The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-26

| hands 253 bales of cotton, costing in money outlay $4,500, and bringing on the market $10,575. In 1901 the same man with the same labor, on poorer land, harvested LIDO tons of alfalfa, selling in carload lots for s15 per ton, or a total valuation of $16,5O0, with a money outlay for labor and machinery repairs of $1,500. In one case it reduir- ed about 45 per cent. of the gross value of the cotton to get 1t ready for the market; in the other 1t required only 10 per cent. of the gross value of the alfalfa to put 1t on the market.
 II What this and other Louisiana farm CTS are doing some few of our farmers in this State and North and South Car (olina are also doing. Alfalfa grows Just as freely in the Eastern, Middle , and Piedmont sections of these States as in Louisiana or the West when the lproper means are taken to secure a stand. It will also grow in the noun
 tain sections of the West of these States in the valleys, and where the elevation is not too great and too exposed. but in those sections should be seeded in spring and not in the fall. as is best
 in the Middle and Eastern sections. We import into this State thousands of tons of hay every year from the West, and this also Is the case in the other South Atlantic States Every ton of this hay can be grown at home, and of much finer quality than that bought from the West, If only our far mers will SOW alfalfa. There are, how ever, certain conditions which must be observed in growing the crop if suc- cess is to be achieved, and 1t is with the object of stating these that we write this article. Alfalfa thrives best lin warm, friable soil with a porus subsoil. into which its long tap roots can read fly penetrate. More than any other plant, it depends on subterraneous supply, of water rather than on a sur face supply. To reach this the roots have been known to go down twenty or thirty feet. The land must be in good state of fertility and free from weeds
 Alfalfa will not grow in poor land nor will 1t fight successfully a battle with weeds. Although it makes wonderful growth of feed every year after 1t IS well established on the land, often pro- ducing four or five crops in one year Of | from one and one-half to two tons. Of
 hay to the acre at each cutting, yet 1t
 makes but a slender growth the first year. except Jon very rich land. and weeds easily overcome 1t at that time and smother it out. The land must be
 finely broken and well prepared. and
 should have a dressing of from twenty
 to twenty-nHe DuSnelS or llIne to lHe acre applied previous to seeding the crop. and this should be we'll worked in
 to the soil. If the land Is not in good
 fertility 1t should have a dressing Of
 four hundred or five hundred pounds to
 the acre of bone meal or acid phosphate or have a good coating of well routed
 farmyard manure free from weed seeds applied and these be well worked into . the soil The next and most important ! fIa soil rIn ho In nn-
 ulated with the specific bacteria of the alfalfa plant. Without this there can be no certainty of a permanent stand. The seed may germinate and grow for time. but until the soil is fully infect
 ed with the bacteria no. success can be relied on. This specific bacteria can be
 got in several ways. It can be had from
 the Department of Agriculture at Washington, or better still, can be sup piled in larger quantity by the sprink-
 ling of one hundred pounds to the acre
 of soil from a field upon which alfalfa
 is already growing luxuriantly. There
 are a number of parties advertising this soil for sale and if there be no all falfa field in your section 1t will be ad- visable to secure the soil from them. If you reside in a section where the meli- lotus alba (commonly called sweet clo- ver) grows, and this is found more or less all over the South. soil from around where this plant is growing will infect the soil with the proper bac- teria for the alfalfa, and professor Kil- gore. of the North Carolina Experiment Station, says that he finds that soil from a bur clover field will also give the proper infection. In which ever way is most convenient for you, secure the bacteria and apply 1t to the field be- fore sowing the alfalfa seed. (Septem-
 Der In Aiabama) at the rate of 20 to
 % pounds to the acre broadcast, harrow in lightly and roll if the land Is dry. following the roller again with weeder ) or light harrow to break the surface
 compactness and make soil mulch to conserve the moisture. A good place to experiment in growing alfalfa is a COW pea field with heavy crop of peas on it. which have smothered down the weeds Cut the peas for hay. Spread
 twenty-five bushels of lime per acre on the stubble and then break shallow, not going over three inches deep. with a
 disc harrow or cultivator. This will
 not bring to the surface fresh weed seeds to smother the crop. Sow the
 alfalfa seed and roll and harrow as | above directed. When the alfalfa has
 made growth of six or eight inches run over 1t with the moving machine, just clipping off about half the growth and leave the cutting for a mulch. This l may De repeated dBaln IT the growth becomes sufficiently tall before middle of October. This clipping causes the plant to tiller out and cover the ground more completely, and thus protects the roots during the winter. This clipping of the crop should be continued through
 1he first summers growth, though if a good and thick stand be obtained be-
 fore the first winter the crop may be allowed to grow foot or fifteen inches tall in the spring before cutting, and this and the later cutting should be cur | ed into hay and removed from the field.
 After the first year cut the crop for hay every time 1t gets fifteen or eighteen
 inches high, just when coming into bloom, and take care to give 1t a good
 heavy dressing of acid phosphate or bone meal, four hundred or five hun dred pounds to the acre, each year in
 the fall or early spring. So treated the
 stand should last for ten or fifteen years at least.-Southern Planter.
 Crimson Clover.
 Although Crimson Clover (often call ed German clover and in some sections in this country and in Europe Trifo- lium) has been grown successfully here in some sections for many years yet it is crop that has not yet had half the attention given to 1t that 1t deserves
 In all sections of tihs country land left
 bare at any season of the year iS apt to | lose nuph fertility bu ha uaahinsr ,,,t