The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1905-04-29
ALFALfAFARnER TALKS
Declares This to De the h0si Useful OF
ANY Forage Crop Grown.

e. r. Smith of Richland. Texas,
known as one of the most successful
alfalfa farmers in the southwest.
speaking OF alfalfa culture. says:
Alfalfa Is crop that is worth a
mans time to cultivate. 1t never
dies of old. age. ii neved falls from
grace. Fields of it have been known
TO live three hundred years. Ground
once pio@ed and seeded is sown for
ever II sets the farmers boys free;
ii liberates the mule; emancipates
the farmers wife: bestows upon its
haryesters a pocketful of money and
big wad of self respect. Ii is storm
enduring and dronth resisting, it
luxuriates beneath tropical suns and
withstands the blasts Nof Manitoba
j wish II were In my power to let the
farmers of the world know the pleas
ure of cultivating a really satisfying
crop. II cotton Is king, then alfalfa
Is emperor, for IL is the most gener-
ally useful of all the forage crops
grown There Is no forest tree whose
roots are so long as those Of alfalfa
some of which have been measured
129 feet in length, and at the Omaha
exposition | saw an alfalfa root that
was grown in the Platte valley that
was as large around as mans body
This Is the age of progress for the
farmer az well as for the craftsman.
and the farmer must take advantage
of the means TO advance his interest,
and BY so doing add his assistance
TO the education OF the country
Many people ask me how to plant
alfalfa With farming, IL is like
everything else. you must start right.
You must carefully prepare your
land. because alfalfa only stays
when you treat 1t right, and you
should not expect more than that of
your wife. You want crop for forty
years Plow the land deep. say IA
inches Harrow IL well and get IL
smooth before seeding that when the
crop Is grown you can drive an eight
foot cutter bar moving machine at
a trot through the alfalfa without
damage to the machine. You must
have the soil so that II Will let the
young roots of the alfalfa so down
as far as the want to. II needs as
much plant food in the soil as any
OF our ordinary crops. Do not plant
alfalfa In an orchard. as IL is 80
thirsty that il will not leave enough
water In the ground for the trees.
Alfalfa works harder to prolong its
life than any other plant. and while
It wants lots of water it is not too
lazy TO go after II with it's roots.
Alfalfa always yields in cured hay
ls45 per acre. but the best way TO
tar = Ia s4F@ psfY nat tG
or hogs and turn Ii into beef or
bacon A little careful watching to
prevent cattle from the pasture when
Il is vet viii prevent bloating. Herds
of angora goats consume this superb
| or hay as a steady diet ia Texas and
| thousands Of pigs are fattened upon
| this ration.
For pastoral beauty. an alfalfa
section il unexcelied. What harmony
OF color in the vast green meadows
tinted with purple OF the blossom
and under the fine blue sky of the
| southwest What symphony of
sound as borne by the wind the cease
| less hum OF the mower and the glad
some song of its driver reaches the
| ear Could life be more perfect. the
| soul more content than here on a
| spot blessed by prosperity produced
| by land and laborF Truly is ths
saying thar alfalfa lifted the mort
cages and redeemed the arid re
| gions. That Is because there ar,
from three 10 five crops year anC
the country God did not forget, and
glance over its lists OF products
reveals New Mexico as the promised
land Il is wonder that the Unitet
States has been so long In tindinl
Tout chat alfalfa Is the most profit