Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1913-09-26
PULLMAN FARMERS
SAY ALFALFA PAYS
State College Experts Are Making
Complete Canvas to Ascertain
Feeling of Local Farmers in
Regard to Alfalfa
Growing

That alfalfa is a paying crop is the
opinion of a large number of farm
ers in the vicinity of Pullman who
have made a practice of growing the
legume more or less for a number of
years. The agricultural department
of the State College is taking an
alfalfa census" of the farms within
a radius of ten miles of the expert
ment station farm in an endeayor to
ascertain the exact acreage of alfalfa
in this region and also to get line
ON the experiences of the farmers as
to alfalfa as a paying crop. Numer-
Gus replies have already been re-
ceived to the inquiries sent out,
which bring to light fairly uniform
opinion among the farmers relative
TO the values of alfalfa as present
ana coming crop on typical wheat
land.
The farmers many of them in the
class of the wheat kings" believe
that alfalfa is a good crop, in SO far
as it can be fed. They disapprove
the plan of selling it. They think
for its effect on the wheat land
alone it is worth raising in rotation
with wheat or other cereals, though
by some, clover is preferred. Most of
them feed it to their horses summer
and winter, though few disapprove
it's use for this purpose. They get
on the average, two tons to the acre,
on dry land. usually the second cut
ting, and generally quite bit of
pasture after the second cutting.
Most of them do not keep more
stock than they need for the opera
ton of farms, but are almost unit
in admitting the advantage of having
more stock to feed. They believe
unitedly that a combination of grain
farming, stock raising and alfalfa or
clover production is the thing for
Eastern Washington.
j. S. Adams has just finished
p'owing up 20 acres of alfalfa from
which he had taken one crop. He
began raising it eight years ago, now
has 80 acres, and allows his hogs to
run on it.
&. Atherton now has 10 acres, be-
gan raising 1t nine years ago, gets an
average yield of as high as four tons,
feeds 1T to cattle and horses, expects
to seed more next year, and thinks
it is paying crop.
R. S. Booth has 80 acres of clover
and IA of alfalfa; has been growing
the latter for IA years; gets about
two tons to the acre, has fed it to
horses for IA years and in this time
has never had a sick horse. He
thinks a acknowledgements wheat
crop will not beat it.
Sam Breeze has kept an average
of 40 acres of clover for the past 10
years, and has just started to raise
alfalfa. His clover yields two and
Cne-half tons to the acre and his al
falfa two. He finds his horses do
well on clover hay straight with
grain, and for a rotation crop, likes
the clover as we'll or better than
alfalfa.
j. D. Carson has 40 acres of al
falfa, which is one-sixth the area of
lis farm. He does not aim to raise
more alfalfa than his stock will con-
sumo, keeps about 20 cows, gets as
high as two and three-quarters tons
to the acre.
The most widely known alfalfa
NAH in the Palouse is Max Hinrichs
who has raised alfalfa for the last
10 years. He cuts 100 acres for hav
and $50 acres for seed, getting about
10 pounds of seed per acre. His WELD
runs from two to three tons. His
use of alfalfa in rotation. he save
has kept his land in sufficiently good
producing condition to enable him r.
dispense with the practice of summe,
following altogether.
j. H. Weeks has finished brineiu..