Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-05-16
AGRICULTURAL EMPORIUM.
Oyclopedia Of Useful Studies Fer the
q Farm and Home.
Intelligent Chapter on Alfalfa-salts Value
For cows-Barb Wire Cuts--valuable
Hints For the Home, and Useful Recipe,
For the Household
Alfalfa.

Having recently received a number
OF letters and inquiries in regard to
alfalfa, l am now going to answer
some OF the numerous questions asked
me, writes Garden City. Kan,
correspondent of the Practical Farmer.
How much seed does alfalfa make
per acreP How much can you sell the
seed for per bushelp Is alfalfa good
feed for hogs? Is it good bee plantP
Well, in answer to these questions or
queries have to say: Alfalfa makes
from five TO len bushels per acre.
which Is worth 81 per bushel, and
makes the farmer from 500 to $40 per
acre for seed crop, and we cut 1t three
times year, once for seed and twice
for hay. 1t makes from three to six
tons OF good hay per acre, which is
worth in Garden City 81 to s. per ton.
can be handled as cheaplv us any other
kind of hay. For hog feed alfalfa can
not be beaten. Hogs never die of
cholera that are fed on alfalfa, they
will fatten on 1t in spring and summer
and keep in good condition in winter
on the hay. Alfalfa for winter feeding
TO hogs should be cut before it blooms
and put up in good condition. l know
OF number of hogs In Finney county
that have never seen an ear OF corn,
and they now look as well as any stock
hogs l ever owned in the east, when
we fed them on corn the year around.
bees would certainly do we'll In field
OF alfalfa, us there is a very heavy
bloom and 1t Is very fragrant and rich
ly honey laden, and blooms from May
l TO November /. Alfalfa, like the
orange tree, blooms continuously if
allowed to grow without cutting, there
being ripe seed. green and bloom on
the same stalk, and all stimuli
taneously. We fatten n great
number OF steers In this country
during the winter on alfalfa
hay and sell them direct to the butch
ers and shippers at good prices, they
preferring alfalfa to corn-fed cattle
the meat being much more juicy and
sweet In regard to alfalfa us a milk
producer. | would say that it will pro.
duce better flow OF milk than any feed
That can be given TO COWS. l have
tried chopped feed, timothy and clover,
but alfalfa eXcels them all. When do
you SOW alfalfaP There Is quite a
difference OF opinion ON that question
but, would say, sow 1t any time from
March l to September l quite num-
Der Of our farmers have sown it Sep
tember l with good results. Thor
oughly prepare your soil, and put your
seed In the ground and not on top, and
L Will insure and guarantee you sue
cess, seed but 2 inches in the ground
will make inches of root before the
top comes up. which insures 1t against
drouth. May 10 of 1889, sowed
twenty acres OF alfalfa which was at
that time covered with a growth of
oats II inches high. | used a press
drill with corn-planter runners, sowing
20 pounds per acre. Wecut off a good
crop of oats, and when ! was last on
the farm last September the alfalfa was
10 inches high and looking well. Can
alfalfa be plowed upP Yes, II you
have three extra good horses and a
good sharp pillow. The roots are long
and thick, and they grow from to 8
feet ano are as large as fork handle
at or near the top of the ground. AL
1alfa does not freeze out us red clover
does in the east. There was 500. 900
worth OF alfalfa seed grown in Finney
county last year.