The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-19

A six-year-old plant will often possess a main root as large as mans arm. The roots are branching, but all have downward tendency. Alfalfa has brought about great revouton in southern and western farming and stock growing; in fact, 1t Is destined to change the whole order of stock growing and farming over a great area of the United States, and especially is this true of the west. It is q well established fact that once our wild grasses of the western prairies are killed by stock eating and destroying the roots this grass is forever gone. It will not come again and something else must be substituted, and 1t has been found that there is no substitute so valuable and so well adapted for this purpose as alfalfa.
 So that as the west is settled and the great prairie broken out and brought into cultivation and with the first demand for grass or clover comes the claims of alfalfa, and we now find 1t pushing its way into all the new states and territo- ries of the west taking the place of the wild grasses and furnishing both green and dry food. The acreage Is largely in- creased each year and as fast as the ques- tion of irrigation Is settled just that fast will alfalfa spread, as It is a plant that cannot thrive we'll without plenty of moisture
 Soils Suited for Alfalfa.
 Alfalfa is perhaps as near universal plant, as here shown, as can be found. , growing as 1t does over a great range of country and thriving on a great vari- ety of soils. The writer has seen alfalfa growing from old Mexico to the northern . boundary of the United States. In Texas it IS found along tho Rio Grande, on adobe soil as well as on sandy loam. Coming on up higher into Texas we find 1t on the chocolate soils, and on reach ing northern Texas we find it growing on the heavy black, waxy soils of that section.
 Passing out of Texas and through Ok lahoma and Indian Territory. we find alfalfa thriving on various soils, the bet ter fields being found along the rivers on the bottom lands. where the soil Is a deep rich, sandy loam. However. experi- ments various uplands in these sec tions have in man" cases proven quite satisfactory. Passing on out of this sec tion and on through Kansas. New Mex leo, Arizona, Colorado, California, Ore gon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. we find in all these that the soil is very similar to the adobe generally, and that in all the valleys where there is water, alfalfa Is being successfully grown. We can also follow the Ms souri river up north and west and find alfalfa growing in all the states and ter- l ritories bordering on this stream. Nor Is 1t confined to the western country alone, for we now find 1t well introduced in many of the eastern states, in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama and all along the south Atlantic states extending on up Into New York, where some won derful reports have been made as to its yield. Then, too, it is found in nearly all of our central states of the west, and even in Illinois some fine yields have been reported.
 So in growing over such a broad range of country 1t is bound to cover a very great range of soils. The soils less adapted for alfalfa are such as the white, putty. clay soils, heavy, stiff clay soils or soils closely underlaid with sheet rock or rock beds, which would prevent the roots from growing down to moist ure. The subsoil should be porous clay or gravelly subsoil that would let the roots through. This Is by far the best. Alfalfa will not thrive on any soil where the subsoil Is not porous and has good drainage. Under drainage Is essential to the success of the plant. while alfalfa must have water and has been known, as stated, to send It's roots down over 100 feet in search of mostre: yet 1t is a plant that will not grow with wet feet or on soils where the subsoils contain thei least bit of acid water
 Alfalfa wants water, but must have it pure, so that sub-drainage is just asl necessary as sub-irrigation Provlsionl must be made for carrying off all surplus water. That we have soils in nearly all of our states where alfalfa may be grown has been fully established. Yet there are many sections where it might not be- profitable or advisable to attempt the growing of alfalfa. Tn sections of the country where red clover and timothy thrive and grow luxuriantly it is a ques- ton as to whether or not 1t Is advisable to recommend the growing of alfalfa. But the question of soil most suitable for the plant is the one of most importance, and from what the writer has observedl of the plant we are led to believe that we have many soils that are well suitsdl for alfalfa. and when the matter of knowing when and how to prepare thossl soils is fully understood as they should be, large and profitable crops will bed grown over a very large range of terri-| tory.
 Most of the failures that have been made in attempting to grow alfalfa have, been from the want of proper knowl-l edge of how and when to prepare thel soil, and from want of knowing fully tie fequreHents ana general growth habits of the plant. It fig first of alu necessary that one should understand thoroughly these matters in order to sue ceed for, as before stated. the alfalfa plant when young is for some time very slow in It's growth and must have the proper plant food upon which to feed, until such time as 1t becomes fully es- tablished and able to draw food both from the air and sou.