The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-24
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I at Greely. Col, which Is one or the l largest potato growing centers In lne l United States to plant their potatoeo 1 on alfalfa sod for the express puipoee 1 of getting the benefit of the tertilis'hs
 value of that crop. | Texas farmers are already DecoHi'is | well acuuainted with alfalfa. ana Value z I if highly for hay and pasturhBo ana u l are increasing their acreage at rapiu | rate. but they are so well pleased "iti l If that they do not want to piow It up l to test it's fertilizing value yet It is GIT tirely proper and profitable 10 plo~ if m after a certain term of years ana n1 ] tt shou1d make everyone better pleased
 plowed up 1t becomes great Ter I. | with alfalfa to find that when IL ID for the following crop. ,,k.. [, | Many A farmer would SOW al1al1a II he was convinced that when ploWeu
 mn if would increase the yield of lint | cotton even 100 pounds per acre or the yield of corn ten bushels per acre.
 There Ia no doubt that alfalfa Is one | of the greatest If not the greatest soil
 imnroyer known. It's long roots go | deep into the soil. bringing up mois- l ture and minerals from depth tha' | many crops cannot reach and 1t gath- | CTS immense stores of nitrogen rom | the air. which Is the most valuable oi
 all the plant foods, yet If alfalfa IS
 grown on land already well supplieo l with nitrogen like the black lands II | Ia doubtful whether It's fertllizing
 value will prove as great as on sandy lands or black lands of inferior fer
 tility. ., .o | It Is indeed not so easy a thing to l grow alfalfa on sandy land as 10 grow l COW peas on the same, for sandy lands | usually need fertilizing and inocuiat- l ing before alfalfa will do well on them, l I that n good alfalfa sod Is an even | better fertilizer than a crop of COW | meas It is my own observation that | alfalfa falls on sandy land partly for ! lack of fertilizer and partly for lack | of nodules which contain the nitrogen gathering bacteria Even the process of inoeuIation which Is for the pur-
 nose of introducing the nitrogen gath ering bacteria into the soil may be only partially successful the first time 1 because perhaps they are not numerous | enough or because the soil IS too acid 1 hut persistence will bring success. A | farmer living in the Northwest terri | tory of Canada recently wrote that his first and second attempts to grow al-
 falfa were failures. but his third was | success.
 | People used to tell us that alfalfa would not succeed without irrigation | then they told us 1t was all right for river bottom lands, but would not grow on the black prairie land. and now they l tell us 1t will grow on the prairie. but | that if cannot be grown on East Texas
 sandy lands, but they will find even
 here that they are mistaken. Fertili-
 zation and inoculation' and possibly | subsoilfng, are the agencies that will
 make alfalfa succeed throughout most | of East Texas and similar lands in ad-
 joining States. and when that time | comes men will learn of it's fertilizing | value without being told, for these are l the lands that respond to fertilization l and are capable of growing as much corn and more cotton than the famous | black lands These are the lands where fruits and vegetables reach | thsar highest perfection and where al- falfa and other legumes find their l greatest opportunity to transform a | soil which naturally is not rich into
 one of surpassing fertility.
 | Cow Peas.
 |