The twice=a=week herald. (Amarillo, Tex.) 1887-1906, 1905-10-17
ALFALFA; GREATEST OF THE LEGUMES.
Full Text Of the Valuable Address Forage
ivered at the Panhandle Farmers Congress, by
w. s. Marshall of Charming.


That the Panhandle of Texas has future which bright with
promise that this country destined to become of the profit
able OF stock farming sections most firmly believe And am also
confident that Alfalfa the king forage crops
of the most important factors in the advancement of Panhandle
experiment The demonstration of its has been made He
who will convince himself that fact for he have the
mony not of one but who have the plant successful cult
vaion under nearly all the varied conditions here The time has
when the Panhandle farmer who does take the advantage offered
this most valuable feed pasture stands in his own light and
is blind to his best interests country that will grow Kafr corn
milo maize and alfalfa need be passed by worthless by the home
hunter neither need its lands the market low price
as from three to ten dollars The country which produces
grain and other such crops which sold and away
the land country which constantly reducing productive
pact and vegng toward time when its lands shall become mpover
hed and reproductive while stock farming country country where
grains and forage fed
home and the resdue returned the soil which constantly
Greasng in productive capacity Let the people of the older states
know and become convinced that in addition capacity for
katr milo and other forage much feeding
value per be raised in the belt also
wheat and that alfalfa become the chief forage crop
farm. If they do learn this the tide of immigration will
sharply way lands will command something like their real
value long remains uncaenged the report that requires
fifteen acres toSuppor here long will two three dollars
acre be all our lands will command.
The demonstration that alfalfa will grow here successfully should
be surprise That is at home here should have been expected
know that native of and found growing wild in country
which nearly counterpart of the Panhandle elevation and climate
growing wild The elevation of the valleys plains
part of Asia from three thousand thousand above
the level The winters generally cold days
and the summer nights cool and there is lack of
high winds in spring and early summer In such country al
fafa has its native home into notice domestic forage
plant twenty three hundred years ago when brought
to Greece the time of the Persian hundred and seventy
years before the Christian 1t cultivated and held high es
nation by the Romans History tells raised by them for
for the of their army horses Its cultivation has been
tnued Italy to this day From there taken to Spain and
France From Spain brought by the Spanish invaders to Mex
leo and from thence found its the of South Amer
ca In 1854 was brought from Chill to California and has spread
over the arid regions OF the Pacific coast and the Rocky Mountains from
that starting point In those regions raised the chief for
age crop almost to the exclusion OF other forage plants Early IN the
last century brought New York under the of ucerne or
German CLOVER This was three decades or more before it was intro
duced into California but being hant of the arid rather than of
the humid regions and It's culture and requirements evidently not being