The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1909-10-27
ALFALFA AS FORAGE
Sxcels All Other Crops in Yield,
Production and Value.
Genes from the Region Of Persia ans
eeIo-es to tire Pea FsniIy-In-
troe.ced ir:o South America
by Sraniards-
CBy Elias N=isoa- I-rsrz-sozss-J
(By Elias Nelson. Irr5gz-iolis-D

fRy Elias Nelson. Irrigz-iOliE-1
As forage alfalfa excels all crops
N yield. cost Of production and feed
ilg value OF all crops. II is our chief
one Not only that. but it is the ba-
sis Of agriculture for by 10 other
means than the culture Of alfalfa can
re 50 chesply make our soil highly
productive
Alfalfa or Iucerre. botaniczIly
known IS Nedicago saliva is . native
OF Asia. coming from the region OF
Persia /, belongs to the Pea fam
Ily which also embraces the cioyers.
field peas yetehes. soy beans. coz
peas. and espzrcerre- As forage all
these leguniuous plants are chzrac-
tsrized By their high protesn content
They differ from other field crops in
that they are able TO utilize atno
spheric nitrogen Alfalfa vas intro
duced By the Spznizrds into Mexico.
Chile and Peru. and il is chiefly from
these countries that IL found its way
into the western United States. -her-
It IL generally known by the Spanish
name alfalfa
III. cultivation OF alfalfa for several
hundred years in arid America has
produced a somewhat district type
known as the American O. West
ern- alfalfa This type succeeds in
the middle Rocky mountain region
from Texas to South Dakota eastward
TO the Mississippi river and beyond
and in the Pacific northwest IL is
the alfalfa With which re are tzmn-
lar. Besides this type four others are
found In the United States The
Turkestan type ouryields IL at higher
attitudes and in the more severe eli
mates to the norfhuzrd- The taller
but less hardy types. the Arabian and
the Peruvian, are better adapted to
the southwest Another type. the Ger
man. has outyieided the American
in some of the eastern states
Not only does the farmer desire TO
get seed Of good vitality. but he also
wants f. free from weed seeds Most
OF the weed seeds may be separated
By proper cleaning
In most o. the arid states. alfalfa
is chiefly grown with irrigation
While drought resisting and adapted
to arid conditions IL responds to irri-
cation as no other forage crop does
Vast areas of sage brush lands are
brought under cultivation and 4 large
percentage of these lands viii and
ought to be devoted to the culture Of
alfalfa
The purpose Of lereling and grad
ing is to so fashion the land that wa
ter may be evenly distributed over It
Often however. some extra leveling is
advisable to do away with bitches that
would otherwise be required and that
would cut up the land in irregular
shapes
II Is a great mistake not to level the
land well in the first instance so that
crops can be readily irrigated. for II
IL is done properly at the outset II
Is done for all time On the other
hand II Is also a mistake to grade e1-
eessively when there is no real neces-
sity-
The best time to level is in sumner
CT in fall. as the soil is dryer then and
hence no, so heavy to move. and there
Is no trouble about pudding the soil
In the spring when the soil Is moist
or vet. Iereling cannot be done 50 .d- I
vantageously-
The location Of the bitches Is de-
termined by the lay Of the land and |
the system Of applying water to be |
installed In general we may say
tldl u y 0-elldoAc 70 run TIE QllC1e1 I
at right angles to the line fences 1
whenever the lay Of the land will per /
nit IL Such bitches of course will /
net have a uniform grade When /
bitches are located in that way the /
fields are rectangular and hence all |
farm operations can be more easily /
performed Often 1t may be well TO /
make fills so as to make bitches .
straight rather than following curved /
lines
On many farmG the lay of the |
land Is such that the bitches can
rot be run at right angles to the line |
fences but must conform In a meas
shaped fields unavoidable Under s<h |
conditions make the bitches o. a
grade Of from SO to Is part of foot
per 100 feet
As a general thing We should figure |
to irrigate with the general slope of /
the land as by so doing water can be |
more evenly and expeditiously dis
tributed over the land As re-
CARDS the location of the bitches and |
the details of the system of applying /
water each farm is problem in itself. |
Where the whole farm has one gen
eral slope. it is a simple matter to de |
termine where the bitches should go. |
Often. however. there are various |
slopes. and the system Of bitches must |
be constructed to suit.