The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1910-10-20
DRY FARM ALFALFA
Expected to Do Much Towards
Benefiting Crops in
West.
Roots Of Plant Go Deeply Into Soil,
Improving lts Texture and Giving
u Greater Capacity to Absorb
and Hold Water.

Prof. A. M. Ten Eyck, superinten-
dent of the Fort Hays Branch Expert.
ment station, in a recent address de-
livered before the Western Kansas
Farmers Conference, spoke at length
on drouth-resisting crops. In speak.
ing of alfalfa he said:
The second great crop of central
AMI western Kansas, and also in some
sections Of Nebraska. Oklahoma and
Texas, Is alfalfa. Toebe sure, the crop
Is most successfully grown in those
counties in Kansas which have suffi.
cient rainfall to produce good corn
crops, and, in fact, these two crops,
corn and alfalfa, fit well together.
both In their relation to the soil and
as combination feed for stock of all
kinds. Wherever it thrives we'll,
there Is no other crop grown which
will produce so much forage of so high
feeding value as alfalfa. Throughout
central Kansas four cuttings of hay
| are usually harvested each season and
total yield of four tons per acre in
season Is considered only a fair
crop.
AS yet, alfalfa is not grown extern
sively in the western counties of the
state, except in localities where irri-
CATION Is practiced, but the crop is
gradually creeping up the river val
leys and into the creek bottoms, each
year pushing it's area of successful
culture little farther west, and it
has even succeeded on the uplands in
many os the counties, where 1t was
not thought possible to grow it a few
years ago. The method of planting
the crop in rows and then cultivating
promises to make this crop a safe and
| profitable one in those semi-arid re-
gions where the soil is suitable to al.
falfa growth.
Alfalfa starts slowly, and it is rath-
er difficult, especially in the more I'M.
| favorable locations, to get stand, but
when the plants are once established
they are extremely hardy, surviving
| drouth and hot winds more success
| fully than almost any other crop. Dur
ing periods of extreme drouth alfalfa
does not grow much. Sometimes only
| one cutting is produced In season
/
on the uplands in western Kansas but
the plant through it's deep and extern
sive root-system is able to get suffi-
cient supply of water to sustain life,
and when rain comes it revives and
| grows anew.
At the Kansas station alfalfa roots
have been traced to a depth Of over
nine feet, while at the Colorado Elk
pertinent Station DR.. w. P. Headden
alfalfa plant to the depth of nearly
twelve feet Various reports have
been made, without good authority, of
finding alfalfa roots at even greater
depths. It is without doubt one of
the deepest roofing plants grown on
the farm.
believe that alfalfa will do more
for western agriculture In the next
so years than all the other crops
which farmers may be able to grow in
this region. The soil of western Kan
sas and Of much of the western plains
is usually rich in the mineral elements
of plant food, but as stated before, 1t
is often lacking In humus, which be-
comes especially noticeable If the land
has been farmed continuously to
wheat for few years. BY growing
alfalfa 1t is possible to increase the
supply of humus in the soil, and the
roots of the plants penetrating deep
into the subsoil disintegrate and deep
en- the soil, and altogether greatly i'm
prove its texture, giving it greater ca
pacity to absorb and hold water. The
beneficial effect on the soil of growing
alfalfa is only incidental to the rapid
introduction of the crop throughout
the west. The great value of the crop
as a money-maker is the main factor
which Is introducing 1t into the agri-
culture of the central west. Where
alfalfa can be successfully marketed
or fed, no other crop grown in the
west will yield so great net profit
per acre In series Of years.