Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1908-02-27

sowing wheat after buckwheat an d
an increase OF from 25 to 33 per cent
had been found in wheat'.after corn.
Summer fallow also had given larger
returns, after grass crops there had
been larger yields of grain and flax.
Rotation of wheat to oats from oats
to barley and then to fax, etc., the
speaker said, Is mot the true rotation,
and is only Fastening the evil day
after all when the land will ba found
to be exhausted of the elements of
fertility that produce all the crops.
The fertility must be put back into
the land, corn cleans soil and adds
cis,lre to the land and also i'm.
pacts the soil. Summer following
does not restore fertility, it leaves
and soil open and the rain goes down
into the soil and takes 1.-The nitrates
with it to the subsoil. It..liberates a
certain amount of fertility however
which the roots of the crop take up
and are thus nou,ished. Grass is a
soil robber like wheat, but benefits
the soil by the vegetable mould which
it puts back into the land. The. large
yields Of the earliest days are to be
accounted for y..the turning over OF
the top sod, the rotating of the top
grass and the roots Of the grass, and
the taking down into the soil of .cer-
tain quantities of plant food which
all united to give the first crops their
large yield.
The question rises how can the
soil be restored to.its original .fertil-
ity? He believed it could be done and
that our soil could be by proper
methods cropped for thousand
yelrs. The shol st--process will be to
introduce live stock. This compels
the growing Of certain feed for sus-
tanning the stock. Farmers now see
the difficulties in this Introduction
of stock, although most every farmer
has n01e or less now. General stock
ing of our firms will mean fences,
fence posts are scarce and are going
to be more so.
The main source however of restor
Ing fertility is the planting of clover
and alfalfa. Farmers must make up
their minds to.grow clover.
At this point the speaker asked
how many farmers in the audience
had undertaken to grow clover. Few
replied. One farmer said he had
tried it, but not succeeded very well,
owing TO poor methods of cultiva-
tjon, he thought, chiefly.
Anothe, man stated that he had
planted Is acres in 1906, and had sue
ceeded fairly we'll and last year so
acre field planted to clover had male
a good catch.
One far mer said he had sowed
clover once in the dry year OF 1900
and it had poI germinatd at all. Sew
eral farmers were doubtful about the
success of clover. One man said that
he had small piece that grew well
but was winter killed the first time
and did not think it practical. 1t was
sowed on mostly clay soil, half a
bushel of seed to the acre and he was
skeptical about the results in This
part of the State.
Professor Shaw stated that farmers
should not be discouraged about
growing clover, it can certainly be
done and he made the positive dec
laration that in his opinion Moth
Dakota would eventually become as
noted. for the growing of clover as for
wheat. This statement was received
with applause.
Professor Shaw Stated that there
may be seasons when clover will not
catch, such seasons have been found
in the clover growing sta'es; but
that in every county In North Dako-
ia where the institute had been held
there is more o. less clover growing.
One man near Casselton raised last
gear AZ bushels of clover seed from
acres Of land. Success was certain
in the Red River Valley, and what
farmers lose in raising clover in the
other parts of the state, could be
more than made up by the growing
of Alfalfa. The. two crops together
were the saviors of the fertility Of
the soil, and the restorers Of its
richness. They first cleaned up the
land and second restored its rlcll-
ness. by leaving the nitrogen and
vegetable humus in the soil. The
roots of clover we're especially prolific
In this process It is the most i'm
portant question now before the peo-
Pile of this state.
At this point Professor Waldron
stated that he bad heard of an afal-
ia patch that had been grown south
of Eldridge on the Clark farm and
asked If any one present knew about