Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-04-04

alfalfa, the undisputcd king of for
age plants to the Twin Falls tract
AS a forage plant it will add
thousands to the wealth of the
set lers and by enriching the soil
it will add many more thousands
to the community's riches. We
have ideal conditions here for its
growth deep, rich soil, congcn-
ial climate and abundance of water,
and of almost equal Importance, dry
summers for the cutting and curing
of the hay. The subject OF seed
ing alfalfa has been thoroughly gone
over time and again, so that it
seems hardly necessary for me to go
into it fully. We will, however,
notice this part of the subject brief
ly. The first year on the tract,
quite a good deal of alfalfa was
seeded with grain, as many, like
myself, felt as If they must have
some returns from their land the
first year. The general impr ession
last spring was that seeding with
grain was a miserable failure. But
this alfalfa, while slow in starting
in the spring, made a surpri Using
growth later in the summer and
gave fairly good returns. We must
say, however, that il is much bet
ter to seed alone, on new ground at
least. And if the seeding is done
between April and May 20, suffi-
cicnt hay can be cut the first year
to make it a paying crop. Alfalfa,
however, can be sown as late as
July IS, and l might say even
later, but after July Is or August 1
xr<>,x t-aIx ~ A.
pertinent, we sowed alfalfa on a
stubblc field and narrowed the same
to cover the seed and then irriga-
ted. This was done September /.
The seed came up nicely, but only
small per cent survived the win
ter and was not a success. Had
the seed been sown two or three
weeks earlier the result would
most probably have been satisfac-
tory.
In preparing ground for seeding
to alfalfa it should be done thor
oughly. The ground should be we'll
leveled and the surface we'll pulver-
lied. Alfalfa comes best on a
fairly firm seed bed. We don t
all agree as to the correct amount
of seed, the amount varying from
10 to 20 pounds. We believe that
under ordinary circumstances Is
pounds will secure a good stand and
is the amount we sow. The quail
ity of the seed and the conditions OF
the soil are to be considered, OF
course.
The corrugations should be made
with care and be careful in 1ocat-
ing your bitches, fol- you cannot
afford to make any mistakes, as re-
marking or running bitches in ar
alfalfa field is not only a difficult
matter but leaves your field in bad
condition.
Cutting and curing alfalfa, 1 be.
1icvc, is the most impoi tant part OF
my subject. Alfalfa should be cut
when blooms appear all over the
field. If the hay is for cattle il
should be cut few days sooner
than when ii is to be used to feed
horses. While horses prefer the
immature hay, it is not good fol
them. AS soon as sufficiently wiltcc
for the rake to handle it should b<
rakcd. Never let cure SO the leave:
will shatter and waste. Start your
shockcrs after the rake and put hs,
condition. BY SO doing you save
all leaves and the hay will rctair
that bright green color which will
add much to its market value
Four to six days is usually re
quircd for the hay to cure read,
for the stack. There should be
no delay in getting the crop of
the ground, for the next croI
starts Immediately The maDnc
of stacking will depend somcwha
on the amount of hay to be handled
Our Rock Creek neighbors haul OF
wagons and use a derrick and Jack
son fork for stacking In thi
way they are enabled to build 1arg
. stacks and have smaller percent @
, the hay exposed to the weather. L
the Wood river country, the hay
mostly stacked in the field i
. small stacks by using the swee
rakes and taking the hay out of tn
windrow where ii is cured afte
being raked. in this way yer
] little hand labor is required an
| the Gust of handling reduced I
I the minimum, some farmers claim
ing hay can be put in stack by thi