Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1900-04-28
GREAT VALUEOF ALFALFA
NO OTHER KANSAS CROP YIELDS AS
MUCH WEALTH PER ACRE.
Feed to Stock With Corn It Greatly In
ereases the Value Of the Corn-Dif6-
culties of Raising Tits Numer-
GUS Peculiar Qualities.
Kansas City Star.

Kansas City Star.
Kansas has 300, 900 acres planted in
crops that are practically unknown in
the states east of the Missouri river.
These crops are:-
Acres.
Kaffir corn. 503, 600
Fodder SorghumS- -449,ooO
Alfalfa -ZIo,OOO
And the greatest of these is alfalfa;
not in the extent of its cultivation,
but in the profitableness oft to those
who know how to plant it, to care for
it and to feed it. The alfalfa fields
of western Kansas are yielding to
their owners a greater net profit per
acre than any other land of no greater
value to be found anywhere in the
world. Three crops of hay year,
yielding often five tons to the acre,
and worth all the way from $40 to $40,
according to the yield and the season,
alfalfa is certainly one of the most
wonderful crops raised anywhere in
the world. ---...---.--
1t has been demonstrated by chem
ical analysis and by experience that
the feeding value of alfalfa hay is
three times that of prairie hay, 5Oper
cent greater than that of red clover
hay and almost as great, pound for
pound, as that of bran. Indeed, the
leaves of alfalfa, properly cured, con-
tain more of the essentials for the
production of meat than wheat bran.
But alfalfa is the scientific farmers
crop. 1t needs not only careful prep
II
ing, but larger part of its good quail
tiles can be spoiled in the harvesting
than any other crop the state raises,
unless great attention is given to the
time of cutting and the manner of
saving it. Nor is this all. Alfalfa's
greatest value is making up ''bal-
anced ration" for stock. 1t contains
a large per cent of protein. an ingre-
dient that is not plentiful in corn,
and the feeding of alfalfa along with
corn in the proper proportion i'm
menselv increases the value of the
later cereal.
1t may be fed or paStured, however,
by itself with great profit. At the
Agricultural college at Manhattan
hogs pastured on alfalfa made gain
of 776 pounds per acre of alfalfa.
With hogs worth cents pound on
the farm this is a net return of S3S. 80
per acre. What crop in Kansas can
equal that, even in an exceptional
case?
The experts and experimenuors at
the Manhattan college are making a
vigorous effort to encourage the plant
ing of alfalfa in eastern Kansas, and
those who have adopted proper meth
DDS declare that it can be produced
In any part of the state, and also in
Nebraska and Oklahoma. The fail
ureS have been much more numerous
than the successes in the eastern part
of the state, but those who have not
been able to get a good stand have
not adopted the proper processes of
preparing the land and of planting.
The last quarterly report of Secre-
tary Coburn of the State Board of Ag-
rlculture is devoted to the subject of
Forage and Fodders," and the first
place is given to alfalfa. The princi-
pal article on this subject was writ
ten by George L. Clothier, assistant
botanist of the Agricultural college
at Manhattan Mr.. Clothier says:
HISTORY OF ALFALFA
"Alfalfa has been cultivated since
the dawn of ancient civilization. 1t
was familiar to the Egyptians, Medes
and Persians, Greeks and the Romans,
who distributed it over large part
of Southern Europe. 1t is known in
Spain by its Arabic name alfalfa
while the nations of the rest of Eu-