possibility of the two plants being confused in the minds of those not
acquainted with them, it is proper to make mention here of the plant
referred to in the caption above. It is not generally known nor widely
distributed, and has as yet its principal habitat in semi-arid parts of
the southwestern United States. The Century Dictionary calls it
Pin-clover or Pin-grass, and classifies it with the Geranium family.
Webster’s Dictionary speaks of it as a weed in California. It is an
annual and seeds profusely; a few seeds scattered over quite a large
area result in a thorough seeding the second year. A stockman in Arizona
writes that it will grow on any kind of soil except alkali; that it was
introduced from Australia by sheep carrying it in their wool. It is a
southern plant and should not be seeded largely north of the northern
line of Oklahoma until tested by the experiment stations. It should not
be confused with alfalfa, as it is entirely dissimilar and not related.
In discussing this plant an Arizona editor writes the following:
“It is by no means a new or experimental crop, for it was the main
reliance of Arizona stockmen during ten years of drouth. We suppose that
the experiment stations in the West have given it little attention
because it is as well known as alfalfa here, and millions of acres are
covered with it in various portions of the Territory.
“We know from many years experience that alfilaria will thrive and keep
stock in good condition where no grass roots would live through one of
the dry seasons. It is peculiarly adapted to the poorer soils in western
Kansas, Nebraska, the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico, and portions of the
northern section of Mexico.
“Its merits are that it will grow in seasons so dry that other forage
fails and that it will keep cattle in better health and condition as to
flesh and growth than anything else we can grow in Arizona, not
excepting alfalfa. In the spring cattle and horses will go miles to find
it and it is better than ‘condition powders’ to put them in condition
for summer growth.
“What it will do on other classes of soil, under excess of moisture, is
a matter of experiment; but where it is needed most--as above outlined,
there is nothing that has ever been tested under these adverse
conditions which can compare with alfilaria. This will be certified to
by every ranchman and cattleman in this section of Arizona.”
MEASURING HAY IN THE STACK
Some method of arriving at the quantity in a stack, rick, or mow without
weighing it, is, at one time and another, found desirable by everyone
who has to do with loose hay. There can be no absolute rule laid down
for this because of the varying compactness the hay attains under
differing conditions of coarseness or fineness, moisture, length of time
stacked or stored and the weight which has rested upon it.
For prairie hay stacked not less than thirty days a cube seven feet
square (343 cubic feet) is not uncommonly bought or sold as a ton; yet
seven-and-a-half feet square, or 422 cubic feet, are often made the
basis of estimating. The author is advised that in the alfalfa growing
districts of the Yellowstone valley it is the general custom to accept
as a ton 422 cubic feet of alfalfa hay if it has settled thirty days or
more. Also that hay-men find there is a noticeable variation between the
different cuttings. The first cutting will fall short of actual weight
more than the second, while the third cutting will hold up in weight,
and sometimes overrun. Prof. E. A. Burnett, of the Nebraska experiment
station, thinks an eight-foot cube, or 512 cubic feet, a fair figure.
Professor Ten Eyck says:
“The rules for measuring hay in the stack will vary according to the
length of time the hay has been stacked and the kind and quality of the
hay, and also according to the character of the stack. With alfalfa or
prairie hay which has been stacked for thirty days it is usual to
compute an eight-foot cube or 512 cubic feet as a ton. When the hay has
been stacked five or six months, usually a seven-and-a-half-foot cube or
422 cubic feet is calculated for a ton. In old stacks which have been
stacked a year or more a seven-foot cube or 343 cubic feet is allowed
for a ton.
“There are different methods of measuring a stack, depending upon its
shape and also its size. For a long stack or rick the usual method is to
throw a line over the stack measuring the distance (in two or three
places, and use the average) from the bottom on one side to the bottom
on the other; add to this the average width of the stack, divide this
sum by four (which equals one side of the square) and multiply the
quotient by itself and this product by the length of the stack; this
will give the number of cubic feet in the stack, which may be divided by
512, 422, or 343 in order to find the number of tons. For small, low
ricks the rule is to subtract the width from the ‘over,’ divide by 2,
multiply by the width and multiply the product by the length, dividing
the result by the number of cubic feet in a ton.
“There is no established rule for measuring round stacks, but this one
will approximate the contents of one of the ordinary conical form: Find
the circumference at or above the base or ‘bulge’ at a height that will
average the base from there to the ground, find the vertical height of
the measured circumference from the ground and the slant height from the
circumference to the top of the stack. Multiply the circumference by
itself and divide by 100 and multiply by 8, then multiply the result by
the height of the base plus one-third of the slant height of top. The
hay in a round is necessarily less compact than in a rectangular stack,
hence a greater number of feet should be allowed for a ton; with well
settled hay, probably 512 feet.
“The rules given may also be used in measuring any kind of hay, sorghum
or Kafir-fodder in the stack. However, for sorghum or Kafir-fodder only
approximate results can be procured by stack measurements because the
fodder is apt to vary greatly in weight, according to the moisture it
contains.”
