The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1915-04-30
ALFALFA IN CECIL COUNTY.
Ten Year Old Alfalfa Field sim
Good Producer.

/ OOO0 prO0uCGr.
6. F. Marsh Agent, who has been in
vestigating the alfalfa fields ia the north
eru part OF the county. reports that on the
farm of John Bair, Vinegar Hill. he found
a field of four acres that had been produce
ing from three to four tons per acre for
the past ten years. Mr. Bair told him
that il was the best milk producing feed
he had ever had and that be could work
his horses on the plow all day without
grain when fed alfalfa. Cecil Smeltzer of
the same place. has small piece that has
given very heavy yields for a number of
years. Chas E. Moore of Colora, has
nine acres OF mixed timothy and alfalfa
that is giving good returns.
Saml Tyson of Rising Sun. has nine
acre field that for the past fve years has
averaged from four to four and half
tons each year. Some farmers laugh at
the theory of incubation and call it all
fairy tales, but the truth of the theory is
shown very clearly on one side of the field
Tyson left strip without inoculating the
seed. For the first two years he said that
there was very little difference, as the
land was well manured and the alfalfa
lived on the nitrogen in the manure and
what was already in the soil. but after
this was used up the alfalfa on the unino-
culated land gradually began to fail.
while now there is almost no alfalfa on
the strip On the other hand there is a
good stand on the rest of the field.
This will explain why SO many of the
alfalfa fields in Cecil county have died out
after the first or second year. lack of in
oculation.
Mr.. Tyson sowed thirteen acres last fall
but owing to a combination of late seed
ing and dry fall the root growth was very
short and the greater part of it was heav.
ed out during the winter. This did not
discourage him in the least as when Mr..
Marsh called he was busy drilling alfalfa
on it again.
In order to show the value of alfalfa as
a soil renovator Thomas Reynolds, Rising
Sun, grew one hundred bushels of corn to
the acre last season on four acres of al
falfa sod. He had seven acres OF one
year old alfalfa that he did not think was
thick enough to leave, SO started to plow
it. When he had it about half done the
warm weather came and it made such
a rapid growth that he was sorry he
had started blowing it, as he now thinks
that it would have paid better than any
other part of his farm. AS he has had
alfalfa for several years he will miss it
greatly and does not know what he will
do for winter feed for his cows. This ex-
perience shows the wisdom of getting
another field sown to alfalfa before plow- .
ing up the alfalfa one now has.
He will SOW four acres this fall, follow
with oats as an. experiment.
w. K. Bird. Rising Sun, will also sow
four acres this fall and one acre this
spring. as an experiment and also to pro-
vide inoculated soil for the fall seeding.
He told Mr.. Marsh that he, went
visiting and his horse had two feeds of
alfalfa while away and that when he
brought him home the animal threw all
his hay. which was good mixed timothy
and red clover, out of his manger and
would not eat it,
T. K. Mcdowell tried alfalfa four or
FIVE years ago and failed and was sure
that it would not grow on the farm when
at the same time along the peach trees
where he could not get with the plow,
was alfalfa that was strong and healthy.