The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-11-01

vent such trouble?" Whether 1t is
better to have growing crops in an
orchard or to practice clean culture is
question much discussed by fruit
growers. What l would recommend
is clean culture at first, say, for three
or four years, and then seeding down
to some legume like clover or alfalfa.
Then the question comes up whether
this crop of clover or alfalfa should
be removed or allowed to rot around
under the trees. For the very best
results the hay should not be removed.
But where alfalfa or red or crimson
clover is grown for hay and the pro-
duct is removed the soil will be en-
riched and not impoverished. If
wheat, oats, rye or barley is grown
and removed it will tend to impoverish
the land but not so if any of the
legumes are raised. The three chief
elements of fertility in the soil are
nitrogen, potash and phosphorus. Our
soil chemists tell us that there is
enough potash and phosphorus in the
soil to grow crops for two thousand
years. The element of fertility that
is soonest used up is the nitrogen.
1t is more expensive to replace this
than any of the other elements of fer
tility. But here comes in a peculiar
ity respecting the legumes like alfalfa
and clover. They do not impoverish
the soil of it's nitrogen, but on the
other hand constantly make it richer
in this ingredient. This is a great dis
covery that has been made by our
plant psychologists during the past
century. These legumeS, and that in
cludes all plants that grow their seeds
in pods, such as peas, beans and
vetches, as well as the clovers, al
falfa and some trees, constantly gather
more nitrogen from the air than they
take out of the soil. Dig up any of
this class of plants and you will find
little nOduleS on their roots, sometimes
but few and sometimes very abundant.
Now these nodules are full of nitrates
in just the condition the plants need
them. So your soil is all the time
growing richer instead of poorer If
you grow the legumes. Alfalfa is one
of the best nitrogen gatherers we can
grow and makes the soil immensely
rich. That is the reason why if you
pillow up an alfalfa field and plant it
to potatoes you will have such an
enormous yield. When you pillow up
alfalfa, clover or any of the legumes
you will find your soil much richer
than before these plants were grown
upon it. Don't be afraid of impover-
ishing your soil by growing alfalfa.
1t will constantly grow richer in nitro
gen. The potash and phosphorus may
be finally used up but you will not
notice this for two thousand years.
If these two ingredients should be-
come exhausted, they can be easily
and cheaply restored to the soil by
commercial fertilizers but not SO in
the case of the nitrogen.
+
There is no need of keeping a culti-
waited strip around the trees four feet
wide. The feeding roots of trees are
not close to the trunk if the tree is
large. They reach out as far as the
limbs go and frequently further. The
fact that alfalfa roots are long and
reach down deeply into the soil is an
advantage to the trees and not a
detriment. 1t would be good plan
to NOW the alfalfa that grows irnmedi-
ately under the trees and let it lie
there and rot but the remainder can
be safely taken away