[Illustration: =Pot Culture Experiments at University of Illinois=
showing effect produced upon growth of alfalfa by nitrogen-gathering
bacteria obtained from older alfalfa and Sweet clover. Reading from top
to bottom the four photographs were made five, six, seven and eight
weeks, respectively, from time of planting
+----------------------------------------------+
|Bottom row, signs from left to right: |
|ALFALFA. No Bacteria. |
|ALFALFA. Bacteria from Alfalfa soil. |
|ALFALFA. Bacteria from Alfalfa Tubercles. |
|ALFALFA. Bacteria from Sweet Clover Soil. |
|ALFALFA. Bacteria from Sweet Clover Tubercles.|
+----------------------------------------------+]
[Illustration: =Six Months Growth of Alfalfa Foliage=
grown from one crown under irrigation in southern California, sixty feet
below sea level Height slightly less than eleven feet]
_CHAPTER XXVI._
Practical Experiences of Alfalfa Growers in the United States of America
ALABAMA
_Prof. J. F. Duggar, Director Alabama experiment station._--Alfalfa is
grown in Alabama with entire success on the lime soil of the central
prairie region of the state. This is a strip of land from 10 to 20 miles
wide, extending southeast and northwest almost across the state and into
Mississippi. Beginning near Union Springs, this prairie passes near
Montgomery, Selma, Demopolis, Greensboro and northwestward towards
Columbus, Miss. On the prairie lands in this area alfalfa affords from
three to six cuttings per year, usually four, and the yield is from
three to six tons per acre. Irrigation is not practiced. The seed is
sown either in September or in the early part of March, usually from 20
to 24 pounds per acre. Almost a full crop is secured the first year from
fall seeding, but only from one-third to two-thirds of a full crop is
secured the first year from sowing seed in March. It is not customary on
this soil to use fertilizer on alfalfa, but an application of even a
light coat of stable manure immensely increases the yield on the poor
spots. Failure has generally attended attempts to grow alfalfa on
non-calcareous or sandy soils, though under favorable conditions, with
liberal manuring and constant warfare against crab-grass, it
occasionally succeeds. In Bulletin No. 127 of the Alabama experiment
station the results in alfalfa growing are summarized as follows:
Usually the best crop to precede spring sown alfalfa is cotton,
especially if cotton follows melilotus (Sweet clover). The best crop to
prepare the land for fall sown alfalfa is cowpeas, sown very thickly.
Farmers have found that alfalfa thrives when sown on Johnson grass
meadows, holding its own, at least for the first few years, against this
aggressive grass. Dodder, a yellow threadlike growth, is a serious enemy
of alfalfa. One of the remedies consists in mowing and burning. Seed
merchants often pass alfalfa seed through a machine which is claimed to
remove the dodder seed. On sandy upland soils at Auburn, alfalfa has not
afforded very profitable yields. On such soils it requires heavy
applications of lime or barnyard manure, and it is believed that more
profitable use can be made of manure. At Auburn neither nitrate of soda
nor cottonseed meal very greatly increased the yield of alfalfa that was
properly stocked with root tubercles. Acid phosphate and potash
fertilizers are considered indispensable here, and generally advisable
on sandy or other soils not rich in lime. Inoculation with soil from old
fields of either alfalfa or Bur clover greatly increases the yields of
alfalfa growing on sandy land. The germ that causes tubercles to develop
on Sweet clover also causes tubercles to develop on the roots of
alfalfa. Hence artificial inoculation of alfalfa is not necessary when
it is grown on prairie land that has recently borne a crop of
melilotus. Artificial inoculation of alfalfa is probably advisable even
for prairie soils when it is uncertain whether either the melilotus or
alfalfa germs are present in great numbers. In regions in Alabama where
neither alfalfa, melilotus, nor Bur clover is extensively grown,
inoculation of alfalfa is advisable. For this purpose one may use soil
from old fields of either of these plants or inoculating material
prepared in the laboratory.
ARIZONA
_John Blake, Graham county._--Alfalfa is the king of forage plants here.
