The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-11-08
Ill F-ILF.I rs 4 EORiEE CROP
The Eaprrlcnce OF n Pr 'ctlcal Planter witt
what We Gail Lucerne.

What We Cali Lucerne.
Efi!orS Co"nf,y Gcnt'3m0n: Few
if any forage pants have yet become
81 valuable Tor stock as alfalfa. Ii WAS
introduced into California from Chill
many years ago. 1t is the -ane aa the
luccrnc Of Europe (Netlic"yo Sufira).
1t must have been cultivated, as its
mmc indicates, by the Celtic nations.
Even as far back as in the days of
Conmcla Of the first century, one or
two historians notice il, and another
mentions it, without name, rs having
been known in Greece 500 wears before
The Christian era. Alfalfa belongs to
he clover family, as perennial, and
is found At the. present day growing
America. Its growth is wonderful,
enormous and rapid in some soils und
localities. lis roots, some S:,, extend
down until they lind waicr-evcn
twenty feet into and through TIC hard
est su6soil
The plant is not only pcfcnnia>,
but perpetual in every sc,Sc of tie
word. The roots are so strong and
large in sandy soils, that To plow them
! M, or even turn the sod, is next 10 IN
impossiblity. They easily stop
double team. After bccnming well
set, it will thrive in almo>, aNy climate
and soil. The product trnn, it's cuI,i.
vati"n is greater In value and size thnn
any known forage plant, and the sue
cess attending all the efforts made at
raising is simply wonderful. In the
cotton States, after the first wear, the
average Yield is reported to lc six or
ci"ht tons of dry hay per acre. In
Kern county, California, one farmer
Keeps twenty head OF .li,:vp pcr ;crc
the year round. Another near Sal,
Jose pastures six cows on three and
onc-salf acres. In san Brrl,arlino
Valley eight cuttings are made annu-
ally. Another farmer in the sa,c
county grHzcs l,5O0 sheep upon lis
alfalfa, giving them only one acre per
day, and when they ri" upon the
tW Wcniirth acre, the hurdles AZ re-
turned to thc first acre, " here Re ii. Is
the new growth eight 10 ten i..thr>
high. In Dallas county, Texas, il is Il
success, two crops Of lwo tons each
being cut annually. IN Nebraska and
Nevada il thrivrS &a well, making,
even ON sage brush land, where nuGh-
il@ has ever been known tn grow, over
>iN toms per acre of good dry hay, and
seed enough from forty acres to amount
t. $1,000 more.
SO ruch tor its productive qualities.
Its value il iuralculahr. The tcSti-
mony OF hundreds, as we'll sc the care
inl experiments Of many practical aud
scientific farmers, proves beyond all
controversy that alfalfa for hnr>cn.'i
ca tie WIlch cows especially, s!lrrp,
and even hogs, as we'll a. b,ts, i rX-
ccllcd bv no plant. TLs i putting il
pretty strongly, bul i: i nevertheless
true in many sections. III t;lituruia
Immense herds of cattle are tattcnr,l
exclusively upon it, they being far
superior to any brought from pastures
OF the native grass, or even from cio-
yer pastures. In its green and dried
state il is equally good for all kinds of
stock. For milk it cXrrls all o,her
c!ovcrs, both in increasing the mix
and butter and improving their ilavur
NNcoii says: "Fur mich COWS, il is
superior TO all other hay; it cXcitcs The
Srcr'tions." The State Beard of Ayr- |
culture Of California SAYS that the tcS-
ttmony of all thciT dnirymcn "is that
cows taken from the native grasses
and pns'urcd upon it will increase in
product Of milk, butter aud cheese
from sixty to seventy iicr cent, and
that sheep growers state that their
locks grazcd upon it are entirely fee |
from the skin disease so prevalent in1
California;"
From California alfalfa is being |
pushed rapidly eastward. Colorado IS |
fast becoming green with it. So far it |
has failed nowhere where it has re-
ccivcd amy attention the first season.
Three and four cuttings, producing
from five to nine tons per acre, were
made on farm adjoining our college
grounds, last summer, and the hay has
occn sold, baled, at $l8 and $50 per
ton. Our eastern friends will find |
alfalfa, in their alluvial soils, much |
more profitable and better than clover
or tho grasses. Only ono difficulty