The Democratic advocate., 1907-07-19

| thdG ID III puNCu OuU Vi luc dlE
by these alfalfa plants is sold to be spread
| over the fields.
Farmers who follow the doings in the
Agricultural Department will smile when
they remember the announcement that it
was purposed to inoculate fields with germs
that would bring down nitrogen from the
air and the cost of fertilizer at one and the
same time. They smiled at these 'snew-
tangled" notions. Out at Mr. Conncil-
man s place he does it every now and then,
and almost daily ships lot of inoculated
dirt to some believer who has been convert
ed by an Agricultural Department bulletin.
This needs some explaining, of course
To get to the bottom, as it were, half
dozen plants from an alfalfa field must be
pulled. They have roots that 60 dowu so
far that the worked-out topsoil does not
cut figure in the source of plant life.
Then comes a bit of natural chemistry.
Each root is covered with little bulbs, al
most transparent, called nodules. These
do the business. The plant, with its natur-
al action in taking part of its nourishment
from the air, grabs all the nitrogen it can
absorb. This is carried down to the earth,
and the nodules pass it out to the soil
Earth with these nodules, which multiply
like the bacilli they really contain, fertiliz-
er itself. It's trick on nature and the
fertilizer men,
Alfalfa is at its best on a soil with
bit of mari in it. 1t would thrive in the
lower counties, its promoter says, and he
talks like this:
'Why not put the counties in the tobac-
co belt to raising alfalfa and turning it into
meat? 1t is a common occurrence to see
Western lard and bacon shipped to wharves
along the Patuxent or the Potomac There
are fishermen and oystermen enough to sup
ply to make the business profitable. AL
falfa is a balanced ration in itself Coun-
ties that can grow corn need the balance
that comes from the mill feed they must
buy. With alfalfa there is no need to buy
the remainder of the ration. It all comes
out of the ground.
"There is another thing to consider
Maryland buys its meat or large portion
of it. Why shoulden't we grow our own
meat. Alfalfa is the solution" and he
pointed out his 100 hogs as an example
That the Government is carefully nur-
turing all experiments in this wonderful
plant is shown by the trials being made on
Mr.. Councilman's place. The results of
dozen trials Of different varieties of
alfalfa are given here for the first time
Last year there were planted samples from
} Argentine, Turkestan, Northern Montana,
France, Germany, Wisconsin, San Lucrnet
South Montana, irrigated Arabian plants
and nonirrigated plants of the same variety.
The test was for the adaptation of the
the plant to this climate.
The cutting recently made shows that
: the American seed produced by far the
r best.
: But it must not be understood that this
farmer with advanced ideas is giving all
his time to the pet of his place. He has
, stand Of wheat he has nursed long from
l II grains years ago to seed enough for
40 acre field and he is hoping to get so
bushels to the acre this year.
+ To bark back the COWS, which are said
to pay the expenses of the place leaving
the other profits as ''velvet," he rasies kale
for new use. As ''sprouts' guaranteed
| by old folk to give peaches and cream
complexion to the girls-there is great de-
mand for kale in the spring There is also
demand of the seedsmen for the grains to
3 start this market gardeners crop. So Mr..
Councilman plants big fields of it. He lets
it ripen thrashes out the seed sells it and
! uses the straw for bedding. 1t is good
< absorbent and makes fine manure. Another
, illustration of ''grow what you use.
And if it ism t all alfalfa, neither is it all
work. There is growing on the place a
/ plant that Mr.. Councilman fears to let get
away. He AYERS that should it get across
J the Potomac, the South would get such an
t awakning that hordes of Virginians,
) Carolinians and Kentuckians, would sweep
t North and carry off every plum in business
, and everything else. It's hybrid mint.
This wonderful plant that comes as real
breath from the gods after journey from
the fields is a sidelin production of course
But a sprig or two put in glass covered
with granulated sugar gently urged to give
some of its essential oils and aroma (to
speak prosaically) becomes the foundation
for care-remover par excellence. Fill
, the glass with cracked ice; then three ia
blespoonsfuls of whisky--no more. If a
bigger 'sslug' is wanted why come again.
Then let it frappe. The glass must be
misty and sprig or two must tip out far
enough to touch the forehead and literally
aid in smoothing out the burrows of care
0 which fade as the cool stream trickels to
. the intended spot.
Mr.. Councilman boosting alfalfa for
Z. profit. He offers the Park Board in
J incubation for few acres that could be
e made source of education for farmers
: who get to town now and then And he
i offers Major Venable the beginnings of a
8 patch of that wonderful mint. Then says
t he the Major could get up at A. NJ 4,
absorb one of the new variety, and step out
: to the alfalfa patch and imagine he walked
e with Homer on the high sounding shores
Z With place like his own Mr.. Council
man needn't use energy trying to persuade
poor, clover-sick farmers about his hobby
He has demonstrated the fact that a far
: mer can be SO independent that, with the
exception Of the milk wagons trips, he
can shut the gate for good and laugh at the
rest of the world. To city man there
! is wonder why he don't. + - aas
\ Newspaper Day" in England