It will stand considerable dry weather and live, but it will not yield
profitably unless irrigated, or on naturally damp ground. It does not do
well here on clay soil, and if clay subsoil is near the surface it is
likely to dry out, unless watered. I have grown alfalfa for eight years
on 175 acres, first and second bottom, and upland, with sandy and loam
soils, with small patches of clay and various subsoils; the alluvial
bottoms are usually loam of different depths, underlaid with sand and
gravel; the next bottom more clayey, with quicksand about 13 feet deep
and gravel about 30 feet below the surface. On first bottoms, well water
is reached at a depth of 3 to 8 feet, the soil being dry on the surface
only; on the upland, the soil is dry for 20 to 30 feet, or until water
is reached. Land intended for alfalfa had best be cultivated in other
crops for two or three years, thus insuring the killing off of native
brush and grass, and their roots; then it must be laid off in “lands” of
various widths, according to the slope, each land being leveled
uniformly and bordered to hold water. Seed may be sown in August,
September, and October; in fact, all the year, except from the middle
of April to the first of August, when it is so hot and dry here. The
quantity of seed used varies with the preparation, from 12 to 20 pounds
per acre. Sow with a “Cahoon” seeder, and cover with a brush or light
harrow. It is generally sown here with barley, wheat, or oats. The grain
is cut early for hay, or ripened and headed, in which case the stubble
and alfalfa are cut immediately afterward and hauled off. The ground is
then irrigated, and if it has previously been foul, there will be plenty
of weeds. Another cutting in good time will usually eradicate these. The
plant will not winterkill here if old enough to have four leaves before
frost. We irrigate abundantly, from the Gila river, in winter and
spring, filling up the soil and thus making less need for water during
the hot, dry period. Irrigate after each crop is taken off, and some
land is benefited by two irrigations for each cutting. The quantity of
water needed depends on the character of the soil and subsoil; some on
the bottoms needs but little after the first year, and it is a good
plan, if the subsoil is open, to let the plant go without artificial
water after it has a good start, as it sends its roots down to moisture
or water, if at a reasonable depth below; it will then thrive on much
less water, and the crop will be more nutritious. If one is raising hay
for quantity, of course this does not apply. The four crops per season
yield on an average: First, 1¹⁄₂ to 2 tons; second and third, 1¹⁄₄ to 4;
fourth, three-fourths to one ton. If cutting for quantity, mow when
fairly in bloom; if for feeding, when the seed has formed. I have raised
no seed, but the crop used for that purpose is usually the second, and
it is not irrigated. The time required for curing depends on the stage
at which the hay is cut, the dryness of the ground, etc.; a good rule is
to rake as soon as the rake will take it up clean, and let it cure in
windrows or cocks. I use a “Landen” single pole stacker, with slings,
which puts the hay, just as it laid on the wagon, in the center of the
stack. The seed, threshed on an ordinary thresher, contains straw and
chaff, which are easily taken out by running through ordinary wire
screen-door netting, and then it is suitable for the “Cahoon” seeder. On
land worth $40 per acre, the hay in the stack costs $3 per ton. Baling
costs $2 per ton, the best size being 100 or 150 pounds in weight. Size
does not affect the keeping quality of the hay. The hay has sold here
for $6 to $12, averaging about $7.50, and the seed sold here last year
for 9 cents per pound. I do not think the straw is of much value.
Alfalfa will yield abundantly the second year, and, if harrowed with a
good harrow, digging up the soil, it will yield for a very long period.
Mine, which is 10 years old, looks as well as it did when two years old.
To rid land of it, it would be well to plow when dry, then cross plow
later on. On naturally damp bottom it is hard to kill. Cattle pastured
on rank alfalfa in the spring are liable to bloat.
_Thomas C. Graham, Pinal county._--Though I have been familiar with
alfalfa growing for 10 years, my first experience on a large scale was
five years ago, when I seeded the Kenilworth farms, containing 900
acres. I was successful in securing a good stand on the entire tract.
Some of the land is upland, with sandy loam soil, washed from the
mountains, and various subsoils, hardpan being, in places, only 10
inches below the surface; the remainder of the land is low, or bottom,
with adobe soil. Well water is found at a depth of 95 feet, and the soil
is dry from the surface to within a few feet of the water stratum.
Before sowing, the surface soil is plowed and harrowed thoroughly; 20
pounds of seed is used to the acre, and covered not more than one-half
inch deep. In our section, the best time for seeding is in September and
October, and there is no danger from the winter frost. During the first
season we cut twice or three times, to destroy all weeds, and obtain
2¹⁄₂ or 3 tons of hay per acre, but have never been able to get a paying
crop of seed from the first season’s cutting. For irrigation, we obtain
water from the Gila and Salt rivers, but in some sections of our country
water is pumped from wells by steam pumps. It has not been found
practicable to lift the water from a greater depth than 50 feet for this
purpose. The first year, as the land is very dry, it requires twice the
quantity of water that is needed the second year and after. We flood the
alfalfa five or six times a year--once in the fall, in the spring, and
after each cutting, using water enough to cover the land to a depth of
about one inch. We have no rain to amount to anything here, and depend
entirely on irrigation. I think the ground should be prepared in the
fall, and seeded in February or March as, if seeded in the fall, the
young plants might be liable to injury from frost. In all cases, the
soil should be thoroughly prepared, and the seed not covered more than
one-half inch deep. It is not uncommon to harvest six crops of alfalfa
in a single season, and its feeding qualities are unequaled for cattle,
horses, or swine. It is found, by careful tests, that alfalfa is 45 per
cent better than clover and 65 per cent better than timothy for feeding
farm animals. In my opinion, there is no other hay that will equal
properly cured alfalfa. That grown without irrigation is much better, as
it contains less sap and is not so stalky. The threshed hay is splendid
feed for milch cows, and is sold here for the same price brought by the
hay cut earlier. Last season I pastured 65 head of hogs on 10 acres of
alfalfa, and they did well. In my experience, it is far better than
clover, from the fact that it cannot be dislodged, the roots penetrating
to a depth of 10 to 20 feet. The pasturage is profitable and
satisfactory for sheep and horses, and 45 per cent better for cattle
than clover. They will bloat sometimes, but if properly handled there is
little danger. The best preventive is to not allow the cattle to become
too hungry. We get, on an average, three cuttings a year, averaging 1 to
1¹⁄₂ tons per acre each, and have pasture for five or six months. For
hay, we mow when in full bloom, rake as soon as possible, and let stand
in windrows until the stems are about half dry; then put in the cock for
two days, and stack in large ricks of about 80 to 100 tons each. If put
up damp or green, it will mold. The seed is harvested, usually, from the
second crop, when the pods turn black and can be shelled out by rubbing
in the hand. It is cut, raked in windrows, and allowed to stand until
thoroughly dry. I used, this season, a J. I. Case separator, and
threshed and cleaned 6000 pounds of seed in three days. An ordinary
yield is 100 pounds to the acre, and the cost of cutting and threshing
is 3 cents a pound. The total cost of the hay in the stack is about $3
a ton on $50 land, with 15 cents an acre for irrigation. The average
selling price for hay is $4 a ton, and for seed, 10 cents a pound. With
proper care, alfalfa will last time without end, and improve each year,
and it is difficult to kill it out, as it makes more or less seed every
crop. An open soil, free from hardpan, is best for it.
