Tombstone epitaph., 1915-03-07
ALFALFA ON DRY LAND
There Is No Crop More Profitable
 for Hay.
Plant Is Oeep-Rooted and Must Have Soil in Which to Sink That Long Tap Root-Subsoiler Is
 Often Necessary.

Most of this western country can some failures. especially with those just starting out. but when the condi- tions necessary for the crop are known it will te Srown with as much success as the farmers 10 the east of us grow clover. As far as its value is con cerned there is no more profitable hay crop. A ton of alfalfa is worth in feed value about what ton of bran is worth. Say it is worth sl5 and that an acrs yields from one ard one-half to three tons per acre. then the crop would be worth from s22 50 to S45.00 per acre. Easy figures. you say. Yes, and also they are figures that anyone with a little effort can obtain
 Alfalfa is a deep-rooted plant and therefore it must have ground in which it can sink that long tap root, writes Leon H. Robbins in Dakota Farmer. Break up that piow sole, for no root can penetrate that. and if the undersoil is hard it should be loos- ened up as deep as possible. Some times it is necessary 10 use sU5soil- CT. Use a field that is clean and free from standing water. If the early spring water freezes on the field it will kill the alfalfa by freezing out the crown of the plant
 If the field is not free from weeds then the farmer should spend at least one year killing out the weeds on the field. Summer-till the land to kill the weeds. Work the field early in the spring by disking it. and then blow the land so that the blowing will be finished at least by the first of July. Flow deep, and by that the writer means blow so that the blow sole will be broken up. Till the field the re- mainder of the season 10 conserve moisture and kill every weed The next season, disk shallow early in spring to conserve the moisture and work as often as is necessary with the disk or harrow until seeding time. Seed in June. about the 10th to the 25th. after the ground is good and warm so that the alfalfa will come up quickly. In many places it is best to SOW the crop in rows about 2i to 90 inches apart If sown in rows two pounds of seed per acre will do When sown broadcast. five pounds Of good seed is enough per acre.
 Do not clip the crop the first sea son unless necessary to kill the weeds. Clipping sets the crop back too much and it is also liable to come too late so that the crop will not get enough growth for winter pro. lection. IL is best not to cut even a hay crop too late. Or in other words, late enough so that there is not time between the cutting and cold weather for the crop to get six inches high This is also true about pasturing. Cultivate the crop in the spring with a spring-tooth harrow. an alfalfa harrow or a disk run shallow. This will kill the weeds and also form a mulch to conserve moisture.
 Give the crop the best of care un- til it is well established at least. Then the returns will be gratifying. Most all alfalfa fields will need in oculating. This is best done by dirt from some well-inoculated field. If dirt is used, it should be used on cloudy day at the rate of not less than 200 pounds of dirt per acre. Scatter the dirt by hand broadcast and harrow it in at once. Fields that are not inocu- lated never produce well, the plants always look yellow and sickly. Maxi. mum yields are obtained from we'll tiled, well-inoculated alfalfa fields.