Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-01-26


Is to merchant. He cannot keep
drawing on it forever without putting
something back. Ordinary crops take
plant food from the store in the soil.
This must be replaced in some way.
Legumes, on the other hand, leave the
soil richer rather than poorer.
If you will examine the roots of
clover plant carefully you will notice
numerous little swellings about the
size of pin heads or little larger.
These are called nodules and are the
home of certain bacteria. These bac-
terra are minute one celled plants. so
small that thousands of them can hang
on the point of pin. We shall study
some of the different classes of bac-
terra in detail later. The ones that
live on the roots of legumes have the
power of changing the nitrogen of the
air into form in which it can be used
by the plants.
When clover stubble is plowed under
the nitrogen which is contained in the
stems and roots is added to the soil
and can be used by the following crop.
Where the soil is badly lacking in
nitrogen and humus it sometimes pays
to pillow under the entire crop of clover.
The nitrogen which leguminous
plants add to the soil is by no means
the only benefit which comes from
their use. Nearly all of them have a
long taproot, which forces its way
down into the soil far below the depth
reached by the roots of ordinary crops.
Alfalfa roots sometimes go down as
deep as thirty feet or more. Much of
the plant food used by the crop is
brought up from this lower layer Of
soil, and some of 1t is left in the upper
soil when the roots and stubble decay.
The passage of the long roots through
the soil also loosenS it, and when they
decay add to the humus supply. Thus
the physical condition of the soil Is so
improved that the more tender roots
Of such crops as corn can penetrate
1t readily Because of these facts
corn, potatoes and almost any other
crop will grow faster and give con-
siderably larger yield on a field which
has grown legume the year previous.
The principal legumes are alfalfa,
clover cowpeas and soy beans. AL
falfa is grown most successfully west
Of the Missouri river, although by nc
means confined entirely to that local
ity. 1t requires some care to get a
good stand of alfalfa. 1t does best on
soil that is somewhat sandy and
should never be sown on soil where
the water table is liable to stand fol-
any length of time within three feet
from the surface. "Wet feet" will xii
alfalfa quicker than anything else.
AS general rule the best time t.
ground should be put in the best pos
sible filth, and if MANFRED before SOW
ing the seed the chances Of success
are considerably increased. The seeG
should be sown at the rate of about
fifteen pounds per acre. A light har
rowing will cover 1t sufficiently. L
the young plants weather the frs
winter successfully. the critical time 4
past. The advantages Of alfalfa owe
clover are It's higher feeding value ant
: greater yields. 1t can often be Gu
three or four times in season, will
yield of from one to two tons pc
cutting. Alfalfa must always be Gu
as soon as about one-tenth of tn
plants are in bloom; otherwise tn
vitality is weakened and the yield o
the succeeding crops reduced.
There are several varieties of clover
Of which medium red is the most wide