The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-02-26
ALFALFA or LucERNs
And How it Can be Successfully
Grown in Vermont.


Alfalfa is easily the leader Of all
the clovers. well cured and at proper |
season. alfalfa hay is worth in feed
ing value pound for pound as much |
as wheat bran. In the corn belt the |
average per acre is from three to six
ton. with US in Vermont We should |
make an average of at least four ton
after the soil is inoculated
All clovers are heterogeneous but al
falfa more so than any other, when
once inoculated it has the power to
draw from the atmosphere. nitrogen
which is worth more to the land, than
any other element in any fertilizer
and is more expensive.
After alfalfa is grown continuously
on a field for four years it should be
come inoculated of itself, but the mo
culation can be gathered much quick
er by sowing broadcast over the plant
ed field, some soil from a field al
ready having it, then the plant will
get the incubation frequently the
first year, and after a year or two
the whole farm can be in like man
ner inoculated from this one field.
To get a good start with this Glow
er in this section, is not easy but it
can be done. first select a piece of
land well drained and having as deep
a soil as possible, what would be con
sidered a dry field is the best, pillow
and work thoroughly, when you have
the best seed bed you ever had for
any crop, go over it few times
more, if the land is at all inclined to
be sour use plenty of lime make the
field rich with manure it is needed to
get a good start when you have this
it will do it's own fertiizing but don't
ask too much of it at first. It should
be sown at about the same time
that oats is planted but not before
SOW broadcast IS to 20 pounds with
~ bu. of beardless barley as a nurse
crop though it can be sown alone, it
should be narrowed in and covered
about one inch
My idea in planting the barley
with the clover is to keep down the
weeds and give it a chance to start,
cut the barley and hay it, do not let
it mature; it takes too much out Of
the soil that the clover needs. | al
ways use some phosphate at the time
of planting no matter how good the
land is ii pays
After your crop is growing if at any
time during the summer you notice
the plants getting yellow on the top
leaves put in the machine if it is not
six inches high and cut off the tops.
and let it lay as a mulch if il is not
TOO heavy, so rake it of, If the second
year you think the stand too thin to
let stay, pillow and re-seed Don't
change to another field; stick to the
one you start with and like every fell
low who sticks to his bush after a
while YOU will fiji your pail and barn,
and also cut down the amount you are
having to pay for western mill feeds
Alfalfa cannot be beaten as a pas
ture for horses or hogs and is also
good for COWS and sheep. but care
must be taken in using it for the lat
ter as it will sometimes cause bloat
To get the most from feeding it green
it sho,ld be used as a soiling crop,
cut and fed to the stock, then none
is wasted and the next crop gets a
chance to grow late in the fall leave
enough fer a cover during the win
ter
What is needed to get a stand of
alfalfa can be summed up as follows;
Good drainage, humus, life incubation
and above all things a farmer with
good horse sense who does not ex-
pect something for nothing. he must
work at first to secure a good stand
and have patience and in the end he
will be rewarded for his effort. Many
works have been written on alfalfa
and its culture and most of the meth
DDS will work somewhere, but my in
terest is in Vermont and this is the
method | am following here, and |
shall grow the crop. and successfully,
or still be trying when | leave for
warmer climate.
c. G. Jones, Fillmore Farms
Remington, VT, Feb %, 1910.