El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-14

IL is generally sold to consumers by the
reailers at a certain price per bale The
small farms use two-horse press Tor
baliug. but the larger ones make use
OF power presses which do quicker and Z
cheaper work The cost Of baling varies
from 800 TO S1-75 ton As very little
feeding is done, practically all OF the
hav is shipped away. Feeding, however, ]
is becoming imperative as each year
marketing Of hay is assuming greater :
difficulty and bringing lower prices
Many farmers allow their hay to re-
main in the stack until spring prices I
warrant its sale. others bale as soon as {
they can and store il in large barns /
with earth walls and iron roofs In fig
lIrfne warehouse room for baled alfalfa, /
$50 cubic feet per ton is quite accura tie. /
While there is considerable demand for I
alfalfa In towns, the bulk OF the hay Is /
shipped east to Texas, Louisiana, Mis- /
sfssfppi Georgia Tennessee and this /
year to New York as well the price to ]
the producer ranging from 50 to S13 I
ton, depending upon the demand and ]
the distance he may be from ccmpeti- !
tive railroads. There are few farmers |
who recognize any grades but No. /
and No. .. In the southern portion Of I
New Mexico, the farmers have organ I
lied marketing associations which give /
attention to the proper grading Of the /
hay as II is delivered In the warehouses. (
seed Production.
Few farms produce seed in the cen
y Z
that is used is shipped in from Colorado /
and Texas points The Southwestern /
farm. at Los Lunas, has produced seed !
in considerable quantity for several |
years, finding II a most profitable in /
dustry- The yield OF seed averages goo /
pounds per acre, made from the first i
crop, il having been found to be the i
safest as well as the one best fitting j
into the system OF farm management i
One year. some IS acres OF the second /
crop were reserved for seed production II
with the result that no seed was har-
vested with the exception OF that made /
from the first crop on account OF the i
stripping OF the leaves and blooms By Il
grasshoppers and the larvae OF q gray 4
ish butterfly.
Alfalfa seed brings the grower an |
average Of Il cents a pound. and. as
the threshed stems make q fair stock 4
feed or can be sold at 81 ton INHALED,
the returns from the seed may be count
ed as clear profit. The seed natures in i
July, allowing time for two cuttings OF 1
hay after the seed crop is removed
Number OF Crops
In the region about FL Paso. four to
six crops are made every year. farther
north. three to four. The cuttings be-
gin in May in the former place and late
in the same month in the latter region
II requires four 10 five weeks for the 4
crops to reach the stage for cutting.
though the last one, maturing in Sep
TENDER or early in October. takes about Il
hay can be cut promptly and the fields
irrigated Immediately after the removal ]
of the crop, several weeks OF growing
weather may be gained during the sea-
SON On the larger farms, a great deal
OF time is lost through dread Of rain
and the necessity OF so managing that Z
too much hay may not be exposed to
danger from Wetting- It is probable that !
more may be gained By having hay
rained upon occasionally than by show
ing too much Difference to the Vagaries
Of the weather
Cultivation ]
u is advisable. wnere practicable. to
cultivate alfalfa fields early in the
spring and after each cutting to loosen
the soil, destroy weeds and TO stimulate
the crop in general The best machine
for this purpose seems TO be the double I
shovel alfalfa cultivatOr which leaves
the fields in excellent condition Disk
harrOws do not bear up well under the
strain OF cultivating fields which have
large alfalfa plants
One OF the chief benefits OF early
spring cultivation is that OF destroying [
or exposing on the surface OF the eggs
Of grasshoppers and other Injurious in
sects- Cases are known where little I
damage is done by insects on farms
that are cultivated whereas on ad-
joining farms great havoc is created
annually by predaceOus insects
Irrigation with the muddy water OF
the Rio Grande has q tendency to pack
the soil as wen as to coat it with a
sediment which retards the free en- I
trance Of the water to the roots OF the
plants Cultivation in this way enables
the fields to take up more water and
that more readily
Land Fertilization
The best alfalfa soils are fine sandy
and silt loans the clay loans also pro
duce good stands There is no danger
that the soils OF the Rio Grande valley !
will ever become exhausted as the wa
luton and in suspension more plant
food than is removed by five tons OF
alfalfa every year. However. only about
half Of the nitrogen is returned by ir-
but this is unimpOrtant as the
bacteria certainly supply the
deficiency. The foregoing does not sig
Nifty that 1erulizing is not beneficial 1t
has been found that manure viii in
crease the yield Of alfalfa from 20 to
80 percent Therefore fertilizer may
not be necessary. but 1t is profitable.
PnsturinE n Field
Many farmers viii not pasture their
alfalfa fields through fear Of iniuring
the stand, yet when care IS exercised to
keep the stock off when the fields are
wet. there is more benefit than injury
to be derived by allowing cattle. sheep |
or horses to craze on them from the
time Of the last cutting until the first
spring crop begins to make strong
growth on the Southwestern farm this
is the regular practice At $3.50 per
head per month for horses and cattle Z
and Is cents for goats and sheep. the
annual returns Approximate S14O0 for
feed which would otherwise remain I'M
utilized. Where manure has been
dropped by pastured stock, in many
cases the alfalfa grows as much as
six inches taller then on adjoining ]
areas.
Ten hogs per acre will remain fat
during the greater part OF the year (
without other food. 1t is necessary to
divide the pasture into at least two I
fields in order that one may be irri- /
gated while the other is being pasturel.
Large alfalfa farms can also sell pas
pasturage for bees though this is rather .
a large farm has seat ad- ,
for bee keepers as there is al
ways a certain amount OF alfalfa in I
bloom. whereas in a region OF small
farms. practically all the farmers cut
their hay at the same time which brings d
about a most unsteady honey flow. II
seed is produced. an added advantage is
gained The writer was confronted with
the problem a few years ago of decid-
ing how much 20 charge for bee pas !
-urage and finally placed the price per /
year at percent Of the number of hives &
On the farm. TO be paid i'm hives made
HH