Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1905-08-24

| It is preferable, however, to use tn,
ground lime stone which 1a.y. b.
bought at the mills for about 81 pei
ton f. 0. b.
| TESTING THE Soil FOR ACIDITY.-
The farmer can determine whether
his soil is acid by the litmus paper
test. Buy five cents worth of blu,
litmus paper from the drug store
Take q small amount of soil from
the field, put 1t in saucer, moister
with rain water to the consistency o.
thick paste, then with clean dry
hands take two or three strips of the
litmus paper, after making an open
| ing in the wet soil with knife insert
one end OF the litmus paper in the
opening and close up the soil. After
the paper remains in the soll for q
few hours remove it carefully, wash
| off the soil adhering and if the blue
! paper has turned decidedly red II
indicates an acid condition of the
soil and indicates the need Of lime.
If the paper has not turned red your
soil probably does not need lime.
PREPARING THE SOIL FOR SowING.
While good stands of alfalfa have
been secured at different seasons
from the first Of April until the first
Of October, probably the safest time
to SOW is from August ) to Septem-
Der 20. The land shonlt be thoroly
plowed as if for wheat and it would
be better to have the land plowed
in July. AS soon as it has been plcw-
I'd it should be thorclv pulverized
and compacted as deep us it has
been plowed. 1t is not sufficient to
work with light harrow and pre-
duce smooth surface on top. BE
sure to puiverize the sod with cul
tivator or disc harrow and then
work the soil with harrow. drag or
roller until a perfect seed bed is Sc
cured.
The next letter will treat of the
;noculation Of the soil, sowing the
seed and curing the hay.
GOOD SEED NECEssARY.-After
preparing the soil thoroly as ad-
vised above, SOW the seed at any
time after August Is, and not later
than September 20, that there is
sufficient moisture to germinate the
seed. 1t is very important to Sc
cure seed clear of weeds. | would
advise getting the seed thru some
reliable seed dealer. Home grown
or Kansas grown seed will proba-
bly, suit Missouri conditions best.
Sow Is to 20 pounds per acre eith9r
broadcast Or with a press drill, COW
ering lightly with harrow if sown
broadcast.
INCUBATION OF Soil OR Seed
Numerous experiments have dem
onstrated that some of the soils of
Missouri do not naturally possess
the bacteria which are essential to
the growth of alfalfa. Unless alfal-
ia has been successfully raised on
like soil in the nelghborhood the
safest plan will be to inoculate either
the seed or the soil. If it IS desired
to inoculate the seed application for
the material should be made by let
ter to the Bureau Of Plant Industry,
Washington, d. c., stating how
much seed is to be sown. The di-
rections for using the material will
be sent with the package and should
be closely followed. The soil may
DE inoculated by sowing on the
field about 200 pounds ofsoil taken
from field where alfalfa has been
successfully grown, or what will do
as we'll soil taken from Il field where
| sweet clover is growing. To avoid
getting weed seeds scrape offa little
of the top soil, then take up the
soil to dedth OffOur or five inches.
| This inoculated soil should be
spread over the field to be sown as
evenly as possible. 1t may be sown
broadcast by hand OF may be mix
ed with manure and spread with the
| manure spreader, and should be in
ccrporated with the soil by running
& harrow over the field after il has
been spread.
! WINTER kILLING--The plants
may be killed by hard freezing I'M
less they are large enough to be-
come hardy, hence, the seeding
should not be delayed. The field
shold not be paztured the first year
as the top growth is necessary for
winter protection. The following
spring when the plants get about
! eight inches high il VIII help them
to run the mower over the field
/