Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-15
THE RANCHES.

A correspondent to the Cultivator
and Country Gentleman having asked
how it is "that land'in Colorado that
has raised large crops of alfalfa will
raise much larger crops of wheat and
barley than when the land was new,"
that journal makes the following ex-
planation
Wheat, barley and other small grains
obtain their nourishment from the five
or six inches of top soil, and when that
is materially diminished these crops are
reduced, and the fertility must be re-
newed before large crops can again be
raised. Leguminous plants, such as
peas, red clover and alfalfa must 60
deeper for nutriment. Peas draw most
ly from six to ten inches, clover from
eight to sixteen, and alfalfa goes straight
down to great depths, and draws all its
nourishing Ilatter to perfect it's great
crops from depths much below any of
the others mentioned. So it will
be seen that for all small grain crops
alfalfa does not impoverish the soil
at all, however long it may be raised,
as it gets all it's nourishment from
strata much below the one worked
in ordinary agriculture. 1t has often
been estimated, based upon careful ex-
pertinent, that the roots and stubble OF
red clover are equal in weight to large
crop above ground, and thus they esti-
mate the manurial value of the roots of
well cut clover as equal to 5000 pounds
Of clover hay.
This would contain some 300 pounds
of ash, which ash would contain about
best form for nourishing crops. Sir j.
B. 3 Lawes made, perhaps, the most
thorough Investigation of the stubble
and root growth of clover. After the
last cropof clover was cut in the fall he
found that the dry weight was, Of
Lbs. per Acre.
Roots, first inches ....... . 3Ol7
Roots, second inches ..................... 275
Total. ........... ................ 6152
He went deeper, but this is quite suffi-
cient to show that the stubble and roots
are equal to the best crop of clover hay.
1t is thus safe to say that the etubble
and roots of we'll set clover would fur
nish the fertilization for three to four
crops of wheat or other small crops of
grain. And if this result is produced by
raising clover, which draws its principal
nourishment from the first sixteen
inches OF soil, how much greater must
be the enrichment of the top soil by the
growth of alfalfa, which draws its prin-
cipal nourishment from a much greater
depth than clover!
"Clover not only provides abundance
of nitrogenous food, but delivers this
food in really available form (as nj
tratesi, more gradually and continually,
and with more certainty of good results,
than such food can be applied to the
land in the shape of heterogeneous top
dressing"
This enrichment of the top soil by the
clover plant applies in still greater de-
gree to the alfalfa plant. Ii we estimate
the roots of alfalfa to have dry weight
of 5000 pounds per acre, then these
roots would contain 1874 pounds of nitro
gen, 120 pounds of potash, and 30
pounds of phosphoric acid. This will
explain to M. the cause of the increased
crops of wheat. barley or other small
grain. This adaptibility of Colorado to
TdlbluS large CIOpo VI WllA OOuOlC
its resources for bookkeeping.
This leguminous plant has great ad-
vantages over red clover in being peren-
nia!, insuring large crops indefinitely
without reseeding. But it should be
cut before Towering for the best hay,
and for soiling before heading Ten
acres of the best alfalfa would feed forty
mich COWS through the summer, and |
when properly preserved in silo, would |
make most excellent milk food in win
ter. Neither clover nor alfalfa should
be plowed under as manure, when, all |
the nutritive qualities may be utilized
by the dairy COW, and 80 per cent OF the |
fertilizing power remain in the drop |
pings for the land.
Those very large roots of alfalfa, bor-
ing so deeply into the earth, perform a |
wonderful service in bringing up these |
vast stores OF fertility to the top soil
within reach of the roots Of all small
grains. 1t gives command of all the fer |
tility in a depth of 6 to 10 feet-a store
house practically inexhaustible for a
century.
The late DIR. Voelcker made study of
the clover plant in England, and in an
admirable paper in the journal of the
Royal Agricultural society for 1868, he
made very concise summary of his
views as to the effect upon the soil of
the clover crop, a few OF which will
give:
"There is fully three times as much
nitrogen in crop of clover as in the
average produce OF the grain and straw
of wheat per acre."
During the growth of clover large
amount of nitrogenous natter accumu-
lates in the soil. This accumulation,
which is greatest in the surface soil, is
due to decaying leaves dropped during
the growth of clover, and to abundance
of roots. containing, when dry, from IA
to per cent Of nitrogen"
HOW TO GROW BIG PEACHES.
AS the season OF 1892 will be the one
when large portion of the exhibit for
the worlds fair is to be produced, and
as fruit will be one OF the principal items
from our district, peaches especially, it
will be a good thing for Visalia if the
fruit growers of this locality will pro-
duce the very largest specimens OF
peaches that have been grown in the
world. 1t is a pretty we'll established
fact, already, that we do now produce
the largest peaches in the state, and ac-
complish it without any particular at
tention to this object. While we do
grow the bestpeaches in the state now,
what we want to do is to grow them so
big that the entire worlds visitors at
the Columbian exhibition shall see that