The state herald., 1907-03-15

Iueai pasture iOf horses and hogs, e.
specially growing pigs. But for cattle
or sheep, great care should be exercis-
ed, lest in the outcome the entry in
our ledger will be on the wrong side.
As stated above, great losses have been
sustained by growers Of alfalfa on ac-
count Of their ignorance Of the fact
that il contains something" that
produces bloat. But experience has
taught them that il c.ln be used sue
cessfully as pasture providing that
care be exercised in never allowing
them to be turned into il with an emp
ty stomach, as they are apt to cat too
greedily, thereby overlooking their
stomachs and thus produce bloat. Nei-
ther should they be allowed access to
1t while it is wet from rain or dew, or
the results will be the same. By al
lowing cattle to feed few minutes
each day, and gradually increasing the
time as they become more used to il,
they can be allowed to pasture alfalfa
with degree Of safety; but the ele-
ment OF danger-that Something is
always present. 1t can be used with
rs much or more profit. If used as IA
'oiling crop. Never, under any eircum-
stances, should stock of any kind be al
lowed the run Of your field of alfalfa
while the ground is soft or the result
will be damaging to the crop.
Its rn--t on the sai.
As stated before, alfalfa .-nds 10 li.-
crease the prodIetiyencss oi n so
rather than dcplete IL. THIS 10 du a,
several reasons, some Two or n. 4
which will unleavor to notice. / 10
n fact, conceded by authorities Ou u,
subject, lhat alfalfa is heavy Ir.u,.
that is, il draws heavily Oh Ihu pi.ni
food In the ground Il is also u y u
known fae. lha l 3. o. u. p feeder
that IL, the roofs aspan great l,p b
in the soil. and therefor. draw ron
that portion Of IN io,i lar below that
drawn upon by Other ordinary ,gups.
Alfalfa has n tap root, which Is only
slightly branching, and that at the low
er part. In our soils It will grow 10 n
depth Of from 8 TO " feet, oven in soil
That Is 30 hard that pick would be re-
quired to remove 1t. 10 use eompar-
ison. Il Is said that the greatest depth
Of the wheat root II only four feet.
which presume must be under oxcop-
tionally favorable conditions. As Il
has fibcroua root system, and better
adapted TO gather its sustainancc from
the mellow soil rcarcr the surface, Il
Is but fair TO assume that the greater
amount Of It's plant food is obtained far
above the maximum depth Ms referred
TO, And aa the single tap root Of the
alfalfa goes several feet into the ground
before branching. Il ia also fair TO MS
sumo that Il draws very little from that
portion Of the noil near the surface. but
draws almost exclusively from tha,
portion, several feet below the maxi
mum depth aa drawn upon by the wheat
plant, thus resting that portion Of the
soil near the surface. Not only that.
but Il has been estimated that In har-
ycstlng four-ton crop Of alfalfa, us
much NJ five tons are moved. leaving
on the ground one ton Of leaves and
fine stems that are rich In nitrogen and
ash constituents. II 10 also believed
that one.hnlf Of the nitrogen consumed
by the plant, while growing, in obtain
cd from the air. and ns the major por-
ton Of tho other elements are obtained
from far below the surface. then Il can
readily be pocn that this portion Of the
very essential plant food obtained from
haryeatinR one crop ID practically u
clear gain. As yet, We have not taken
into consideration the great value as
fertilizer OF the stubblc and roots. And
could VIC conceive u the idea Of turn.