CALIFORNIA
_Henry Miller, San Mateo county._--Since 1871, we have gradually
increased our acreage of alfalfa, until we now have about 20,000 acres.
This is on reclaimed swamp and upland, under a complete system of
irrigation, with the exception of a little light, loamy soil, with water
near the surface and no irrigation. On the latter ground the plant is
short-lived, on account of the gophers. The depth at which well water is
found varies from 10 to 40 feet, and, with irrigation, it is immaterial
whether the soil is naturally moist or dry. The preparation for seeding
consists of deep plowing and cross plowing, and the depth for planting
is not over two or three inches. For light, loamy soils, 12 pounds of
seed to the acre is ample, while for hard, rough, new land, from 16 to
20 pounds is required to insure a good stand. Seeding may be done here
after the cold season, and when danger of heavy frost is past, but in
time to take advantage of the spring rains, which are very essential.
During the first season, the weeds should be mowed as they require it,
without regard to returns of alfalfa, and after they are subdued it is
well to let the first year’s growth go to seed and allow it to be
trampled into the soil by young stock, but if there is a full stand this
is not necessary. We irrigate from streams, applying water as soon as
the spring opens and every time a crop is cut, the quantity of water
needed depending on the quality of the soil. Drainage is very necessary,
especially when irrigation is done in warm weather. After the first
irrigation, less water is needed at an application than at first.
Winterkilling seems to be effectually prevented by watering in the fall.
Alfalfa will attain its best state in three or four years, and its
condition after that will depend upon its treatment. We put stock on our
land generally after the first and second growth is cut, and the only
rest the land receives is when it is being irrigated. After hay has been
cut for several years, we harrow in the spring with a heavy harrow or
disk cutter, and take the opportunity to reseed that which shows lack of
vigor. The more sun and the less shade there is, the better the growth
and the more satisfactory the yield. We find it more difficult to get a
stand than to get rid of it; but, in some instances, where we have
wanted the land for orchard, vegetables, or root crops, we found several
plowings would destroy it. Without irrigation, we have not found the
crop very profitable, but there are a few favored spots in the state
where it can be grown without water; but when we plant we usually select
such land as can be put under a perfect system of irrigation before
using. Longevity of the plant depends on treatment and on the nature of
the soil. On heavy adobe soil it will not live and thrive as long as on
loamy soil, and on sandy, light soil it will be of short duration
without constant and judicious irrigation. After the first season, we
make two cuttings a year, and consider two tons to the acre each time a
good yield. For hay, we cut when the first crop is moderately ripe--say
nearly in full bloom; the second crop and any later ones are cut when
the bloom first shows; otherwise the lower leaves will drop off. The
first crop is generally preferable for seed, provided butterflies and
other insects have not injured the bloom, as they often do. If the
second crop is used for seed, it should ripen longer than the first. The
crop for seed is mowed, windrowed as soon as possible, allowed to dry in
that state, gathered with a hand fork, loaded on hay wagons, and put in
stack as gently as possible. We find a good crop of seed a rare thing,
but use the ordinary threshing outfit, and turn out 800 to 1000 pounds a
day, in rare instances double that quantity, with a cost for threshing
and cleaning of about 5 cents a pound. The hay we never put in barns,
but stack in small, narrow ricks, to avoid danger of heating,
endeavoring to get it in the rick as dry as possible, gathering in the
forenoons to avoid shelling. When we use our own press and men, the cost
of baling does not exceed $1 per ton. The weight of the bale depends on
the kind of press used. An average, handy bale weighs about 150 to 175
pounds, and we never have any trouble about the hay keeping perfectly in
bales of that size. The average price per ton for hay in our San
Francisco market is about $8 to $10; of seed, by the ton, 8 to 12¹⁄₂
cents a pound, 10 cents a pound being about the usual average price. For
feeding farm animals, good, well-cured alfalfa hay is better than
clover. For milch stock, especially, we consider it fully as good as any
other hay. We find but little difference between the straw and the hay,
and while all stock like the straw better, there is no doubt that the
hay contains the more nutriment. Like all rank growths, alfalfa will
produce double under irrigation, and the quantity will greatly
overbalance any possible improvement in quality without irrigation, for
I have found little difference between that grown by irrigation and
under natural moisture. For horses, there is no pasture better than the
alfalfa; for sheep and cattle, it sometimes works injury by way of
bloat, caused by too rapid grazing, especially when there is dew, thin
cattle and young stock being most liable. Cattle in high condition and
cows suckling or well forward in calf do not bloat. As preventive of the
bloat, hay should be kept in the pasture where the stock can run to it,
and a good supply of salt in troughs to which they have constant access.
