States. On the Pacific slope, and
in California, where the
year is approximately divided into
two seasons, the rainy and the dry,
great difficulty has been experienced
in getting plants for forage that will
root deeply enough to stand thel
long period of drouth and produce
growth for the stock. This want
has been met in part by Lucerne.
There are various portions of the
eastern and central United States
where periods of drouth are met al
most every year, and where it is
with great difficulty that the ordi
nary tame grasses and clovers sur
vive the trying ordeal; and where
the newly seeded fields are entirely
destroyed. Such a dry period
visited some parts of Indiana in
1880, in which the common grasses
were largely burned out, and even
the Kentucky blue grass was com
pletely destroyed in patches in
lawns and pastures
The experimental grounds of
Purdue University were laid out in
April, 1880, and early in May plat
of Lucerne was sown in drills about
eight inches apart. In due time it
came up, and made slow but steady
growth until about the end of June,
when the plants had attained a
height Of four to six inches. AT
this time a parasitic plant-the
Dodder-was found to be preying
upon it and winding its tendril-like
stems about the Alfalfa so as to al
most choke the life out of it. The
unequal contest was watched with
interest for several days, when the
Do!der seemed to get the better of
the Lucerne; the plat was mown
close to the ground, the whole pro
duct, lest seeds of the parasite
should mature and give trouble in
the future. No rain had fallen for
nearly four weeks, and the plat was
apparently dead. In ten days time,
we were surprised to see our Lr-
cerne making a new growth which
continued through the season, Civ
a thick stand of perhaps ten inches
high. The only labor expended,
after sowing, was the wedding out
of the plat twice, early, while the
plants were young and small, as
Lucerne is very tender and must
be given a good chance until rooted,
when it will evidently take care of
itself.
Last spring, ON the first of April,
the Lucerne was no further adj
vanced than half a dozen grasses
and other plants in our grounds;
but on May 10th the Lucerne meas
ured twenty-four inches over the
whole plat, and was ready to NOW.
The plants were in blossom May
2Sth, as the plat was not cut, and !
at this date (June 3D. it stands
fully thioty-two inches high, and
from present appearances we can
predict in this latitude (40 degrees
that three good crops of forage may
be taken in a single season, or that |
it will furnish a large amount of
pasture. 1t is said it is difficult to |
get stand of it, if sown with grain |
crops, as wheat, oats, etc. Nearly |
every farmer needs and should have
a small field adjoining his barns,
for forage or pasture purpose. VIII |
not some of our farmers who have
pot given this trial, do so on n
small scale and note the result?
With us it promises well, and we
nope to be able to give something
more definite with regard to it in
lue time. We firmly believe that
here are hundreds of acres of billy
and where grass makes a poor,
eeble growth, and is frequently
burned out by drouth, where Luz
erne would be very valuable ac-
.uisition. Its valuable points, to
ecapitulate, are; LIST, its manner
nd quickness of growth; End, ca
acity to endure drouth; Sd, its ::
ardiness in winter; and 4th, that ,
adds one more to the valuable 1
st of our forage plants, and thus
nlarges the range of our produc- e
on.