Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1916-08-26
AGRICULTURAL NOTES

President -. NauNetre
Secretary j. Holland Sperow.
Treasurer Edgar l.. Henshaw.
County Agent-W. VI. Bewick.
This is the right time of year to
sow alfalfa seed, according to the re-
turns from great number Of expert
ments and from the experience of the
majority of farmers. The county agent
has received o great many Inquiries
in regard to time and method of SOW.
ing, during the past week. Unfortun-
ately, many OF the farmers who are
interested in starting piece this
fall have not made he proper prepa-
ration. AS anxious as the agent is
TO see more alfalfa grown in Berke-
ley county, he has had to advise a
large number of Interested parties not
to attempt to SOW it this fall, or at
most. to SOW small piece now and
prepare the rest more carefully for
next year.
The chances for getting a good
crop where a crop OF wheat has been
removed and the ground Just being
plowed now is rather poor. The wheat
has Slapped the soil heavily of both
rlant and moisture. The soil is full
Of foxtail, crab grass and other weed
seeds ready to terminate at once and
crowd the young alfalfa plants. If
sown with wheat or rye, weeds may
be better controlled but the soil IL
still further drained of its moisture
and food element by this crop.
A question so commonly asked is
rs my soil suited to ALFALFA" We
believe that the type Of soil is a sec
ondary matter and that alfalfa will
grow successfully ON any soil pro
vided: ca it is well drained CD II
is well supplied with lime; go it is
freed from weed seeds; ca it is
made fine and firm with a dust mulch
to conserve moisture and 90 it is
inoeulated thoroughly, to be able tc
get nitrogen from the air instead the
soil.
The importance of incubation Is
| still hard for many farmers to under
stand and accept Many forms o
plant and animal life are greatly bene
! flied by the presence of other forms
which live with or upon them. The
nodules found on the roots Of clover
and other legumes are the homes o
large numbers of bacteria which ar,
necessary to those plants just TIL,
same as those plants are necessar,
to the bacteria. When alfalfa is in
oculated, therefore. the bacteria ar
/ placed i'm the soil that are able t
obtain nitrogen from the air abou
| the roots. This nitrogen is not onll
! absorbed by the plants TO make thu
crop of hay but a large amount Il
stored in the soil for the benefit o
| future crops Uninoculated alfalfa MAJ
| thrive ii artifcially supplied with al
| abundance OF nitrogen. Inoculated 81
falfa will thrive on a comparatively
poor soil and hely to improve tina
soil.
II yon have any fear of the sup
ply of nitrogen in the air becoming
exhausted, just remember that 81
per cent of the air we breathe is nj
trogen With this inexhaustable sup
ply at our disposal how foolish tc
try to supply the plants need of nj
trogen through commercial fertili-
zers. The ISL fertilizer. so much used
by our farmers, contains 20 pounds
OF nitrogen per ton. This is common
ly sowed on 10 to IL acres, less than
T 2 poungs per acre in many cases.
Why not get out Of the old rut OF
low-grade mixed fertilizers and raise
morec lover, alfalfa, soy-beans and
crimson clover Use incubation for
alfalfa and soy-beans. The soil Is al
ready inoculated for redtop and Grim
son clover.
The Bureaus certilizer orders have
already exceeded the 400 ton mark.
This is all 1866 acid-phosphate, the
kind that gives you the biggest re-
turns for the dollar expended. Any
one wishing to add to this order must