The plant will not stand trampling by stock unless the surface of the
ground be entirely dry, and we do not allow sheep or cattle on the
fields during certain stages of growth nor during certain states of the
weather. We consider this pasture better than clover for swine,
especially when the ground has a smooth surface, but if the soil is of a
sandy nature, and allowed to dry, it is not so good. The capacity per
acre depends on the nature of the soil, and the gain in weight made by
the hogs depends on the breed and on the comfort they have. We can raise
hogs on alfalfa, and by feeding them two months on grain (say barley,
wheat, or Egyptian corn) they will average, when 10 months old, 250
pounds, gross.
_J. B. De Jarnette, Colusa county._--I have had 11 years’ experience
with alfalfa, and have about 100 acres bordering on the Sacramento
river. The soil ranges in depth from 10 to 20 feet, and rests on a clay
subsoil, while water is reached at a depth of from 12 to 20 feet. In
sinking two wells on my place, the soil was found as follows: First 12
feet, decomposed vegetable matter; 4 feet of quicksand; 4 feet of clay
loam; 4 feet of hardpan; 16 feet of yellow clay; 6 feet of hardpan; 2
feet of black sand, and at 48 feet, coarse gravel. The ground should be
thoroughly pulverized--the finer the better--after plowing at least 12
inches deep, and then seeded with not less than 25 pounds of seed to the
acre. I have had the best results from sowing in the early fall,
immediately after the first rains, using the “Gem” seeder, harrowing in
with very light harrow, and rolling the ground well. The first crop is
usually quite weedy, and of little value, but the second is better,
producing about 1¹⁄₂ tons of hay to the acre, if the stand is good.
Stock of all kinds should be kept off the first year. There is no danger
here of winterkilling, and by the second year the full yield is
realized. The length of time the plant continues vigorous depends on the
treatment. If pastured extensively, it will require to be reseeded in
from five to eight years; but otherwise it may go considerably longer. I
invariably obtain three crops a year, averaging per acre for the first
2¹⁄₂, and for the others 1¹⁄₂ to 2 tons. I irrigate only in the winter,
when the river is bank full and I can turn in water from it. Alfalfa
produces the best results with irrigation after each cutting, and in
that case there are five to seven cuttings obtainable, where with winter
flooding I can secure the three only. I mow for hay as soon as the bloom
begins to develop, raking in the afternoon following the morning
cutting, commence hauling about the third day after, and then put in the
barn with plenty of salt. The third crop is given the preference for
seed, and is harvested when the plant is well matured. I let it cure in
the windrows and haul to the thresher, handling as little as possible.
The common yield of seed is from 100 pounds up, according to the stand.
The cost of my hay, on land worth $100 to $150 per acre, does not exceed
$2 per ton, and it sells for from $5 to $8, while seed brings from 8 to
16 cents per pound. The hay after threshing is of but little value. The
pasture is unquestionably the most profitable I have ever had any
experience with, supporting more stock of any kind to the acre than any
other forage plant. In early spring, cattle are liable to bloat on the
rank alfalfa, but after the first of June I have had no trouble. There
is no special difficulty in ridding land of the plant, and it is
undoubtedly as good for fertilizing as Red clover.
