Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-11-10

Scattered here and there thruout dit
ferent sections Of northern Iowa are
unobstrusive little fields Of alfalfa.
Sometimes they are so small anu To-
Gated so obscurely that the traveller
would never observe them unless he
were on the lookout for this compar-
atively new feed product or inquired OF
those he met where such plots or fields
might be found. Generally speaking the
alfalfa grower of this part OF the state
Is making his earliest effort in estab-
fishing the plant and converting 1t into
a finished article OF food hence the
contracted area of the field and KS fire.
quently obscure location. However. If
these experiments continue as success
fully as they have begun it will not be
many years until alfalfa fields in the
section mentioned will become so large
and numerous that any mention OF
them Will excite no more interest or
comment than does that OF the corn.
oats or clover fields of this present day.
An occasional farmer all over the
northern half of the state Is even now
demonstrating the great possibilities OF
alfalfa, and he has reason to, feel that
he is benefiting not only himself but
the generation of farmers that will sue
coed him when he devotes time and ex-
perse to make the demonstration a
complete success.
One of the notable alfalfa; fields in
Wright county is the enc Of five or six
acres that has been established by Mr..
]. C. Middleton on his farm near Eagle
Grove; and this is one of the largest
too, the average being only one or two
acres. The land devoted to this exper-
iment Is rather gravelly and rolling. 1t
was cropped to oats two successive
years and fall plowed, this being the
method employed to kill the weeds and
weed seed for every alfalfa grower
knows that he must have clean ground
in the start. After the second fall
blowing the ground was disked and ten
loads Of manure per acre applied after
which the field was disked again. The
seeding was done in August with
broadcast seeder which was run over
the ground twice sowing ten pounds OF
seed per acre each time. and gong
cross wise the second sowing to in
sure an even seeding. Two borrowings
completed the work Of planting. This
is the third year Of the fields existence
and the three cuttings this season have
yielded twenty Ave loads OF hay, the
owner estimating that he still has
about half ton per acre on the ground
which can be used for pasture. -dr.
Middleton thinks that the feeding value
of ton OF alfalfa is fully equal &c two
tons OF timothy or to one and a half
tons of clover. In his barn he has four
extra fine calves about 4 months OF
age and their daily ration Is alfalfa
hav and milk which they get In the
natural manner. They are in the pink
of condition.
Middleton has decided that alfalfa
should be cut as soon as 1t begins to
blossom as the bottom shoots which
produce the succeeding growth are
formed at this time and are damaged in
cutting any later than the stage indi-
Gated above. He mows in the afternoon
80 that the sap in the stems may be
absorbed largely by the leaves before
beirg acted upon by a hot sun. rakes
and punches the next forenoon, allows
1t to remain in this condition week to
ten days and puts Il into the barn like
ordinary hay.
Near the town of Ellsworth in Ham
ilton county there is a little one-acrc
field that was established by a man
named Lakin about ten years ago. Five
loads Of hay were taken off 1t this year
but want of care has resulted In
growth Of weeds that will evidently ne
cessitate the blowing up OF the plot in
the near future.
A few miles from this field Is an
other near the town of Jewell and
owned by young farmer named
Twedt. This one was seeded last year
on a tract sloping up from a small
stream. Near the creek the gravel sub
soil comes near the surface and. here
the alfalfa is much more luxuriant than
farther back where the black soil ex-
tends farther down. This field is en-
closed by a hog tight fence and Mr..
Twedt told how the porkers invar-
iably travelled to the alfalfa rather