Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-01
SOCIETY BURSTING ITS COCOON.

catch, and is now high enough to give
good gre zing in March. 4 part of the
plat is black sandy, the other light sandy.
All looks well, but thst on the
hight sandy Is the best, while that
on the black sandy was up before
some OF the other was put in. 1 broad
cast more than enough seed on a loose,
sandy plat covered by crab grass. This
spring 1 could not find single plant Of
Alfalfa. The young plants are delicate
and must have good start before weeds,
grass or very cold weather. After they
get rooted we'll no weed can shoulder
them out. In Colorado, where it is
largely broadcast, or put in shallow By
VIII at drill shut close, they make the first
cutting of crop first sown early, in order
TO cut the weeds rather than the alfalfa
Then the clever wins the
race. Nothing outgIows 1t. The second
year it is the first thing green seen in the
spring On land thatls clean it will do
well broadcast, fifteen to twenty pounds
TO the acre and narrowed or brushed in
Ii the land is foul with grass, weeds or
their seed il will paV best to drill it and
cultivate it till it gets start Il can be
put IN with other grain. TIE favoTite
plan is 20 SOW on wheat or barley, st!er
severe weather in the sprlog, and harrow
in. II csn be putin successfully vita spring
oats, late sowing. O,ts one way, slisia
toe other ;or,a ANY plan that will enable the
sower 10 know Whist be is dOiTg II does
nest on sandy lsDd or sand snd gravel.
IL will % well On poor sandy land.
Il will f5rtiliz3 itself The substrs5um
must be such mat roots csn penetrate II
going to- moisture. Our wells here are
twenty fivs 10 thirty five feet. l do not
dount that my alfalfa will have feet in
my drinking water. l. grows well on
gravel or light su5soil, and even o. clay,
out rot well on compact clsy land. It's
deep roots enable 1t to Withstand drouth
better than any other grass for hay or
soiiing, yielding enormously after the
first year. l. should be cut as 1t COM
menCes to bloom. Permitted, in bright
weather, to lie In the swash thirty six
hours without stirring, then throw into
COCKS. Before the aeat of the day put under
shelter, or stack and cover. II handled
too much or when very dry it Will lose
many leaves and tender shoots Heavy
dews VIII iujure the hay, rain will about
ruin 1t. l. makes, like other clovers, an
open stack that rain will penetrate. A
writer from Utah says: as is the best
thing to renew old, worn out land that l
ever Jaw, and there is not weed or any
thing else in tdis country that can stand
before IT," An Intelligent CORE p 1ndent
OF Country Gentleman, from Denver,
Col says: "R d clover succeeds we'll
here; ia jact, lever saw better crops,
AND, by some, 1T is quite extensively grown,
but it r. QulTes better land than alfalfa.
Oar climate Is certsinly s cool one; too
cool To raise corn successfully. My farm
Is $500 feet alb we tide water. HIRE the
Crown is not slow; neither is II hard and
woody. L.st yesr l had forty, five acres
OF fslfs meadow, from which cut $50
tons of we'll cured hay. l moved The
entire acresge three times-oue f I'D four
times. Commenced cutting June IL;
second cutting, (At same place, July 13;
third cutting, (.t same place. September
20. and fourth cutting, (rf same nelO),
October 20. At each cutting except the
iourtb), the plants were inst coming into
blessom, and We're 20 to u inches high;
at the last cutting, 10 to II
inches; aggregate growth Of 20 inches
from spring to September 20, and so inches
to October 20. It's being stemmp or
wo oy depends on Its thickness on the
ground and the time of cutting" In
Colorado twenty five pounds are soWn
by some, reckoning on some fret zing out
the first winter or on poor seed that will
net germinate. l believe that would be
wssleful in Texas, even high up in the
Panhandle. Il has been estimated by
sctusl count Of the seed IN pound that
twenty five pounds and eleven ounces
would give one seed to every square inch
of ground on an acre, too thick and
waste. 1t is exsrayagsnt to SOW poor
seed.
In preparing this hssty article three
questions we're bsfore ME: WHIST is III
Where will It grow? Is it v.lu.blt? To
tte last question answer: More valus-
BILE than red clover. Beyond the import
ant fact, to Texas, that il will not die
out from drouth, we fad the enormous
yield Of hay st two to three times the
price Of prairie hay. Il is well known 10
Britain thst lands become "clover sick"
They must be rested from six to eight
years to bring them to good red clover
crops again. Tue, they have been fitted
for other crops; poor land renewed. Bat
alfslfa needsEno foster-mother nor guard
ian OF estate beyond its tenderest infancy.
Sown on suitable soil it will
remain for generations. Il has
held its own at an elevation OF 1000 feet
above the sea in our country. 1t has
withstood 22e below zero Professor
Blount says positively 22'. General
rY.a