COLORADO
_Jacob Downing, Arapahoe county._--I introduced alfalfa into Colorado in
1862, and have between 500 and 700 acres. It is on upland, clay, sandy
and loam soil, with some adobe subsoil, but mostly sandy loam; it is
generally dry to sand rock, and then it is necessary to drill 50 to 100
feet to get water. The plant will not thrive where there is hardpan, but
will grow in any soil that is dry. Unlike most other forage plants it
derives considerable nourishment from the air and water, though too much
moisture will kill it. After deep plowing and thorough pulverizing of
the soil, the land should be scraped thoroughly smooth, as this cannot
be done after sowing, and is needed to make the mower work smoothly. I
sow about 25 pounds to the acre, drilling in about two inches deep,
12¹⁄₂ pounds one way, and the other 12¹⁄₂ pounds across it, thus making
an even stand. Prefer to sow in the spring, early. After the plant is
eight inches high, it may be cut and used for feed, but is not very
good. After this there will be no weeds. It matures in three years, and
after that is good for seed. I have seen, near the city of Mexico,
fields of alfalfa 300 years old that had been constantly cropped and
never reseeded. It will last 1000 years, and possibly forever. Irrigate
from streams, as is required; when there is a great deal of heat and
wind, probably three times. The water must not run too long, or the
plant will be killed, and the land should be kept as dry as possible
during the winter, particularly in cold climates, as on wet soil alfalfa
winterkills. Well water is better than the stream, provided it is pumped
into a reservoir and allowed to get warm. Water is brought from the
streams by ditches. Less water can be used the first year than after the
plant is matured. I am five miles west of Denver, and 500 feet above the
city, in warm valleys. With plenty of water, I can obtain three cuttings
a year. Have raised as much as 3¹⁄₂ tons to the acre at one cutting, and
my highest yield of seed per acre has been nine bushels. Hay is cut when
the plant is in bloom, cured until it is dry to the touch of the hand.
Stacking by hand makes the best hay, as machinery is likely to pack it
in bunches, causing it to heat and become dusty. Hay in the stack costs
about $1.50 per ton. Baling costs $2 per ton; 100-pound bales are well
esteemed, but it is probable that large bales keep better than small, if
properly cured. The seed pod assumes the form of a cornucopia, and, when
the seed is ripe, it is of a rich brown or mahogany color. The first
crop is preferable for seed, and should be cut and stacked as the hay
is. It can be left and threshed when most convenient, but the longer it
remains in the stack the more easily its threshes. The ordinary
threshing machine does for the alfalfa, but the seed must be fanned to
be marketable. Six bushels is a common yield, and the cost of threshing
and cleaning is probably 25 cents per bushel. The price of hay has
ranged from $5 to $15 per ton, and of seed, from 8 to 20 cents per
pound. The straw has almost no value, as it is cut up very fine, and can
be used only where it is threshed; if fed there, it is very fattening.
For feeding horses for slow work, the hay is better than clover or
timothy. For fattening purposes, it is the best in the world, for, while
the animal lays on fat, it is never feverish, but always healthy. For
pasturing cattle and swine, alfalfa is superior to anything else, and,
after it is mown, it makes very excellent feed for horses and sheep. If
the alfalfa is wet, ruminants pastured on it bloat and die very quickly.
It is not properly a pasture plant, and such animals should be kept away
from it, but the hay, properly cured, is superior to any other food
raised for fattening purposes. There is no difficulty in ridding land of
the plant, as a good team and sharp plow will cut it out without any
trouble. I have plowed fields of alfalfa under and put in oats,
obtaining three or four times the usual yield, and have known of 50
bushels of wheat to the acre on broken alfalfa land.
_L. W. Markham, Prowers county._--I have had four years’ experience with
alfalfa. Have under my charge 500 acres. It is on both second bottom and
upland; part has clay subsoil, other dark loam, and all has more or
less sand. Water is reached at from 10 to 40 feet, and on land not
irrigated the soil is dry all the way down to the water veins. The
preferred time for sowing is either April 1 or August 1. Have as good
success right on the sod as on old land. If to raise seed only, 10
pounds is sufficient to the acre; for hay, 20 pounds is not too much.
Seed not more than two inches deep. About June 15 cut weeds and tops of
young alfalfa, and then irrigate well, and you get one-half to one ton
of hay in September. It is best to not try for seed the first year, but
give all the strength to the roots. It does not winterkill here. We
irrigate from the Arkansas river, and the number of irrigations depends
on the soil. The first year requires twice as much water as later ones.
Usually three applications are needed: in early spring, mid-summer, and
late fall. I have 160 acres not irrigated for three years. We have three
cuttings, yielding 1¹⁄₂ to 2 tons per acre each. Cut for hay just when
coming into full bloom, and stack in the field--never in barn--in long
ricks, 12 feet wide by 80 to 120 feet long. It will not heat in the
stack. Let all pods become dark brown or black before cutting for seed.
