The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-10-14
Fan Preparation For Alfalfa Raising.

FAN Preparation For Alfalfa Raising.
Alfalfa is necessary to the cheapest
production, under Kansas conditions,
of beef. milk and pork. For young
stock ofIall kinds it supplies the ma
terials needed to develop bone, muscle
and rapid growth. When alfalfa
hay is used as the rOUghness IN fatten-
ing steers, q large saving in grain Is
made, conservative feeders estimating
the saving 70 be from . to 80 per cent
Alfalfa can be combined with the or
binary feeds grown on Kansas farms
to make q good milk-prOducing fodder
ration without the need af any pur
chased feed, and induces an abundant
flow OF milk with good butter-maklng
qualities. In pig raising, alfalfa pas.
tire with corn or kRtdr corn makes a
rapid growth at a low cost, the alfalfa
supplying the material lacking in the
other feeds. At the State Agricultural
college. pigs were pastured through
the summer on alfalfa with light feed
Of corn. After deducting the probable
gain from the corn, they had gain
per acre from the alfalfa pasture Of
776 pounds Of pork.
At least one good crop Of alfalfa can
be harvested in the dryest year in any
part Of Kansas, and In most years IN
der favorable conditions from three to
five crops are harvested. When once
established il lives for years; 1t roots
deeply and Withstands drOuth we'll
Alfalfa collects plant food from the
air storing it up in the soil Where a
Kansas farm has been cultivated until
the crop yield is reduced, then alfalfa
grown on a part Of the farm and fed to
stock. together with the grain raised
Z
duce as much or more beef, milk and
pork as the grain from the whole farm,
and at the same time will increase the
fertility Of the soil. By rotating after
a part has been made fertile, the whole
farm can be brought back to its Origi-
nal condition Of fertility and profit
secured while the work is being done.
Alfalfa is weak when young and on
many soils is hard to establish. 1t
grows best on a rich loan with a POrus
clay subsOil where water is not over
% feet from the surface, but we have
found it growing on the high Uplands
in both the eastern and western parts
of the state where water was from 20
to I75 feet from the surface, and it is
probable that it can be grown on som
spot on almost every section Of land
it the state.
ground free from weeds. Seeding
should be done early in April and the
ground handled so that at seeding time
it will be moist for at least ID to %
inches. This condition can be secured
on many soils by fall blowing, pulver-
izing the soil to a depth Of five or six
inches with a disk harrow before plOw-
ing, making the whole depth plOwed
mellow. Soil inclined to blow can be
lightly Fidged or subsurface packed
after blowing. In western Kansas a
successful alfalfa grower runs burrows
through the prairie surrounding his
alfalfa to conduct the surplus water
from each rain to the field. This may
be done to get moisture into the soil
during the winter before seeding.
Alfalfa roots deeply and must have
a subsOil that it can penetrate. Where
the subsOil is imperviOus, a sUbsOiler
can be used, or where there is no dan
ger from washing, the ground can be
thrown up into high, sharp ridges just
before freezing. The frost will thor
Oughly pulverize the ridges, putting
them in good condition for q seed bed
when leveled in the spring, and will
pulveTize the subsOil in the burrows
deeper, better and cheaper than a sub
soil pillow.
Each farmer must use his judgment
as to the best method to follow, using
that method which viii put his land in
proper condition at least cost. With
few exceptions, every farmer in the
state who does not have a field Of alfal-
IA shot Id SOW one next spring, and it
will pay many farmers to enlarge the
area already seeded to this crop. Pre-
paratiOn should be made this fall. 1t
will pay.