The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1913-03-28
Mr.. VIM. H. Hitson of Deer Fl:

MI. Wm II. f11tSQn OF Deer Flat
has IL acres in clover which is be-
tween the trees of his young orchard.
This clover was planted in May, 1911,
the seed being 100 pounds Of blue
stem wheat, 5 pounds timothy and 5
pounds OF clover per acre. The wheat
was drilled in and the grass seed
broadcasted from the drill At the same
time and narrowed in.
The second year Mr.. Hitson cut 81
tons clover hay at the first cutting,
and from the second cutting he hulled
out and saved lO2 bushels of clean
clover seed, or ~ bushels in round
numbers per acre. This was worth
at the time of threshing 50 bushel,
so that the crop was worth gross
$3.50 from the clover seed, $l7.50 for
the first cutting of hay, making his
crop worth SOL per acre, not taking
into consideration the clover straw,
which Mr.. Hitson considers almost
as valuable for feeding horses and
cattle as the hay itself. Today clover
seed is worth $lO8O per bushel; and
if Mr.. Hitson still has his, the figures
would look something like this:
9Abushels clean seed per acre,
at $lU.U .................. .$ 1920
3H tons clover hay, first cut
ting, per acre .............. 17.5O
z tons clover straw, per acre. 500
Total gross crop per acre. .$l22.4O
Just south of the Hitson ranch, Mr..
F. M. Hoadley owns 80 acres and has
IL acres of red clover. The second
year, 1912, he got ~ tons per acre
of hay from the first cutting, and he
hulled from the second cutting ia
bushels of clean seed, or 9H bushels
per acre, which he sold at 500 per
bushel, so that he received $3.50 per
acre for his seed alone. He had about
two tons of clover straw per acre, and
says that the hay and straw will pay
all the expenses of care, irrigation,
harvesting and threshing, and that
the returns from his crop are net.
The above returns are from crops
harvested the next year after seeding
or later than that. Here is one har-
vested the same year it was seeded:
Mr.. L. E. Elerick, Of Parma, Idaho,
from 5 acres of red clover seeded in
the spring of 1912, threshed rs bushels
of clean seed, or at the rate of BUSH
els per acre. At the time of threshing
the seed was worth 50 a bushel,
wholesale. 1t is now worth $1,000.
$54 an acre, besides the hay, isn't
bad return for the first years clover
crop.
White clover seed has brought in
bigger results. Here is a sample.
Last season on an old ten acre white
clover and blue grass pasture, within
four miles of Caldwell, IS head of
stock were pastured for two months
in the spring; the stock were then
taken off and the clover seed allowed
to ripen and was harvested and
threshed, bringing in $500 worth of
seed. The tract was irrigated again
and pastured for another two months
before winter. Results were $50 an
acre and four months good pasture.
A Land Miracle.
To the eastern farmer or the man
from the middle west, Canyon county
is indeed land of miracles. L. V.
produced 70 bushels of wheat
to the acre-and his neighbors say he
is no wizard. The w. A. George or
chard produced crop actually sold
for $4,000 on rs acres. From l2O
apple trees apples were picked which
sold for the above sum. A 36-acre
field of alfalfa produced $50 tons of
so on through the list.
Brains mixed with Idaho soil will
produce results that will satisfy any
one, and the next few years will ring
in many changes that will cause many
of the old timers to wonder why they
didn't think of that before! Many a |
has had a long, bitter |
waiting for water. He has it |
now-material success is at last with |
in his grasp. And Caldwell lies in
the exact center of all this glorious
territory.