The second crop is preferable, unless there is a large acreage, when I
take one-half the first crop and one-half the second, in order to help
the farmer out with work. Have men follow the machine closely, and cock
up, to remain four or five days before stacking. Never cut for seed with
a mowing machine, as you will lose one-third of the crop in trying to
gather it. The cost of alfalfa in the stack is not over $2 at the
outside. To bale--preferably in 80-pound bales--costs $1.50 per ton. An
ordinary yield of seed is five bushels per acre. The cost for threshing
is 60 cents per bushel. There is a special alfalfa huller, as even the
ordinary clover huller is not a success. For a number of years the
average price paid the farmer for alfalfa seed has been $4.50 per
bushel, and hay in the stack has sold for $3.50 to $5. For feeding farm
animals, alfalfa hay is far more valuable than timothy or clover. Horses
will work and do well the year round on the first cutting of alfalfa,
and no grain whatever. The pasturage for hogs and cattle is far better
than clover, and is profitable and satisfactory for horses and sheep. I
have 250 hogs now, and raise them to weigh 200 pounds on green alfalfa
alone; turn the sows in the lot in early spring; they raise their young,
and I never bother them for eight months at a time, as they have plenty
of alfalfa and water. Put cattle on the pasture in early spring and let
them run, and few, if any, will bloat; but when they are not used to it,
they eat too fast, or too much, and bloat. The hay is not so good after
it is threshed as that cut earlier for hay alone, but the straw sells
readily at $1.50 in the stack. The stand gets better every year for hay,
and I know of fields in old Mexico 60 years old that have never been
reseeded. There is no difficulty in ridding land of the plant if it is
plowed under eight inches deep while green. It makes far better green
manure than does red clover. On the same quarter section, wheat grown on
old wheat land produced 20 bushels per acre, and that on broken alfalfa
land 50 bushels per acre.
CONNECTICUT
_Dr. E. H. Jenkins, Director Connecticut experiment station._--Alfalfa
has been tried in a haphazard way in Connecticut for many years and
scattered plants and colonies may often be seen in fence corners and
headlands. Within five years, however, some farmers under direction of
the agricultural station at New Haven, or on their own initiative, have
made more careful experiments and while failures are numerous, there are
at present a number of small areas well established, yielding three or
four cuttings yearly and highly valued by their owners. On the farm of
C. W. Beach of West Hartford, F. H. Stadmueller had for seven years a
considerable field of alfalfa which yielded well and was used as a
soiling crop. Mr. Barnard of North Haven, after repeated failures, has a
fine field and feeds it to both cows and poultry. The Gaylord Farm
sanatorium at Wallingford, John Matthies of New Milford and others might
be cited as successful growers of alfalfa. It does well on a variety of
soils with us. Liming heavily, 1500 to 2000 pounds per acre, is a
necessity. Some form of inoculation of the soil is generally required
and clean, well-tilled land. Weeds are the worst enemy of the newly
seeded alfalfa and easily smother the crop. For that reason we prefer
August seeding, using at least 30 pounds of clean, fresh seed. It will
pay to fallow the land, in order to kill the weeds before seeding down.
Thin spots cannot be successfully patched by seeding later. Great care
in preparing the land pays with a permanent crop like alfalfa.
DELAWARE
_Dr. Arthur T. Neale, Director Delaware experiment station._--Twenty
years ago, I drilled alfalfa in rows 18 inches apart, and cultivated at
intervals of ten days until the crop occupied the ground, seeding late
in March, say the 28th. The first cutting of nearly 8 tons of green
forage per acre was made nine weeks later. Thereafter four additional
cuttings were made that season, resulting in a total yield of 21 tons of
green forage per acre. This plot remained in good profit, all told, for
five years. An adjoining plot seeded broadcast, grew into a weed crop
the first year, but during four succeeding years was in every respect
the equal of its neighbor, the drilled plot. Twenty similar experiments
made during that year in as many other sections of the state failed
utterly. The dates of seeding were in every instance subsequent to March
28, but followed each other as rapidly as men could travel from point to
point, drilling the seed on well and previously prepared soil. Two years
later nine similar failures resulted from spring seedings. Late summer
is now the time most frequently selected for alfalfa seedings, but
success is by no means invariably attained even then. Liming has been of
service in one five-acre test conducted in Kent county, by W. H. Dickson
in co-operation with this station. The third trial within four
consecutive years appears at present to be a complete success. The first
seeding gave a satisfactory stand, but the plants died late in the
following spring. The ground was limed that summer, after thorough
preparation of the seedbed. Nitro-cultures from federal sources were
used upon portions of the seed, and 1000 pounds of soil per acre from a
successful alfalfa plantation were applied to the other areas. This
second seeding also failed. The five-acre plot was then plowed, wheat
was drilled and a fair crop resulted. The wheat was harvested, lime was
again used after the seedbed had been prepared, and alfalfa seed sown
as usual. The crop this year has exceeded anticipations. The check
strip, to which no lime whatever has been applied, but upon which
nitro-cultures were used, carries no crop. It will be disked after the
third cutting of alfalfa this year, well limed and again seeded.
GEORGIA
_Prof. R. J. Redding, Director Georgia experiment station._--This
station has successfully cultivated alfalfa for 12 years, and we have
never found it necessary to inoculate when we have sown the seed on
rich, well prepared land. The plants at once became supplied with
nitrogen tubercles and grew as luxuriantly as might be expected from the
quality of the land. Our practice is to fertilize annually in January or
February by sowing from 800 to 1000 pounds of acid phosphate and
one-fourth as much muriate of potash per acre. We run a cutaway harrow
over the alfalfa two or three times in different directions. We then use
a smoothing harrow and finally a heavy roller. This puts the land in
good shape for the mowing machine and at the same time destroys weeds
that come up during the fall and early winter. I believe that it is not
desirable to continue land in alfalfa more than six or eight years,
because of the impossibility of preventing infestation of weeds to such
extent as to very greatly diminish the yield of alfalfa. We have a plot
growing, that was sown about April 10, which seems to be as favorable a
time as any, provided there shall be one or two good rains to give the
young plants a start. The main factors in success are: First, a deep,
well-prepared and well-drained soil, made very rich; and second, good
seed, carefully sown and repeated mowings at the proper time.
