Milford chronicle., 1909-10-22
MONG the important classes d


| "a crops grown on the farm are
"a the legumes. The soil is to the
farmer what a stock Of goods
is to a 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.
/ II you will examine the roots OF
clover plant carefully you will notice
numerous little swellings about the
size Of pin heads or a little larger.
| These are called nodules and are the
home Of certain bacteria, These bac-
teria are minute one celled plants. SO
small that thousands Of them can hang
OF 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 1t 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 plow 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 20 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 IT 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
It readily. Because Of these facts
corn. potatoes and almost any other
crop will grow faster and give a 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 no
means confined entirely to that local
ity. 1t requires some care to get
good stand Of alfalfa II does best on
a soil that is somewhat sandy and
should never be sown on a soil where
the water table is liable to stand for
any length of time within three feet
from the surface wet feet" will kill
alfalfa quicker than anything else
As general rule the best time to
sow alfalfa is early in the fall The ,
ground should be put I'm the best pos
5ible filth. and if mauured before sow
Ing the seed the chances OF success
should be sown at the rdte Of about
fifteen pounds per acre A light har-
rowing will cover it sufficiently If 5
he young plants weather the first {
winter successfully the critical time is
laSt The advantages Of alfalfa over
lover are its higher feeding value and !
greater yields 1t can often be cut I
hree or four times in a season. with q
yield of from one to two tons per q
utting. Alfalfa must always be cut S
IS soon as about one-tenth of the /
,lants are in bloom; otherwise the t
-itality is weakened and the yield Of t
be succeeding crops reduced c
There are several varieties OF clover. c
I which medium red is the most wide c