The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-08-06

Az MANASSAS - ukA1Au6 III il6Ily kIlAtlBSb
but none more than In the command
ing position she occupies, with no
near competitor, in alfalfa growing.
having more than 100000 acres.
600, 900 acres in a single county,,
mainly acquired within the past
twenty years. Her advancement in
this is one Of the marvels of her
prolific agriculture, and In alfalfa. as
In winter wheat, no other state APP
proaches her acreage or aggregate.
Since Its advent, alfalfa has sold
more Kansas and Nebraska land and
at higher prices than any other n
growth, commodity or influence. Raw
lands, with almost no sale, and con-
sidered a Burden at q SIS valuation,
sometimes 500 per acre when seeded
to this wonderful forage: others. al
though not by any means the best,
have year after year paid their own-
ers 10 to 40 per cent on valuations
of 5000 or more per acre. Some OF
the best Agricultural authorities in
Illinois are on record with declara-
tions that a prosperous stand OF all
falfa in that state will pay 6 to Z
per cent on land at a valuation OF
5 / 1000 per acre. It's cultivation and
feeding mark the highest development
of modern agriculture. No other
farms change hands less frequently
4 IHah InDB6 EIdNiUB WSH SET dlAdlAd
fields. because their owners know Of
no other investment likely to pay so
we'll. and are fearful Of naming prices
they may later regret.
In Kansas and Nebraska, the states
having given 1t largest recognition,
alfalfa growing has been the hand
maiden Of prosperity, and the de-
obscurity this legume has steadily
risen here to the foremost place
among forage plant and has already
q~uadrupied our output of tame hay.
In 1890 the value Of Kansas tame
hay was $2,000,000, while in 1911 It
was nearly $4,000, 900. The annual
well-high insuFes continued and en-
has made Of Kansas. IL not first, one
of the leading states in clarifying
a branch OF husbandry which, an
diligently and generally followed.
well-nigh insures continued n en-
larged success. In alfalfa acreage
Nebraska is next to Kansas, with
two-thirds as much. Colorado and
California, roughly speaking, have
half as much; idaho and Utah, one
third, and Montana ana Oklahoma.
o~ne4fouFth as much. Gateway from
these greatest hayfields, Kansas City
must in the nature OF things continue
as she lie, the greet outlet for theiE
products.
Al New York b~uiIetin says, as tc
alfalfa fed to cows!
with alfalfa at the same cost az
other forage, there was generally q
decrease in the cost OF milk when al.
falfa was fed"
AT the Kansas station alfalfa was
tested against prairie hay and bran
1t was found that with aHalta It cos
,3 Ia cents to produce a gallon OF
milk. or approximately 1875 cents fol
a pound of butter fat; with prairie
hay and bran ii cost approximately
7 cents per gallon for the milk, and
1871 cents a pound for butter fat.
A Missouri bulletin says:
alfalfa has much more digestihl'
protein than clover; the ash content
which is such a valuable constituent
as a good food for growing animals
is also much greater than in clover
Their bulletin No. rs says: For win
terinR yearling cattle Alfalfas in It'll
, best condition, is without doubt more
efactent than either clover or cow
pea hay"
Nebraska bulletin No. los, recording
experiments in growing cattle IN
western Nebraska, says
THE important feature OF the re.
suits is the marked difference IN, the
gains Of those fed alfalfa over those
receiving no alfalfa"
The New Mexico station, feeding 3.
year-old range steers, averaging $50
pounds, on alfalfa alone, secured 9
gain OF EOS pounds per steer in l2C
days.
The Kansas station in 1853 days pro.
duced 100 pounds of gain with 71t
pounds of grain, by using alfalfa hay
for ~roughness. This test also showed
gain in values d follows; Corn and
prairie hay. 1886; corn n sorghum
hay, $s7.0S; corn and oat straw $4S.2S;
barley and alfalfa hay, $57.l6i alfalfs
hay and corn, $109.74.
At the Kansas station 500 pounds Of
pork was made from a ton OF
alfalfa hay, and ITO pounds from ar
acre of alfalfa pasture. They also
found that 100 pounds Of alfalfa has
saved So pounds of corn. In another
test an acre of alfalfa produced pork
worth 5000, while an acre or rape
produced pork worth but $lO.O5.
AT the Nebraska station hog rationi
: consisting of one-fourth alfalfa hay
showed the alfalfa worth Its weight
of wheat bran. Alfalfa meal showed
no superiority W. the cut hay FOL
pork-making.
At the Illinois station work horses
given alfalfa hay did approximately
1.-THE same labor with less grain and less
hay and made a little nor gain than
those receiving CkONeT. AhSy s1J
This helps to emphasize a preyloui
test that where alfalfa is fed IL in q
measure replaces a part of the grain
and in this case 20 per cent"
At the Utah station it was found
that l,400- pound horses at hard work
could be maintained in condition or
32.6 pounds of alfalfa hay per day
and at rest 90 pounds was sufficien'
for. the same horses.
So far back as n of US can re-
member timothy and clover were re-
garded as the staple hays, and with
out rivals. But for young animals
especially, the one thing desired above
ali others is protein; the elements thai
makes bone and muscle and blood
trather than fat, and the Wisconsin
Experiment Station, n of the mos
dependable, says an acre OK alfalfa
, will yield three times as much protein
as an acre of clover, nine times a.
much as an acre of timothy, and
twelve times as much as an acre o.
bronze grass.
Silage is rated high as a winter feed
on account of it's succulence, but ex'
: perienced feeders who know alfalfa
! hay insist that, cut at the right stage
: of maturity, properly cured and stored
lit falls little short of serving all thu
purposes of good silage.
/ Assuming that each member OF thi'
widely representative association II
) influential for good within his spheri
of operations, / make bold to advance
Z a few suggestions that followed woult
be helpful for progress wheresoever.
Encourage your people to try raising
| some alfalfa. The dealer can rest as.
} sured that the more there Is raiset
the better ii will be understood ani
the more it is understood the greater