Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-06-20
Miseellaaeulss gsading.
ALFALFA GROWING
General Conditions Same in Yort
County as Elsewhere.

General Conditions Same in Yort
County as Elsewhere.
The accompanying article on the
subject of alfalfa growing has beer
sent TO The Enquirer by Mr.. 2. G
Falls, of the Piedmont section of Yorh
county, as likely to prove of Interest
to people who are now giving their at
tention to alfalfa.
There is difference of opinion among
alfalfa growers as to whether soil In
occulation is Of any real value. Some
growers insist that inocculation Is alb
solutely necessary to success and
others insist that 1t amounts to moth
ing. Mr.. Falls does not desire to take
any part in this controversy. He does
not pretend to know; but would rec
ommend that alfalfa club members
follow implicitly the direction Of the
government experts in charge. His
main reason for submitting the ac-
companying article is that although II
is by Missouri writer and written In
relation to the state Of Missouri, II
fits, according to the judgment he has
formed as the result Of three years
experience, the situation as he has
found 1t in this locality. The article
follows:
Having resided in northwest Mis-
souri, (Worth county, for a great
many years, and having recently NOV
ed to the south central portion Of the
state, this article Is based on actual
experience and observation as to the
of these sections of our
state to the production of that won
derful plant known as alfalfa"
While an occasional field Of alfalfa
dots the above-named sections Of the
state, there are thousands of farmers
who actually do not understand just
what alfalfa is. In a vague way, they
know that 1t is used as pasturage, for
roughage, and is threshed for the seed,
but that Is about the limit Of their
knowledge Of the plant and its various
uses. .#T sA fn
Those farmers who have found by
experience what boon alfalfa is to
them, either as feed, rejuvenator OF
the soil. or as a commercial product,
are high in their praises of It; yet.
the majority of farmers are skeptical
or careless in their attitude toward It,
and are proving to be slow in testing
its worth at first hand by sowing a
trial field of 1t. 1t is high time the
farmers Of this section investigate the
merits Of alfalfa, and then let It occu-
py it's proper sphere in their farming
operations.
These two points are practically the
only two drawbacks to the establish
ing and maintenance of highly pro-
ductive alfalfa fields in central and
northwest Missouri Both are mere
"bugaboos." In the first place. thou
sands Of farmers annually sow clover
seed, which is but very little costlier
than alfalfa seed; while the prepara-
ton of the seedbed for clover ought to
be just as thorough as for alfalfa.
This puts the cost of the two on prac-
tically the same basis, and consider
ing that alfalfa produces more than
the clover, and is considered by many
as a superior soil builder, 1t is doubt
full IL alfalfa seeding is as costly as
clover seeding.
Many farmers actually have the idea
that alfalfa cannot be grown on the
lands common to this section-in fact,
/ may state that by far the majority
of the farmers entertain this fallacious
view Of the matter Here Is where the
writer may trample on many toes in
his views-or rather, in presenting the
actual experience Of practical farm
ers. We would not go on record as
claiming that all land in this section
will produce a stand of alfalfa with
out "inoculation," but we do know
of cases where ordinary land has been
successfully seeded to alfalfa without
an atom Of "inoculated' soil being
used in the seeding process, and we
believe that the day Is not far distant,
when our farmers will find that by far
the greater part Of our lands are
adapted to the growing Of alfalfa
provided Of course, that the soil is
properly prepared for the reception of
seed by thorough working; that pure,
vigorous seed is sown; and that care
is taken in letting the stand become
we'll established. ..-
Several years ago, Mr.. VIM. Camp
bell, of Worth county, Missouri, re-
moved a crop Of cowpeas from field
Of ordinary soil; prepared a fine seed
bed just as he would for any other
grain seeding, and sowed the land to
alfalfa. The writer has passed the
field scores Of times. and knows that
Mr.. Campbell removes three or four
crops from it annually; yet not a
pound of 'inoculated" soil was en-
ployed in establishing this stand.
Mr.. Campbell has since seeded an
other field in practically the same
manner. and it is coming on nicely,
He advises seeding from August Is to
September Is. contending that spring
seeding is apt to be smothered out by
weeds. He further states that he uses
manure freely, and that he considers
1t Of material assistance in establish
ing the stand. This, and the work of
the cowpea crop previous to seeding,
may account for this dairy mans sue
cess with alfalfa, but certain 1t Is,
that he never has resorted to Tnocu-
lation" Of the soil in his achieve
ments.
In the same county, but another Sec
ton Of 1t, Mr.. V. S. Hall has fine
field of alfalfa. When asked II he
thought the soil had to be "inoculat-
ed," he said he didn't believe a word
of it, adding that he simply prepared
his seed-bed as he would for any
other crop, seeding the 1st Of May.
This not only explodes the "inocula-
ton" theory in these localities, but
also proves that spring seeding, may,
with proper care and attention, be
successfully practiced. Mr.. Hall did
not even SOW a preparatory crop of
cowpeas, as did Mr.. Campbell, but
merely selected a field that had been
in small grain the previous season.
Still another and even more con-
oil ID hn Ir,att