Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-12-19
A HINT WORTH WHILE
Being the Experience Of an Iowa
Man, Who Has Learned How TO
Get into the Alfalfa Business.

Get into the Alfalfa Business.
There are not many farmers in
Audubon County who do not be-
lieve that alfalfa is one of the very
best crops that can be ra sed, 1t
is not only the most profitable,
but in the matter of enrichment of
the soil, there is no other crop
known that can be compared with
it.
There is little question that
when alfalfa comes to be generally
raised in Audubon County, farm
land is going to advance to- 5000
to $500 per acre.
But the trouble is that alfalfa
is known to be somewhat diff
cult to raise; and farmers are
reluctant to undertake it.
J A letter from Mr.. Frank Cover
dale, a prosperous and practical
farmer of Jackson County, WRIT II
to Wallace's Farmer, r:eelt'y,
is worthy of the aren't on Of every
i farmer in Iowa, since i, seems to,
point out an easy and effective
method of getting into the alfalfa
business.
He begins by ra sing sweet clio
YER, which, Notwithstanding COM
mon impressions to the contrary,
makes BETTER hay than is gener-
ally grown i'm Iowa, which elds
better than other clovers Ind gras-
SEES, and after which alfalfa is
easy to raise. part of his let
ter follows:
"The photograph l am sending
you shows our field Of sweet clio
yer hay, which consists of thirteen
..c,es, and W. lad trenty-one loads
like this for the first crop. The
field will certa My winter all right
and next year it will easily yield
five or six tons to the acre. This
hay IS of excellent quality, and
we have never yet made any poor
sweet clover hay Formerly we thot
that sweet clover would not be
satisfactory for hay, but we have
entirely changed our minds on this
subject, and now we will grow
sweet clover almost altogether fol-
hay until something better turns
up. Alfalfa is now grow ng well
for us on our sweet clover fields
and we can grow all we want OF
it, but it remains question
with us whether it is better TIC
grow alfalfa n the corn belt rather
than sweet clover. The latter
fits best INTO the crop rotation
and is going to be almost a sure
catch in small grain crop, q;
soon as the land gets inocu1atee
with its bacteria.
We think that the farm,
s,.ould loss. no time getta.
sweet =, started on tlei
farms. Not that sweet clover i.
any better for hay than the Other
clovers, but because it is rea
nodule clover, and if sowin on goo
soil goes right to work ting The
land for the successful growing O
alfalfa. 1t is now known fac
that the latter will not grow thor
oughly we'll until inoculated
There is not liable farm il
Iowa that will not grow sweet clio
yer successfully, which can not b
said for alfalfa. We have thirty
five acres of sweet clover sown las
May, which has already begun t.
grow nodules. and the coming sea
SON will be growing nodules freely
By fall 1T W II be a Thoroughly in
. oculated field, tit for alfalfa. TIL
point / wish to bring out is tina
sweet clover makes better hay tina,
the farmers OF Iowa have been &C
customed to feeding, and t ais
makes better pasture than the
are accustomed to using. 1t enable
the farmer to maintain a highe
protein yielding feed on his pas
ture than they are accustomed t
using. No matter how abundan
the sweet clover. there no dan
ger of the cattle dying from bloat
Sweet clover can be sown with
nurse crop and make fine pastur
In the fall. or 1t will make a high
cutting OF hay. It will not n n
ter kill. and the following seas o,
Will make five or six tons to tn
acre
For Sale
4K Dayoxa Oy,a.