Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-08-09

Alfalfa tN'esieaso saliva. sometimes
e4iei llieef1.l is comparatively a new
80. la Tie United States. hut is destined
10 oQine Ia!l-ll INTO general use. There
;iie Very few farmers whose profits would
no., De greatly increased hy raising a lew
Aeres of alfalfa each year. Every farmer
SHOULD aim TO produce. as FAR rs possible,
an his food stuis uron his own farm.
Dufins the last few years IN, area de-
voted to alfalfa has greatly increased in
The region west OF the Missouri river. and
II is certain thai thote viii be an equally
rapid increase throughout the eastern part
Of the Umi;ed States.
1t is safe to say that nineteen out of
every twenty farmers who have tried to
Gsow alfalfa in the humid regions have
failed. but with our present knowledge
of the requirements OF the crop, there VIII
hc little, II any, more trouble ia occurring
"a stand Of alfalfa than OF clover. How
ever, the methods followed In securing 4
catch OF clover Will almost certainly iail
With alfalfa.
i, Is Important first that the ground
should be swectencd with harnyard man
urc toisht OF ton manure spreader loads
TO the acre will be suficient>. second that
we have Il firm, solid, and we'll prepared
seed bed. third that no nurse crop hc used.
fourth tha; weeds should be kept moved
off during the first season in case the al
falfa Is sown IN the spring. as les common
IN the western states, anu NTH that the
first cutting each spring be made as soon
as the first blossoms begin to appear iscn-
orally not later than the first of June).
Tho best results are generally obtained
by sowing In august. using ground that
has grown " crop of oats. barley or wheat.
AS soon rs possible the grain should be
hauled Off the ground and either stacked
or threshed and ten loads of manure to
tIA .a.. H.. ,~., -. ~ - 80.
The ground should then be double diSked,
plowed. again double diskcd. narrowed,
and left until about the 10th or 18th of
August. when 1t should be again disked,
narrowed, seeded and reharroWed to cover
tho seed.
1t is important that the small grain be
removed AS soon as possible after 1t Is cut
and the ground manfred. disked, plowed
and redisked at once. II this work Is pro-
perly done. the ground will accumulate
sufficient moisture by August ~, to ger
inmate the seed Mt once even in the dryest
seasons. This may seem like n great deal
of work: but there is absolutely no use OF
trying to get IL stand of alfalfa unless
the work is done on time and thoroughly
done, too.
The alfalfa should make a good growth
in the fall and not less than two good cut
tings of hay should be made the following
seasons and three If conditions are favor
able. Remember that 1t is necessary to
make the first cutting early. generally no,
later than the first of June. even though
the weather is such rilt the crop canno,
be cured.
Advantages of Alfalfa.
J. 1t produces n large yield per acre
more than double that of clover.
2. 1T is rich in protein, the leaves hay
ing almost as high a feeding value As
bran.
>. 1t is probably the most enriching croI
for the ground which We have.
4. When Il good stand ia once secured 4
VIII generally last for eight or ten years
in the humid regions and much longer II
the west.
.. 1t can be fed as hay to all kinds o.
animals and has 10 superior as a hog pas
ture.
DISADVANTAGES.
l. Work required to secure n stand.
>. 1t docs not fit into the rotation well
3. In the corn belt the first cutting mus
be made in the midst of corn plowint
when cveryone is crowded for time.
4. 1t cannot be paSturcd safely by cat
tie and sheep. as it IS likely to cause tn.
animals to bloat.
DO not begin on too large n scale. &c
your experience with four or five acre.
first. SO located that 1t can be used 70
hog pasture. especially the first crop eac!
year.
Seed obtained from the eastern part o
Kansas :Gld Nebraska seems to give bet
ter results in the humid regions than tina
from the irrigated districts. The attemp
to grow alfalfa seed in the humid region
has not generally proved profitable. ]
seeds better In the semi-arid and In tn
irrigated regions. Where seed is the oh
ject the second cutting is allowed to ma