Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-02-17

TALK ON
Well Known Seedman Gives Interest
ing Paper at Pierre

Well Known Seedman Gives Interest
ing Paper at Pierre
The following on the subject OF al
ialfa is from the paper of o. s. Jones
al the Conservation Congress:
MY first experience with this plant
dates back to 1884, at which time !
was living in the Southeastern part
of Brule county. / only soWed II
acre at that time, II the crop was
not an entire success. Our land was
new and not in proper condition., but
believe today that If the proper seed
had been procured, Tor instance a
hardy strain of Turkistan. the re-
suit would have been very much Diff
ferent thar it was. Good seed was
very hard to get, about the only kind
on the market was imported seed
To this day imported seed except in
rare instances is something that the
Northwestern farmers u steer
clear of.
A later experience demonstrated w
principles which are widely talked OF
today but the significance of which
did not dawn On me until that time.
At the time / refer to | was located IN
Lake county. | sowed tWenty acres
and sowed the alfalfa with about Ii
bushels Of oats per acre. The stand
was not what / had hoped Ior and u
probably studied deeper into the mat
ter of alfalfa culture then than at any
time before. Upon careful investiga-
ton l found that where the oats were
real thin that the alfalfa made a
fine rank growth the first season and
came through the winter very we'll
There were a great many places where
the oats grew rank and shaded the
Young alfalfa plants which caused
them to grow tall and spindlins. In
these places they winter killed. In
preparing the seed bed for this crop
there was a portion of it which receiV-
ed considerable more pulye!1Z1ng than
the rest and early in the season 1T be-
came very evident that the alfalfa on
the we'll pulveriZed portion Of the field
had a better stand and stronger
growth than on the balance of the
field. Two deductions were made
from this experiment which are that
the seed bed for alfalfa must be pull
verified, thoroughly ~pulveriZed- and
that alfalfa should never be sown
with a nurse crop, as when sown alone
it has every opportunity to make a
good strong healthy plant carly in
the season, and when this is the case
IL Will SldAu tIS "iIIINtS-
PREPARATION OF SEED BED,
Alfalfa must be sown on Ian that
Is we'll drained. Most n ! OF soii.
if the subsoil is not hardpan, Will
raise alfalfa.
In our latitude about the 18th OF
May is the proper time. Further south
many farmers SOW their alfalfa after
they have taken off q crop OF small
grain, but l do not advise that In
the Northwest, as alfalfa should be
sown in his latitude before June 18th
I first want to impress on you the
Importance of having your land in
proper condition and I advise early
fall blowing if possible and plenty
of pulverizing before the ground
freezes up for the winter. The first
work on this land in the spring should
be q good disking or pulverizing as
o as the frost is out of the ground
You can then wait until about the
10th of May when the weeds have
gotten we'll started then disk and har-
row until the land is in the best pos
sible condition to receive the seed.
1 do not want you to think that you
can only grow alfalfa on fall blowing
for one of the best fields Of alfalfa
l ever had was sowed on land that
was not plowed until the first of Tune.
narrowed this field just as fast as
it was plowed and had the ground in
as good condition as if we were going
to plant onion seed or the finest flow
err seed on it.
About the goth of August or the LIST
of September you can cut the second
time. If the season has been favor
able for starting alfalfa. you should
get about n ton per acre. You an
NOW within two inches of the ground
as the row root has formed by this
time. l would advise not to cut or
pasture after the LIST of September
the first season. The alfalfa should
have the balance of the growth to
protect the young plants the first win
ter.
HOW TO SOW.
After your land is thoroughly puf-
verified, SOW broadcast from twelve to
fifteen pounds OF alfalfa seed per
acre. A great many advise twenty
five or thilty pounds per acre, which
if the seed has proper terminating
qualities l consider a waste OF money.
Fifteen pounds OF seed per acre Will
put about seventy-tive seds on eacn
square foot, if the seed you SOW is,
pure n Will gernllndte as II SIouio
you could then loose rs per cent by
different causes and still have a sui
ticient stand. DO not cover too deep.
Alfalfa will not stand deep covering
A great many people make a mistake
in deep seeding. l have always found
that a light narrowing Is al that Is
necessary to give good results.
If you have followed the lnstrnc-
lions / have given you for the nrst-
year, l have no reason TO doubt DUE
what you will have a field OF allaita'
that will be the best paying lhvesl-
ment you have on your farm. This
season if you do not wish to harVess
a crop of seed, o can cut 1t three
times. If you wish to secure a crop
seed, do not cut it later than the loth
of June. 1t will tax from that TIME
to mature a good grade of seed.
Every pound Of alfalfa hay that IS
properly cured is worth a pound OF
wheat bran. Bran has been selling the
last two years from $4,000 to s29.oc
per ton. You can easily secure front
q to 4 tons of alfalfa per acre.
Revillo-Mr. and Mrs. August Tas-
sler, who reside on a farm IN