The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1906-12-22
STORY OF ALFALFA
Chilli Then Back California Is

Dung success lay IN the praCIiCdi
application of his favorite maxim,
Pillow deep and sow alfalfa" What
ever one may think of the Mormon's
religious views, there can be no ques-
ton about the fact that he is one OF
the most successful and prosperous
farmers in the world, and there is no
question, also, that he owes his pros
perity TO the sagacity of the man who
led his people out of Nauvoo and
across the prairies to Utah. Brigham
Young was not the founder OF the
faith OF which he was the chief ex-
ponent, but he made IT the basis OF a
political and industrial system which
is the admiration Of all who have
studied it without prejudice Few
men could have led a band Of parti
sans over plains and mountains and
settled them in an unknown and des-
ert land. land that in its physical
aspect promised nothing but death
and desolation, without some sacri-
fee Of his supremacy; still fewer the
leaders who could have brought peace
and cOntentment and wealth to his
followers from such conditions. Most
religious leaders have been impractI-
cal enthusiasts. Brigham Young was
not an enthusiast, and he was intense
~ practical He recognized the fact
that material prosperity was essential
TO the permanence Of Mormon insti
tutions, and he also recognized the
fact that their geographical as well
as religious isolation demanded COM
plete independence as regards the rest
OF the world. Such prosperity and
such independence could come only
from the soil. and from the soil they
were won. The land was a desert,
practically rainless. No crops could
be grown by the agricultural methods
known to his followers. Starvation
seemed to be certain; yet their faith
in their religion and their leader
never faltered Events proved that
their faith in him, at least, was fully
justified. Irrigation was then I'M
known North of the Rio Grande,
except to a few Pueblo Indians ana
the scattered Mexican settlements of
the extreme Southwest, but the Nor
man leader saw that irrigation was
the only salvation for his colony, and
the establishment of an irrigation
system was his first task. 1t was ir-
rigation that took the Mormons out
OF the jaws of death and placed them
he :
alfalfa that brought them to the end
OF it. and it was Brigham Young who
gave both. The farmers of the West
little know how much they owe to
the Mormons and their great apostle,
for it irrigation is conquering arid
America, alfalfa is its chief weapon.
Pillow deep and sow alfalfa" The
Mormons found this the Genesis ana
the Revelation Of their agriculture,
and the Western farmers who are not
Mormons have learned that their Cos
pei is complete 1t is a wonderful
story this rise and spread of alfalfa;
il might be called a romance of the
soil 1t is only a few years ago that
the word was foreign to American
err as the gibberish of a Congo
negro; yet today, in all the region
West of the Mississippi, it stands at
the head of forage crops, and i'll most
sections leads all the crops of the
Iield in the profit it returns to the
farmer Yet the cultivation OF alfalfa
is almost as old as civilization
Alfalfa Came from Syria
The plant. which IS a species OF
clover. IS native OF Syria. where it
has been sown and harvested so many
years and thousands Of years that all
record Of its beginning is lost. II
Was brought into Greece in the time
OF Darius. the Persian conqueror, 500
years before Christ, and in the course
81 t;mc its cultivation spread to the
Romans. For centuries it formed the
prncipal food of the horses of the
Roman armies and one enthusiastic
historian sees in this the secret of the
rise OF the empire Of the Caesars.
However that may be. it was certainly
held in high esteem by It's military
leaders. and its cultivation followed
close behind the progress OF its le-
gions They called It medica, from
its Median origin, and the scientific
ras.e Of the GENTS IS still Medieago.
II went after them into Gaul and into
Hr tain In the So.th of France it
fsuad a territory specially favorable
to It's growth. and there it has always
Zen extensively cultivated. There
10. il Was given the title. .iucerne." by
which name it vas known and grown
IL some extent in the Eastern part
OF the United States long before al
fal vas ever heard of in the West
err states. The word lucerne, con
trarg TO popular belief, does not come
fron, the Swiss canton of that name
Ihe cultivation OF the plant in Swift
erland is comparatively recent ane