, 1907-03-14
ALFALFA ON
TABLE LAND
OPINION OF MEMBER OF NEBRAS
kA STATE BOARD OF AGRI-
CULTURE ON SUBJECT.
Crete Ranchman Tells Of Methods Pur-
sued In That Section, Where Con.
ditions AZ to Altitude and Moisture
Are Very Similar to Those Of the
Laramie Plain.

The following article was prepared
by Hon. E. f. Stephens of Crete, Neb.,
a member of the Nebraska state board
of agriculture, and handed to this pa
per by Prof. Nelson, secretary of the
Wyoming state board of horticulture,
Prof. Nelson assuring The Republican
that the climatic conditions around
Crete are very similar to those of the
Laramie plain, and that the methods
employed there can be applied here
with such notifications as experience
would seem to demonstrates:
Prof. Stephens Letter.
Brott brothers of Sextorp, Cheyenne
county, Nebraska, have been expert
menting with alfalfa nine years. At
first they sewed alfalfa seed broad
cast, which is the common method I'M
der irrigation. An experience of nine
years has shown them that broadcast
seeding does not give the best results
in dry seasons. At an elevation of
something more than four thousand
feet there is not always sufficient mois-
ture during the driest seasons to per-
feet a good crop of seed when grown
by the broadcast method.
Drills for Cultivation.
In the course of their experiments
Brott brothers have tested drilling in
eighteen to twenty-five inch drills.
They have found that in drills of this
width the kind of cultivation that can
be given to the alfalfa plant in narrow
does not secure the best results.
During the most recent years they
have tested seeding alfalfa for a seed
crop in drills thirty-six to forty inches
apart. This allows. the use of a two
row cultivation enabling a man with
a good team On half mile rows, to cul-
tivate eighteen to twenty acres daily.
They find hat to secure the best re-
suits in conserving moisture they
should cultivate to the depth Of four
inches, %cultivating four to five times
during the season.
Get Better Seed Crop.
On these high table lands alfalfa
drilled in rows thirty-six to forty inches
apart branches widely, pods freely and
develops a better seed crop than under
any other method SO far tested. 1t is
their purpose to cultivate one hundred
and thirty acres of alfalfa the coming
season and to enlarge their plant as
rapidly as they can break the prairie
and get the land under cultivation.
Conserving the Rainfall.
The method which they now persue
is to place fields under cultivation in
the early spring, thus conserving the
winter moisture; then keep the soil
loose anil in good filth until the first
of August and seed with a drill. This
method avoids a weed crop. Most of
the weed seeds have been allowed to
and have been destroyed by
the first Of August. They also find
that conserving the rainfall until the
first of August stores a sufficient
amount of moisture to carry the alfal-
ia through the winter, and enables the
roots to reach a sufficient depth be-
fore the advent of winter to endure the
cold weather without harm.
Seed Growing Profitable.
Brott brothers are very much pleased
with the steady development of this
enterprise. They firmly believe that
the dry table lands of western Ne
braska will become worth at least $40
to $50 per acre if utilized in the grow
ing Of alfalfa seed. 1t seems to be
agreed that alfalfa seeds more freely
when drilled in on table lands than
when grown on bottom lands under ir-
rigation. Brott brothers have already
sold a portion of their crop of 1906 to
the department of agriculture at twen-
ty cents a pound. They regard the
growing of alfalfa for seed as one of
the safest possible crops for the ele-
waited lands Of Cheyenne and Banner
counties. At the time l was with them
in December, 1906, they ha done hun,
dred twenty-five bushels Of beautiful
seed on hand. Sowing on new, clean
land they are enabled to grow see OF