The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-07-03
Alfalfa the Wonder Crop
This Magic Plant is King OF Legumes
Resists DrOuth and Enriches Soil
Is Needed on Every Farm

WOrQ LnaL mas cauSnU Ulle ear ana
that is holding the attention of
thousands of people in South Da-
kota right now. "Alfalfa on
every farm is the slogan heard
in the great agricultural cam
paign over the entire eastern
part Of the state. Some of the
of the mo st noted alfalfa experts,
among them H. G. Holden, are
showing the people what alfalfa
has done for other states and
what it will do for the farms in
South Dakota in enriching the
land, increasing the yield, and
building up the live stock indus
try.
The value of alfalfa on the farm
can hardly be over estimated.
Eventually every farm viii! have
it's patch of alfalfa, from one to
fifty or ole hundred acres. AL
falfa is king of legumes. With
the proper preparation for it's
planting, and the proper cultiva-
ton and cutting of the crop, al
falfa will flourish in almost every
section of the country. 1t sur.
wives the cold winters of the
northwestern plains; it stands
longest against the drouths that
sometimes blast the grain crops
in the Central West; and it grows
luxuriantly under the warm sun
and plentious rains of the south
ern states.
It is through alfalfa that worn
out farms in the Eastern States
will be redeemed for further USE
fulness. Alfalfa is increasing
and will continue to increase the
value of thousands of farms
throughout the Central West and
the Northwest. No farmer can
afford to be without alfalfa, for it
not only enriches the land, but
the farmer who lives on the land.
Whenever it is successfully
planted it means a new era of
farming for that farm. Its
growth is SO abundant that more
live stock is necessary to con
sumo the alfalfa hay. Of course,
a good many farmers sell their
alfalfa hay, and for high price,
but those who feed it to, their
chickens, dairy cows, beef cattle
and hogs get a far higher price
for it in the end than the farm
ers who sell theirs in the market.
Alfalfa is the wonder plant,
because it farms two farms that
are not reached by grain crops;
the farm down in the earth be-
low the surface and the invisible
farm above the surface, the air.
The alfalfa roots grow down into
the ground six, eight, ten, fifteen
and even twenty feet to moisture.
Ofentimes when dry weather has
shriveled the corn and wheat
and burned up the grasses and
clover, alfalfa remains green and
fresh. The long roots not only
take up the moisture from far
below the surface, but they bring
to the surface lime, phosphorus
and potash, and store them in
the upper soil for the use of
other crops. Then, when the
roots decay they furnish vege-
table matter to the soil, and they
act as drain pipes bringing down
the rain water from the surface
of the ground to the millions of
little reservoirs where it is
stored for future months. Al
falfa roots, more than any others
increase the water holding capa-
city OF the soil. But alfalfa roots
do a great deal more than this.
The little bacteria that cling to
them are constantly pumping nj
trogen into the soil, and what
soil is there that does rot need
more nitrogen? AS a nitrogen
gatherer alfalfa far surpasses
any ordinary clover. Alfalfa is
not only the most valuable crop
SO far as the money profits are
concerned but it's value as soil
builder is even greater.
As a food for livestock, alfalfa
is supreme. Its protein is equal
to that of wheat bran, protein
builds up the muscle and bone OF
the animal. Corn puts on the
| fat, but alfalfa makes the growth.
Alfalfa and corn together make
the best balanced ration that as
yet has been discovered by sci
entitic farmers.
The farmer who has livestock
and poultry and who raises
enough corn to fatten them and
enough alfalfa to balance the
corn ration, is . successful
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