Carrizozo outlook. [volume] (Carrizozo, N.M.) 1910-1945, 1915-03-26
ALFALFA ON DRY LAND
There Is No Crop More Profitable
for Hay.
Plant 10 peep.Rooted and Must Have
Soil In With TO Sink That Long
Tap Root-subsoller ls
Often Necessary.

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Often Necessary.
Most OF this western country can
grow alfalfa. To be sure there are
some failures, especially with those
Just starting out, but when the condl.
lions necessary for the crop are known
II will be grown with as much success
as the farmers to the east OF us grow
clover. As far as It's value is con-
cerned there Is no more profitable hay
crop. A ton OF alfalfa Is worth In feed
value about what a ton OF bran Is
worth. Say II Is worth SIS and that
an acre Yields from n ard one.half
to three tons per acre, then the crop
would be worth from s22.50 to $4,000
per acre. Easy figures, you say. Yes.
and also they are figures that anyone
with a little effort can obtain.
Alfalfa Is n %deep.rooted plant and
therefore II must have ground In
which II can sink that long tap root,
writes Leon II. Robbins In Dakota
Farmer. Break up that pillow sole, for
no root can penetrate that, and II the
undersoil is hard II should be loos-
ened up as deep as possible. Some
times II Is necessary to use a subsoil-
err. Use a field that Is clean and free
from standing water. II the early
spring water freezes on the field II
will kill the alfalfa by freezing out
the crown Of the plant.
II the field is not free from weeds
then the farmer should spend at least
n year killing out the weeds on the
field. Summer.tlll the land to kill the
weeds. Work the field early In the
spring by disking II, and then pillow
the land so that the blowing will be
finished at least by the first Of July.
Plow deep, and by that the writer
means pillow so that the pillow sole Will
be broken up. Till the field the re-
mainder Of the season to 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 II Is best
to SOW the crop In rows about "a
TO 30 inches apart. II 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 Il 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 IL not time
between the cutting and cold weather
for the crop to get six inches high.
This Is also true about pasturing.
Give the crop the best Of care un.
I'll II 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. II dirt
is used, Il should be used on a cloudy
day at the rate OF not less than 200
pounds OF dirt per acre. Scatter the
dirt by hand broadcast and harrow Il
In at once. Fields that are not inocu.
lated never produce well, the plants
always look yellow and slckly. Maxi.
mum yields are obtained from we'll
titled, wellinoculated alfalfa fields.