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

United States.
that standing on tiptoe the man can
just touch it with his finger tips.
What chance has he of breaking out.
Now lower the cover so that it rests
upon the Dent shoulders of the man,
and see how quickly in strengthening
up he will burst through. Place the
alfalfa seed where it can get it's bent
sprout against the under side of that
crust.
Seed-Bed Preparation.
The third plea / want to make is
for seed-bed preparation. A root pene.
trates the soil for the express purpose
of gathering liquid plant food. If the
soil is dry no root will penetrate. BY
reason of the deep going habit of the
alfalfa root it is imperative that for
it's proper development the soil should
be moist many feet down at the time
the alfalfa is sown. Summerfallow-
ing, or the growing of corn or pota-
toes previously will ordinarily put the
soil into this requisite condition. And
in this connection a word in favor of
very deep tillage for alfalfa is in place.
l believe it is hardly possible to pillow
too deep in preparing land for alfalfa.
Here is the photograph of two plants
showing the difference of development
in deep plowed and shallow plowed
land. The plants grew within two
rods of each other, therefore on iden-
tically the same soil. They were
planted the same day and dug the
same day three years later. They re-
ceived identically the same care and
the same rainfall. But one grew on
soil plowed IS inches deep, the other
on 6-inch blowing. The former was
enabled to develop an ideal root sys-
TEN, the latter was forced to a make
shift development that no matter how
long such a plant grew would never
correct itself.
Cultivation.
The fourth plea that l want to make
for alfalfa is cultivation. No matter
how alfalfa is grown, it needs every
season in our dry-land country the
most thorough cultivation. BY reason
of the great quantities of nitrogen that
the bacteria on the roots use, to keep
the nitrate manufactures in operation
it is essential that the ground be main
tanned in such a condition that the
Al SdI ISdullN cIllII. ALI W DItS
end it is often more convenient to
sow the alfalfa in rows, obtaining
thereby the desired thin stand and
admitting of easier and more thor
ough cultivation. 1t is a mistaken idea
that the space between the rows is
wasted. Not only do the tops fill the
space so completely that the rows
are not apparent but also the roots
fill every nook and Granny under
ground. In seed production the row
method is especially adapted for the
eradication of all weeds and the grow
ing of seed absolutely free of foul
seeds.
Winterkilling.
Having made there four pleas. |
want to refute the statements of these
short-pendulum men who claim to see
an apparation clothed in the loud-flap-
ing, snow-swirling garments of Mon
tana winters, bearing a name no less
formidable than winter killing. Now
the spell of this ghost has been dis
PEELED by the heroic action GO years
ago by a pioneer. Wendelin Grimm
sowing that little handful of alfalfa
seed in his Minnesota garden little
knew what seeds of greatness he was
sowing. That winterkilling has oc-
Cured, we will not attempt to deny;
that it is occurring to any great ex-
tent in fields rightly established,
rightly developed and rightly cared
for. is far from the truth.
No Danger of Over-ProductiOn.
Another apparation that appears to
the imaginative eyes of the short-pen-
dulum men is the bloated one of over
production. Let US follow this a lit
tie and see whittier it leads. Kansas
grows more alfalfa than any other
state or province in the world. So
here if anywhere may we look for
over-production. In 1891 Kansas had
34,3S4 acres of alfalfa producing 100,-
600 tons with an average wholesale
price of $500 per ton. By 1915 the
acreage had increased to 100000
acres, producing 5000. 900 tons for
which an average price of $3.50 was
obtained. Last year found 100000
acres in alfalfa with a total yield of
6,n00, 900 tons and the average whole
sale price was $500 per ton. There has
been a very rapid increase in acre
age, a marked increase in acre yield,
and yet the price has been steadily
advancing. No danger here yet of
over-production. In Colorado there
are whole communities wholly depend
ent upon alfalfa. In Nebraska, in
Utah. in Idaho, in California. in every
state where alfalfa has been sown it
has rapidly increased in acreage and
in importance. The secretary of the
Kansas State Agricultural College
says, alfalfa has been a potent fac
tor in the development and prosperity
of the farming industry and the direct
cause of doubling the annual value Of
livestock products"
The Feed of Feeds.
AS a feed for all livestock if has no
equal. His has been recognized for
25 years in Colorado. I distinctly re-
member it was in connection as a hog
feed that | first heard of alfalfa. We
lived back in Illinois. At one time
my father took a trip west. visiting in
Colorado. It was at the time that
Cripple Creek was in the height Of
its golden glory and the papers were
full of accounts of how men like Stat
ton were digging their millions out
of the hills. My boyish imagination
saw the mountain ave literally lined
with gold. SO when father returned
] asked him to tell me of the Won
derful things he saw in Colorado.
swell, my son." he answered, "the
most wonderful thing | saw in Colo
RADIO was hogs eating hay"
ooh father" | cried, "uuit your jok-
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