Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-04-15
a MoNG the important classes CT

'0 ehS iupOTld0C classes CT
IA crops grown on the farm are
IA 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 VIII examine the roots of a
clover plant re-ully you WIN notice
numerous li..le swellings about the
size of ri'- heads or n little larger.
These are called nodules and are the
home of certain bacteria These hac-
teria are minute one celied plants s
small that thousands of them can hang
on the point of pin. We sIall stud,
some of the different classes of bac.
terra In detail later. The ones that
i've 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 1t sometimes pays
to plow under the entire crop of clover
TIE 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 n
long taproot, which forces its way
down into the soil far below the deptb
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 1t, 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
~ iCoahJs oCNdu5c VI lueSe lucIS
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. 1t does best on
n soil that is somewhat sandy and
should never be sown on 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 q general rule the best time to
sow alfalfa is early In the fall. The
ground should be put in the best pos
sible tilth, and If manured before SOW
ing the seed the chances Of success
are considerably increased. The seed
should be sown at the rate Of about
fifteen pounds per acre. A light har-
rowing will cover 1t sufficiently. II
the young plants weather the FIRST
winter successfully, the critical time is
past. The advantages of alfalfa over
clover are It's higher feeding value and
greater yields. 1t can often be cut
three or four times in season, with
yield of from one to two tons per
cutting. Alfalfa must always be cut
as soon as about one-tenth of the
plants are in bloom; otherwise the
vitality is weakened and the yield of
the succeeding crops reduced.
There are several varieties of clover.
of which medium red is the most wide