The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-03-18
BEST
WAYS in STARTING
Careful Consideration of the Soil,
the Time, and the Variety
by an Expert

of n permanent structure the frs
consideration should be to secure
solid foundation. If an alfalfa feel
is not a permanent structure, in fac
one of the essential stones in tn
foundation of modern agriculture,
have a wrong idea of modern agri
culture.
There is no hope of getting any
thing worth while without the expen
diture of effort, intelligence and en-
ergy, and in preparing to grow alfal
ia, if we are to hope to have success
we must prepare ourselves, in oul
hearts, for the undertaking by deter
mining to start at the foundation
An alfalfa field that can be depend.
ed upon to return a satisfactory croI
must be given as much consideration
as any other worthwhile project.
Soil Must Be Right
The first thing necessary for sue
cess in securing a stand is the soil
and it's conditions.
The soil must have no acid; if it
contains acid it must be lined. 1t
must not be water logged. 1t must
have at least five feet of well-drain-
ed top-soil. 1t may contain a goodly
percentage of alkali if supplied with
humus. The soil must be capable of
being penetrated by the young root
lets but must not be loosed below
the surface as this will permit the
voids to dry out and this will kill the
young plants before they get thor
oughly established. The surface of
the soil for the depth of one or two
inches must be very finely pulver-
lied, as the very small size of the
seed requires the surrounding earth
to furnish food for the young germ
as soon as it appears, and different
from grains, which have larger seeds,
it cannot furnish any reinforcements
in Ease of an attack by drouth, it
must have the support of the sur
rounding soil. This is the reason
for advocating "a firm seed-bed with
a finely pulverized surface" which
l have advocated for so many years.
Time to Sow
The time of sowing is highly i'm
portant, as the nature of the very
young alfalfa plant leaves it in such
a tender condition at termination
that it is easily killed by drought or
frost. This is contrary to many who
pose as authorities, but the young al
falfa and sweet clover plants are
among the most tender at this criti-
cal time, likewise the most handy af-
ter becoming established. Tie rea-
many advocate sowing in the
fall, sowing on snow, ETC., is because
at some time they have known of
which were successful by rea-
son of an excessive amount of seed
being sown, a large part of which
vas never more heard from, and
sufficient surviving to produce a
stand that happened to escape the
hangers herein referred to. When
he soil is warmed by the season in
he spring, after danger of the
freezing, is the time advo-
.ated to plant alfalfa or sweet clover
eed, moisture being sufficient, the
eed being of good termination, the
oil in the right condition, a good
tand may be expected.
Varieties
Another very important detail in
rowing alfalfa successfully is the
ariety. 1t is now an admitted fact
hat varieties of alfalfa, their powers
0 withstand the adverse conditions
f climate, and the ability to improve
nth the years, are very different
nth the various types. For dry land
he varigated, branching-rooted, low
rowned types are acknowledged to
e superior to the common" varie-
.es and are the only varieties advo-
ated by those who have had the (:
lost experience in growing alfalfa :
/ dry, cold sections. AS much care :
Mould be given in selecting the :
of alfalfa which is planted as :
the selection of the breeds of cat :
e or hogs which you propose to :
art herds from, and like stock :
reeding. it is best to begin with the :
ght variety. AS some breeds of :
title are better calculated for err :
in sections than those of other :
reeds, so the hardy varieties of al :
!lfa are to be preferred to the :
common" for sections where the :
Gather conditions are severe and 8
ere is doubt about survival.-C. c.
'~ooster, Kalispel. E
Discovery is reported from South :