Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1909-02-10

a MONG the important classes OF
IA crops grown on the farm are
~A the legumes. The soil Is 20 the
farmer what a stock OF goods
Is TO a merchant He cannot keep
drawing on Il forever without putting
something back. Ordinary crops take
plant food from the store i'm the soil
This must be replaced In some way.
Legumes. on the other hand. leave the
soil richer rather than poorer.
IL You viii examine the roots OF n
clover plant carefully you will notice
numerous little swelllngS about the
size OF pin heads or little larger.
These are called nodules and are the
Rome OF certain bacteria. These bac,
terra are minute ono ccllcd plants. So
small that thousands of them can hang
on the point of pin. We shall study
some OF the different classes OF hac-
terra I'm detail later The ones that
live on The roots OF legumes have the
power Of changing the nitrogen 81 the
air into form I'm which Il can be used
by the plants
When clover stubble is plowcd under
stems and roots is added to tle soil
and can lie used 10y the following crop.
Where the soil Is badly lacking i'm
nitrogen and humus IL sometimes paws
10 plOw under the entire crop Of clover.
The nitrogen which leguminous
plants ada 70 the soil is by no means
the only benefit which COMES from
their use. Nearly all Of them have n
LONG taproOt. which forces It's way
down into the soil far below tho dci,jh
reached lay the roots OF ordinary crops
Alfalfa roots sometimes go down rs
deep rs thirty feet or more. Much Of
the plant food used by the crop 4
brought u2 from this lower layer OF
soil. and some OF e IS lcft IN TOE l',nar
soil when thc roots ard s,uhlle decay.
The passage Of the long roots through
the soil also looscEs It. and when they
decay add - the humus suppl Thus
the physical condition OF the sell * so
improved chat the more tender roots
OF such crops rs corn can penetrate
IL readily. Because Of those facts
corn. potatoes and almost any other
crop VIII grow faster and give a con
siderably laryer yield on n field which
has grown legumc the year previous.
The principal iegumes are alfalfa.
clover. cowpoas and SOY beans al.
ialfa Is grown most success ally west
of she Missouri river. although bv no
means confined entirely 10 thni local.
lily. IL requires some care To- yet Il
good stand OF alfalfa. II does hest ON
a soil that Is somewhat sandy and
should never he sown or soil where
the water table IS liable Ia stand for
any length o. 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
sible filth. and IL manfred 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. \ li~ht har-
rowing viii cover II sufficiently II
the young plants weather ihc first
winter successfully. the critical time Is
past. The ADVANTAGES Of alfalfa over
clover are is higher feeding value and
greater yields IL can ofton BE- cut
three or four times I'm season. with
yield OF from one 90 two tons per
cutting. Alfalfa must always Ice cut
as soon as about cne-tcr:h OF the
plants are in bloom; otherwise the
vitality. is weakened ard the yield OF
the succeeding crops reduced.
There are several varieties OF clover
OF which medium red is the most wide.