The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-07-15
No Forage Crop Eq nails II.
News and Courier,

The veteran Carolina farmer. Col. j. Wash
Watts, speaks strongly in favor OF alfalfa
or lucerne, as he prefers to call it-in his In
teresting letter printed several days ago. l.
State as he shows. The Hon. K. I. Simpsoi
sowed 1T fifty years ago In garden at Laurens
and II is Still! growing where he planted 1t
wnicn goes TO sustain all That has been saio
as TO It's laStiug character, and to prove thai
It Is not readily smothered by the rank weed
and grasses Of this region, us MIR. Brabhan
feared II might be. No one need refrain tron
trying the crop, therefore, on that account
'.There is no danger Of the weeds and grass
taking It."
Col Watts says that he himself Knows. 1t
value from personal experience, rs he soweu
his first crop about fifty years ago, and hi.
appreciation OF IL has grown with It's use,
No forage crop with which he Is acquainted
"equals Is in value, whether led green or us
hay" After his own long experience OF IL
moreover. he does not doubt the statement
tnat one acre OF 1t will feed tve horses, Tor :
reason which he explains: u hao at ont
time" he says, half an acre, and milkeC
.'seyen large cows, which were ted night aDG
morning, and every time We had TO cut the
balance Of d monthly yield; the COWS did moi
eat IL all"
satisfy the most exacting farmer.
Mr., John l.. Watts has also tried IT. Col
Watts reports: II saw bis crop on June "A
He bad cut 1t twice, and 1t was ready again
say three crops by July !. What ls there IL
the forage line that win equal lhis." What Il
there, indeed? And 1t does not stop at three
crops. "After the first cutting you may mo"
IL every thirty days until Inc middle o
September"-whi hich makes Six crops at least
We know of no other forage or other plant
that yields the farmer six iull crops year
for years together, from one planting. The
wonder is that any farmer with so much tes
timony from experienced farmers 10 lnstruc
him as 70 its great value, should require I,
be urged to give such Il crop a trial!
Col. Watts adds some particulars which ar,
k,N ,fnft al n frU ~
may sow In September" he says, and may
have to help IT against weeds early neXl
spripS, (for which reason 1t Is expedlent Il
SOW IL In drils,)"bu by the middle OF Aprl
until the middle OF september. II treated
properly (thst is, keep cattle and other STOCK
from LramplIng IT, which Is the easiest way
To Kill it,) aud manu- ed every year, IT vii
live indefinitely" And will yield It's nu'
meryus crops indefinitely.
We add some further pertinent In nformatiou
which IL presented In the Bulletin Of the
Minnesota Experiment Station. IT says: .
Alfalfa reaches The condition most suitable
for cutting when one-third .: the blossoms
have appeared. Alter this larger amount
of much in ierior hay is obtained. These re
suits agree with those obtained by the Kansas
Agricultural Experiment Station. The
chemical department OF that station obtained
the following results:
One-tenth In bloom. 1875 per cent protein.
One-half in bloom, l7.2 per cent protein.
10 full bloom, liy4 per cent protein.
IL is stated in The bulletin of the Kansas
Station that 1.-The late cutting OF the first croI
seems to injure the plant more than at any
other time, and we have found II profitable
TO cut alfalfa the first time az soon as one
tenth Is In bloom. even though the weather
was bad and we knew that the crop woulc
spoil in curing. The increased yield from
succeeding cuttings over that cut late mn:
more than make up for the loss OF the frs
CROP Successful clover growers the hrs
time they try alfalfa often ruin the stand, sc
that II has TO be ploughed up, by waiting to
cut until 1t reaches the stage at which clover
Is usually cut"
The Utah Experiment Station for five year,
cut alfalfa at different stages OF maturity aud
fed the crop in producing beef The average
production per year per acre was as follows:
Hay. Beef.
In first bloom .............53 So tons 70G 10
In Iull DIOOln. toHs oo- W
Hail OlOOn Iallen ...........i.oo toun iU ~
Col. Watts, Mr. John ID. Watts and MI
Simpson have proved that the crop does vel
In the up country. The Experiment Station
at Charleston has proved that 1t Is equal.
adapted TO the low country. II will doubles
do vel any where in the State, on well drain
ed land. And any farmer in the State Will o.
well TO try 1t. There Is no forage plant IN thi
section 10 compare with IT, whether for gree
food or for hay.