The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-03-13
ALFALFA AS A STOCK FooD.

ALFALFA AS A STOCK FOOD.
The extended drought which has
effected grass vegetation all over
the United States, and which is now
being thoroughly investigated by the
Bureau Of Plant industry, unde"
the Department Of Agriculture, at
Washington, d. c., has created an
inordinate demand for Alfalfa Seed,
from many sections of the land, and
all information and data of interest
in relation to the cultivation, cur.
ing and feeding value of the same
is eagerly sought after by dairymen
stock raisers and farmers through
Idaho, Utah and Wyoming and pro
nounced with A strong western ac-
cent on the first syllable, but it's
proud Arabic title, alfalfa" pit
dominates, and by which it is
scientifically classified.
1t is cultivated almost to the ex-
clusion of other forage plants in
the irrigated districts of the west.
ern half of the United States, and
has met with fair success in some
localities in Minnesota. Illinois
southern Michigan, Ohio, Central,
New York, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, while in the South 1t is
known to thrive and give good
yield.
While alfalfa resembles the Or
dinary red clover in some respects
the clusters are much larger and
the flowers, when at Their full bloom
Hre OF distinctive purple color and
may be described as an upright per
ennlal plant iw.th scattered foliage
and a branching tendency, dts co5ts
sinking directly but deeply into the
SOIL six weeks old seeding root
ing to the depths of three inches,
while at the THIRD year the plant
showed q tap root of nearly three
. feet in length,
The large supply Of seed Of the
Turkestan Alfalfa, which the Ag-
rtcutural Department Of our Gov
eminent Imported for tnal pur-
poses is said to be entirely exhaust
ed under continuous demands from
the country sechons during the dry
> weather season, this variety having
Ibeen found growing protusely in
northern Turkestan, over the Semi
Arid regions, showed a wonderful
resistance to the most extreme
drought on all occasions. The tests
made with the Turkestan Alfalfa
Enthusiastically prove 1t is far more
resistant to drought than the varie-
ties already grown, and is better
adapted than the ordinary kind to
the dry sections were Alfalfa must
be raised without the irrigation ad-
vantages
Solely on account of its drought
resisting qualities and its prolific
mess and value as a feeding and
forage crop Alfalfa Is moving stead
Iily along and every year shows an
increase In it's acreage, now sald
approximate nearly 100000 upon
which has produced n total crop o.
6 500 900 tons of Alfalfa hay, the
average yield per acre raging from
two and one half to three and ont
half tens per acre.
1t may be said and trwthfully SO
that climate and soil are every
thing in the natural conditions re-
quired to grow Alfalfa with sue
cess.
In the mountainous regions aMalt7
growing is limited at high attitudes
by the low winter temperature, tn,
limit varying from three thousanc
feet in the North to probably eilgh
thousand feet in the south, anC
seed maturing in the northern dis
tricts Is always the hardest, thu
; march of alfalfa is norhward and
eastward, open winters with alter
d nate, thawing and freezing are rath
:, er injurious to the plants, as they
become loosened from the grount
3 and are often heaved out OF place
- old and well rooted plants are no
! apt to be disturbed
In sections of the country ER'
d the New England States the grow
n Iing of alfalfa has not proved very
u satisfactory, and the reason for tn,
5 failure is llkely on account OF tn
n cold wet sdSl which dominates tht
I spring season.
: while carefully planted alfalfa
field will resist an enormous amour
+ df provisions are hauled to tn
G ,,o,,,,, do{I,y ~ Good tbn arnnN- pF ma