Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-07-08
Alfalfa as a Forage Crop.

Oouroer' rear you are giving un'
due prominence to alfalfa, orlucerne,
as forage crop. You state that
one acre of this plant will feed five
horses a yea.; that once established
it will last lifetime.
Some years ago one of my friends
and neighbors, seeing the wonderful
claims for alfalfa, tried an acre or
two. The land was fine, producing,
under ordinary seasons, about a bale
of cotton per acre or about two and
one-half times better than the aver
age cotton land of this State. A good
stand was secured. Every possible at
tention was given it, but it proved a
dismal failure. His time and trou-
BILE was all lost; he was out of the
land two or>three years, and he never
made pound of hay, and, 30 far as
the Improvement to, the soil, rest
would have done equally as we'll, and
wise rotation even better.
Owing to the luxuriant flora of this
low country we cannot have a per-
manent crop like alfalfa. Whenever
the plough and hoe are taken out of
field for few years our native
vegetation will oroud out any plant.
On the treeless plains of the West
it is different. While the soil is far
richer than ours, yet its fora or
natural vegetation, is not vigorous
and a permanent field crop will
thrive unmolested for a much longer
period there than here.
Less than forty years ago, near
Charleston, a number of rice planta-
tions were abandoned. To-day,
were it not for the dams and bitches,
they would be mistaken for primeval
or virgin forests. And for anybody
to think they can get tender plant
like alfalfa started, and leave it to
care for itself, and get enough from
Ole acre in one season to feed five
horses year, is getting far into the
realms of unreason and incredulity.
Alfalfa may thrive in favored locali-
ties in this State, but for general
purposes it will prove failure. Our
land is too poor and our soil is too
humid. The test being made at the
Exposition grounds is not fair test.
1t will be remembered those grounds
were part and parcel of a truck
farm. For years it has been highly
fertilized, often three or four times
per year, the garbage of the city has
been dumped there for years, making
it a highly favorable place to test
any crop. But 60 out further,
where the soil is worn, and the test
would very probably prove failure.
We are not 80 much in need of new
crops as we are in need OF improv-
ing what we have. A few years ago
I was selling cotton at five cents the
pound and it broke me all to pieces
took an oath that / would raise
a finer grade of cotton, and ! began
to gather new seeds from all over the
world.
Last year I sold every pound OF
my crop at premium of q to
cents per pound, and sent in samples
from higher bred cotton, valued in
Charleston and Savannah at 80, 40
and so cents the pound.
Experts from Europe were amazed
and DR.. Herbert J. Webber, the
government cotton expert breeder at
Washington, d. O., who made a
thorough test of these fibres, was no
less amazed than these buyers from
Europe. AS I have improved the
cotton fibre on uplands, 30 also can
improve corn, oats, wheat and, in
fact, all of our standard field crops
But the field is large one, the
process is slow and one man cannot
in short period accomplish all that
is capable of being done. However,
/ must think that rather than try
crops we have had no experience in
growing we hal better try and i'm
prove the crops we know how to
grow. A. w. Brabham.
Olar, Barnwell County, June 80.
The News and Courier, comment.
ing on the above, says:
We do not know what experience
Mr.. Brabham has had with alfalfa,
and we do not claim to be an author.
ity on the crop, but we do not share
his fear, as expressed in his letter,
printed in another place in this paper
that we are giving undue prominence
to the plant as forage crop in this
State.
We prefer to have the merits of
the plant defended, in answer to Mr.
Brabhan's views on them, by some
one who has cultivated the plant ir
this State or in this general region.
A number of practical farmers have