The Dickinson press., 1911-03-25

THE DICKINSON PRESS, 81
It was the opinion Of the speaker tina
the average wheat yield for the entir,
state last wear was not to exceed three I.
T. II and one-half bushels. but he wa
.,,a hat if tho land had been properl,
hsndtsd he yield would have been twt
for one, or I. ! increase to the farmers o.
North pakofa, of $50. DOC. 900 to $40.
600, 600. Prof. s1,s>: said that he knew
the right method OF tArmine was q 10
less expensive to farmers h>ah inc ioose
method. which gave a one to TIM e ousne'
yields in a dry ear
SUPT. l.. r. WALDRON
Corn is one of the coming crops Of
Western North Dakota. said Supe. l. f.
Waldron of the Dickinson experiment
station. It conserves the moisture,
loosens the ground and with the right
cultivation cleans it of all weeds. The
farmer who raises corn will gradually
work into live stock and that is the one
thing needful. Charts were thrown on
the wall to show how much more m0is~
ture there is in the ground after a com
crop has been grown than in wheat land
Wheat, like weeds. pumps the moisture
OUT. Corn will usually make a fair crop
on sod. 1t needs to be planted early
and had better get frosted in May than
in the fall. The Northwestern and Col
den Dent varieties seem best adapted to
old ground. The ears are we'll up and a
harvester can be used in the fall.
Farmers will do we'll by combining in
localities and purchasing a planter.
At the Dickinson station. said Supt.
Waldron, 20 bushels of shelled corn was
raised last year on land not manured,
and where manured it went % bushels
to the acre. If it had been a wet season
he believed the yield would have been
IS bushels. Corn seems to be one of
the crops where car be advan-
~taeeousIy used.
Supt. Waldron next took up alfalfa
growing. Alfalfa belongs to the clover
family and is a very profitable crop on
any ground where ii can be grown. In
this country it is a question of getting
a variety hardy enough to stand the
winter and he thought the Grimm alfalfa
would do this. Experiments at Dickin-
son indicate that alfalfa will do we'll in
this country and if it will, said Mr..
| Waldron. it means a great deal of
wealth to the farmers. The roots go
down very deep and the plant takes
nutriment from the soil that no other
plant gets, and at the same time en-
riches the land. The wheat makes the
soil poorer. Mr.. Waldron spoke Of the
necessity of. inocculation of the soil
where the crop had not been grown,
This is a very easy matter, however,
The alfalfa is a tender crop the first
year and he advised sowing on corn.
potato or summer fallow land, having
the soil absolutely free from weeds. He
said the farmer must inocculate the
soil, must have clean land and should
SOW on land where the moisture had
been properly stored, in order to give
the alfalfa the right start the first year.
Its roots would 60 down to moisture after
the first season. Corn and potato crops
prepare the land nicely for alfalfa. Mr..
Waldron also said that care must be ex-
ercised in Getting seed. He stated that
there was not more than 3, 600 to 4, 00C
acres of Grimm alfalfa in the U. S. and
consequently the seed is hard to &c,
and the man who can successfully raise
this crop will probably realize $10C
per acre for the seed alone. 1t requires
about five pounds Of seed to the acre.
Just now Minnesota is giving Grimm
alfalfa much attention and soil experts
predict that it is destined to be the
great money making crop within a few
years. The same will likely be true in
North Dakota, and, if we al success.
fully grow alfalfa, our land at once takes
a great advance in price.
E. H. PIERCE
E. H. Pierce of Bismarck, assistant
dairy commissioner, al present for the
Richardton meeting. He said it was
always a pleasure to see a large number
of ladies in the audience. In some
parts of the state he found that the
ladies were given the creamery checks
for the running expenses of the house
and in those homes he always found an
air of prosperity. MI. Pierce has been
holding dairy meetings in various parts
of the state, speaking almost every
week. day and some times making
several towns in a single day. This
was among the first Dry Farming meet
ings he had attended, but he liked the
idea of being where they were talking
corn, alfalfa and small grains, for that
meant more and better stock on the
farm.