Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1910-04-30
Mr.. BARKER
ON ONIONS.
Tells how to Eradicate the
Wild and Troublesome
Nuisance.
DEFENDS NEGRO LABOR
And takes a Missouri Critic
Severely to Task For His
Erroneous Views.
EDITOR KENTUCKIAN:-

Answering antl-onion question IN
issue of April goth, Of Colman S
Rural World, Can we permanently
destroy wild onions?" | am sure we
can if we can succeed in growing
alfalfa, as the early and continual
clipping of the alfalfa for many years
would not permit the onion to bloom
or seed and the bulblets from the
bulb would finally be exhausted and
the plant exterminated. Unfortun-
ateIy, we are led to believe from the
experience and reports of the alfalfa
experts. that alfalfa will not succeed
save on the very best soil on the
place, and that must be nursed and
coddled like colicky baby before it
will do so. On the other hand, the
wild onion is not an aristocrat, but
one of the great common people and
will live and thrive almost anywhere
and under any cline or condition, so
we find destroying wild onions by
growing alfalfa will do. if at all,
only on the richest lands.
Last fall the department at Wash
ington sent to my place Mr.. ]. S.
Gates, of the Bureau of Plant Indus
try, to direct some experiments with
trench plowing to destroy wild
onions On the plot where this
experiment was made (lA acres) the
onions were in almost complete
possession. By the use of an Oliver
Chilled 40 plow, going six inches deep
and Blount No. AZ plow following,
going ten to twelve inches deep, we
certainly put the onions clear out of
sight and ninety per cent. out Of
business. There are some showing
now out not one in twentyas at first.
This should be done in fall, and disc
ing in spring to make seed bed.
There is a machine made at Cleve-
land, Ohio, called Spaulding's Tilling
machine. that | am sure will perma-
nently destroy all of the onions and
at one operation, and at the same
time, turn up a new farm and sand
wich into the top soil an abundance
of available lime to sweeten all the
acidity, and make clover and grass
luxuriate. This plow is a double
disc, each twenty-four inches. one
directly behind the other. The first
one cutting four to eight inches
deep. the other eight to sixteen
inches deep and covering the onions
so deep, they will never again see the
light.
| notice some one in Missouri takes
me strenuously to task for what |
said about Glover VS.. Alfalfa. "
Our secretary of agriculture has
said that the kindest thing We can
do for a fellow man is ito put him
to thinking" am sure there are a
lot of us doing more serious thinking
about the advisabiity of sowing al
falfa with such heavy drain on the
manure pile. So far as my coming
to Missouri to see. accept his
statement in toto.
My experience and observation
with alfalfa has been in southwestern
Kentucky and | repeat without fear
of successful contradiction, that il
has been failure and hundreds of
thousands of dollars have been vast
ed in labor, seed and manure. | may
mot know anything about it," as he
affirms, but | do know one thing,
that if this writer will come to the
Black Patch and to the southern part
of Christian county, especially, he
will go back to Missouri, gather up
Betsy and the babies and their be,
longings and move here and will say,
Blessed is Barker for writing Clo-
yer VS.. Alfalfa"
Mr.. Lyon says that "the cheapest
agricultural lands in the country
are in the South but that the labor
situation here prevents the northern
folks from coming, that nobod
wants to live in community wher,
there are two negroes to one white
man Well, right you are, Mr.
Lyon about the cheap lands-land'
here that sell for $25 to 500 shoulC
be selling for $50 to $3.50. For vari
ETY. quality and quantity of products,
Missouri. illinois. Kansas, Iowa mol