Dodge City times., 1890-04-24
Alfalfa.

Having recently received a numoer
of letters and inquiries in regard to al
falfa, I am now going to answer In the
columns of the Practical Farmer some
OF the numerous questions asked me.
How much seed does alfalfa make
per acre? How much hay per acre?
How much can you sell the seed for
per bushel? Is alfalfa good feed for
hogs? Is it good bee plant? Well,
in answer to these queries or questions
l have to say: Alfalfa makes from
to 10 bushels per acre, which is worth
81 per bushel, and makes the farmer
from s2J to $40 per acre for seed crop,
and we cut it three times year, once
for seed and twice for hay. 1t make
from three to six tons of hay per acre,
which is worth in Garden City from
81 to So per ton, and can be handled
as cheaply as any other kind OF hay
For hog feed alfalfa cannot be beaten;
hogs never die of cholera that are fed
on alfalfa; they will fatten on it in the
spring and summer, and keep in good
condition on the hay in the winter. AL
falfa for winter feeding to hogs should
be cut before it blooms aad put up in
good condition. l know of number
of hogs in Finney county that never
seen an ear of corn, and they now look
as well as any stock hogs that | ever
owned in the east, where W. fed them
on corn the year round. Bees would
certainly do well in a field of alfalfa,
as there is very heavy bloom and it
is very fragrant and richly honey laden
and blooms from May 1st to November
1st. Alfalfa, like the orange tree,
blooms continuously if allowed to grow
without cutting; there being ripe seed
green and bloom on the same stalk, ard
all simultaneously. We fattcn great
number of steers in this county, in the
winter on alfalfa hay, and sell them
direct to the butchers and shippers at
good prices, they prefering alfalfa to
corn fed cattle-the meat being much
more juicy and sweet. I have ninety
head of milch COWS which have been
fed on alfalfa hay since November 30,
and they are all fat and sleek, and look
more like our corn fed beef steers OF
Ohio and Missouri than stock cattle.
In regard to alfalfa as milk pro
ducer, would say that it will produce
a better flow of milk than any other
that can be given to cows. l have
tried chopped feed, timothy and clover
but alfalfa cxcels them all. When do
you SOW alfalfa? There is quite a diff
ference of opinion on that question, but
I would say, SOW it any time from the
1st Of March to the 1st of September;
quite number of our farmers have
sown it September lst with good re-
suits. Thoroughly prepare your soil
and put your seed in the ground and
not on top; and l will insure and guar
antee you success. Seed, put two
inches in the ground, vii! make six
inches of root before the top comes up,
which insures it against crought. May
Is, 1889, | sowed twenty acres to al
falfa which was at that time covered
with a growth Of oats twelve inches
high. l used press drill with corn
planter runners, sowing twenty pounds
to the acre. We cut IF crop of oats
and when | was on the farm last Sep
| tember the alfalfa was ten IN hes h,gh
and looking we'll Gu AflIfa he
plowed up? Yes, aN ur.,
extra good horses AM. sood, snsrg
plow; the roots are long aud thick; they
grow from six to eight feet, and are as
large as fork handle at or near the
top of the ground.
saw small piece of alfalfa ground
which had been plowed up last fall for
garden; it had been in alfalfa for two
years, and reminded me much of a
sweet potato patch in Western Kan
sas-the whole earth being covered
with roots. But when you get stand
you will not want to plow it up no more
than you would want to 20 into youl
corn field and pillow it up. Alfalfa does
not freeze out as red clover does.-