The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1909-03-17


- the legumes. The soil is to the
farmer what a stock of goods |
is to a merchant He cannot keep i
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 d
clover plant carefully you will notice |
numerous little swellings about the
size of pin heads or little larger
These are called nodcles and are the
home of certain bacteria These bac.
terra are minute one CrIed plants, sc
small that thousands of them can hans
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 a form in which it can be used
by the plants.
When clover stubble is plowed under
the nitrogen which is contained in the
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
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 sc
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 con
siderably larger yield on 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
good stand of alfalfa 1t does best OF
a soil that is somewhat sandy an(
should never be sown on a soil wher'
the water table is liable to stand TO
any length of time within three fee
from the surface wet feet will xii
alfalfa quicker than anything else.
AS a general rule the best time t
SOW alfalfa is early i'll the fall. Th
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 see
should be sown at the rate of abou
fifteen pounds per acre. light hal
rowing will cover it sufficiently.
the young plants weather the frs
winter successfully. the critical time
past. The advantages of alfalfa owe
clover are it's higher feeding value an
greater yields. 1t can often be Gu
three or four times in a season. wit
a yield of from one to two tons pc
cutting Alfalfa must always be GU
as soon as about one-tenth Of th
plants are in bloom; otherwise tn
vitality is weakened and the yield c
the succeeding crops reduced.
u There are several varieties of Glove
Of which medium red is the most wide