The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1921-01-21

ing plant that distilled ~nitrates from
the nitrogen of the air. But l tell
you it will be a far greater achieve
| er ~installs upon his farm a billion of nj
ment when every American farmer in
stalls upon his farm a billion of nj
trate manufacturing plants-alfalfa
Notwithstanding, from that mex
haustable supply of As, 900 tons of nj
trogen above every acre, an abundant
and priceless fertilizer without one
cent of cost. l want to give in this
connection the results or effect upon
the land of alfalfa growing from two
viewpoints. First are the data OBJ
tanned by a most painstaking investi-
gator and authority on alfalfa-L. R.
Woldron. He says that every ton of
alfalfa grown OF an acre if returned
direct or in manure will put into that
acre an amount of humus and of nj
trogen equal to the amount of humus
and nitrogen that a 35-bushel wheat
crop, of a 50-bushel corn crop, or a
6O-bushel oat crop will remove.
Second are the results obtained by a
practical farmer, Herman Nelson, who
lives near Williston, N. d. He planted
corn On deeply plowed alfalfa sod and
obtained a yield of GO bushels of North
western Dent corn to the acre, or
about three times the yield of adjacent
fields not on alfalfa sod. Sowing Mac
aroni wheat the following spring in
the corn stubble, he threshed out az
bushels to the acre when the average
yield from other fields in that vicinity
was but 16 bushels. And the third
year 200 bushels of potatoes to the
acre was the reward over and above
the normal production of so or 60
bushels. In these three years Mr..
Nelson grew on alfalfa sod as much
corn, as much wheat, as many pota-
toes as ordinarily grew in nine years
on ordinary soil. One blowing against
three; n seeding against three; one
harvest against three; and six years
"to boot" in which to again grow al
alta. 1t is plain. as some one has
said, alfalfa works for nothing and
pays for the privilege"
The fourth effect of alfalfa growing
upon the soil is a physical one. Why
do we pillow? Largely, probably, to OBJ
tain a certain desirable and necessary
physical state of the ground. The best,
finest. most economical job of blowing
that ever been done is being done bV
alfalfa roots. Think it over.
AS a summary, alfalfa gives much
requiring little; it yields bountifullv,
asking less; it pays a princely royalty,
working gratis.
The BugabOO of Over-PrOduction.
That alfalfa will perform this mar
velous function, has been the aim of
the foregoing argument to point out:
that it will grow, grow anywhere,
everywhere that other crops grow ,s
the next logical proposition that would
claim u attention did not prima
facie evidence make this unnecessary
But there are those who onlv a few
years ago, affecting a scepticism about
the possibility of starting alfalfa, now
that it is growing serenely upward,
outward, onward. have swung to the
other point of hesitancy on a short
pendulum and loudly voice a fear that
alfalfa growing will be over-done.
They remind me of the old back
woodsman who through many wears
of frontier life stoutly maintained a
doubt of the possibility of a things
made of iron, called a locomotive, pro
polling itself along an iron track. So
when at length the railroad penetrated
to this out-of-the-way place and all his