The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-09-12
KANSAS CLOVER.
To the Editor of the Eagle.

10 the Edltor or The Eagle.
scented a clover field mile away,
the other day, and dropped my corn
knife and started that way to investigate
it. Before l had gone far distinguished
alfalfa clover, and on arriving there
found forty acres, knee high, the third
crop in full leaf and bloom. 1t was a
| splendid sight-of a beautiful deep sea
green with its purple flowers on its sur
face, rolling with the breeze, heavily
laden with honey and maturing seed for
next springs sowing. The dark, rich
green color of the field contrasts strangely
with the light yellow ripening cornfelds,
surrounded by the omnipresent Kansas
sunfiower in every direction the eyes
could turn, and assured me by its per-
| feet freshness when all else was fading
by the heat of August, that what ! said
in former article would prove true:
| That alfalfa is destined to revolutionize
farming in Kansas, because it is relia-
BILE forage crop for eight months
in the year, making three
crops where now one is made;
for with alfalfa you can get 81 a bushel
for your corn by putting in twice as
many acres of alfalfa as corn and'feed-
ing the alfalfa during spring and sum-
mer and using the corn to finish matur-
ing the stock. A litter of pigs turned
into an alfalfa lot in the spring will grow
to weigh 200 pounds each by fall and be
made ready for market in the field.
This will dispense with the sinking pen,
so repulsive to fastidious people, and
avoid the extravagant waste of corn by
feeding in winter. Calves and lambs
can be fed in the same way.
This will make farming more easy as
well as more profitable and remove the
drudgery of the present system of Kan
sas farming, by which large acreage of
land is put in cultivation which the
farmer must work diligently, in season
to keep the weeds in check and mature
the crop, and out of season to feed it at
disadvantage to make ends meet. But
by this new system the stock and crop
work together while the farmer is
growing little corn to finish them with.
In this way twick as much stock can be
grown, at twice the profit and with one
half the labor Of course, we want the
quick maturing hogs, sheep and cattle,
which are admitted to be the best on ac-
count of the fineness of bone, flesh and
fat.
Another advantage of this system of
farming is, it keeps up the fertility of
the farm more than the growing and
selling of grain; besides, it is more GER
tain in the returns for the effort putt forth.
Under the system of growing corn
and wheat, you get no good out of the
stalks and straw; they are sacrificed to
mature the grain, while with alfalfa
every leaf and stalk is converted into
pork, mutton and beef. Even the hay
is of superior excellence to winter over
the breeding animals. So on the whole,
if the farmer seeks his own in
terests he will prepare plat of ground
for seeding to alfalfa next spring.
If one-tenth of Kansas was sown to
alfalfa, which would be only 5,203, 200
acres, it woul d increase the value of our
state over $50, 000,0 and increase her
annual production over 500, 900.
You can figure it out just as easily as
you can take three as profitable crops off
the ground where only one is now grown.
Besides, you have all the honey thrown
in, which bids fair to compete with
sorgum in producing cheap sweetening
for Kansas.
There is more in alfalfa than we ever
thought Of. and | believe it is worth
more to Kansas than blue grass, red
clover and prairie grass combined.
B. E. H.