Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-11-25
TELLS OF ALFALFA
Judge Humphrey, Well Known Jurist
and Farmer, Talks at South
ern Institute.
GIVES HISTORY OF PRODUCT
Declares 1t Can Be Grown Anywhere
in the Corn Belt and is Worth
$50 Per Acre.
written for the Illinois Farmers In

written for the Illinois Farmers In
stitute by Arthur ]. BILL
Judge j. Otis Humphrey of the Uni
| ted States district court at Springfield
and large farmer in Sangamon coun-
lty spoke in very strong and attrac-
tive manner to the TaZewell county
farmers institute at Morton. Follow
| ing are a few of the most significant
sentences from his address:
Alfalfa is the lucerne of England
and France. 1t was grown in Egypt
and Persia. Roman soldiers fed their
horses alfalfa. This plant was brought
to South America by Cortez. In my
judgment, alfalfa is the most marvel
GUS food and forage plant, containing
the most of the elements that sustain
life of any in existance.
| Corn, wheat and oats have no power
to get nitrogen from the air, but alfalfa
is the greatest nitrOgen-fiXing plant on
earth; it secures from the air four
times as much nitrogen as red clover.
But it will also make you money while
lit is storing nitrogen for you be-
lieve that alfalfa, one year with an
IOther, is better money, maker even
THAN corn.
| All Animals Like 1t.
All animals on the farm from chick
ems up will eat alfalfa; the pigs thrive
lon it; sows will go through winter on
it; it is good for the mares; weanling
lcolts fed alfalfa and shelled oats come
tout fat in the spring and shed off in
March. 1t supplies more green feed
for the hogs than anything else, and
this is a great prevention of hog dis
lease l have tried it, and | think
know about it. l would not give ton
lof alfalfa for two of timothy. You
can not feed horse anything in the
world he likes so well as alfalfa. Put
corn, shelled oats, bran mash and
alfalfa in his manger, and you will
see that he eats the alfalfa first. |
, don't know of any animal that will not
leave every other food to get alfalfa.
l tried for three years to grow al
falfa, and it died out every time; but
don't say that crop can't be grown
simply because / failed in producing
it. The scientist is among us, and he
is the only man who actually knows
and he has finally taught us how to
make alfalfa grow.
Special Soil Requirements.
Then l agreed to follow the exact
!, advice of DR.. Cyril G. Hopkins of the
: Illinois agricultural experiment sta
: tic n, got soil from an old alfalfa field
, (soil from a sweet clover patch viii
= do the same) to inoculate the ground
with bacteria. The land was rich as
: lcream and thoroughly tiled. put OF
: bone meal, lime and manure and pillow
: ed it under
!, After working the ground into tn,
4 best order | ever saw a field, | hat
= it worked just as much more. 1t wa.
narrowed until there was not clod il
n it. And | have not had particle o
Z trouble since in growing alfalfa
,. You may sow alfalfa any time from
e May to August, and if you will do /
D right and follow the rule, you can groy
alfalfa anywhere in the corn belt, an,
the crop is worth $50 an acre. | SOY
one bushel to five acres; that is twelv
pounds to the acre.
Reseeds nm Imperfect stand.
] have never had complete stan
rs at first. If had ten per cent of alfalf
on the ground, l would go on an
d. make a stand of it. l disk all the bar
t" places in the field and wherever tn
lie stand does not satisfy me, settin
th disks almost straight. never kille
to any alfalfa by disking it. / disk r,
re SOW and harrow these bare places.
lie have done this the first of Octobe
Of md always with good results.
I'd row have five fields of alfalfa, an
Of Sor the last six years have cut abol
four tons per acre of this marvslOr
Sc crop.
Qy