IDAHO
_H. W. Kiefer, Bingham county._--I have grown alfalfa in Idaho, under
irrigation, for 12 years. Have 40 acres on second bottom, heavy clay
soil for 12 feet. This subsoil pulverizes by the action of the air, and
will produce a good crop of small grain. Water is reached at 100 feet.
The 12 feet of clay is dry; the gravel and sand below are more or less
moist till water is reached. Land having produced two successive crops
of small grain is preferred for alfalfa. Sow 20 pounds, in the spring,
and cover lightly with harrow, brush, or drag, or roll. The plants
should be vigorous enough to choke out weeds. Amount of hay obtained the
first year is governed by conditions and treatment. When sudden freezing
and thawing occur, it is liable to winterkill. The frequency of our
irrigation is governed by the rainfall, but is usually done when the
ground is dry, without regard to stage of growth, allowing the water to
run until the soil is wet the depth of a spade; usually average two
irrigations to each cutting. Our supply of water comes from Snake river
and tributaries, which furnish sufficient for the Snake river valley.
Have noticed no difference in amount of water required during first or
later years, except as affected by the amount of rainfall. We get three
cuttings, averaging about five tons for the season, cutting for hay when
in bloom, and for seed when seed is matured, which generally requires
the entire season to mature in this locality. The seed crop should be
handled as little as possible, to avoid loss of seed. Alfalfa should
cure at least two days, and, if dry, will not mold in stack. The cost of
alfalfa hay, if irrigated, is about $2 per ton. Cost of baling, $1.75
per ton, in bales weighing 75 to 100 pounds, the keeping being governed
more by the solidity than size of bale. During the past six years, hay
has averaged about $4 per ton, in the stack, and seed about 8 cents per
pound. Alfalfa makes satisfactory pasturage for sheep and horses. Cattle
are liable to bloat, but, if taken in time, may be relieved with a gag,
and by exercise which will cause the gases to escape; the knife is used
as a last resort. The straw from which seed has been threshed has about
the same value as green oat straw. The various soils here appear equally
favorable to longevity. Usually the third year gives about the best
yield. If not damaged by freezing, it will not need reseeding for 10 or
15 years. We have no trouble in ridding land of alfalfa. We cut a hay
crop, and plow under, for spring wheat, with good results. Our best
alfalfa land is clay, which requires moisture, artificial or natural.
Our best yields have been six tons per acre for the season. The feeding
qualities of the hay have been well established.
_James Otterson, Logan county._--Have had 12 years’ experience growing
alfalfa on sagebrush land, that will grow nothing but sagebrush without
irrigation. It is fine, sandy loam, extending down 6 to 10 feet, where
lava is encountered, which is from 1 to 100 feet deep. The soil is dry
until water is struck, which is at a depth of from 100 to 200 feet.
There is no water in the soil. When preparing for alfalfa, we plow well,
level the ground, and sow 15 to 20 pounds of seed per acre, and harrow
lightly, or brush it in. Sow as early as the ground can be worked--about
March 1. The first crop, if properly handled, will yield from three to
five tons per acre; it will have more or less sunflowers, which are a
protection while the plant is getting a start. It seldom winterkills. We
irrigate by flooding the ground twice each season from a stream. After
the first year, three cuttings are had; 2¹⁄₂ tons per acre the first;
1¹⁄₂ to 2 the second; and one ton per acre the third. Cut for hay as
soon as well blossomed. It grows too rank here for seed. Hay should cure
in from one to two days, and, if properly cured, stack as other hay.
Alfalfa costs, in stack, $3 per ton. The size of bales is immaterial,
except in fitting cars. Prices for hay have ranged from $5 to $10 per
ton; for seed, from 7 to 15 cents per pound. It is the best hay in use
for farm animals. Horses will thrive on it without grain, if properly
handled. For swine pasture it is far ahead of clover. It is satisfactory
for sheep. In some localities it will cause cattle to bloat; as a
preventive, feed well with dry hay before turning them on the pasture.
Deep soil is the best for the long life of the plant. The second year it
is at its best, and, if properly handled, and does not winterkill, will
last for all time. It is much better than Red clover for green manure.
ILLINOIS
_Prof. C. G. Hopkins, Agronomist Illinois experiment station._--Alfalfa
is being introduced into Illinois to a considerable extent. Very careful
and somewhat extensive investigations conducted by the experiment
station, beginning in 1901, have positively established the fact that
alfalfa can be grown in this state on several of our most abundant types
of soil. As a rule, it is markedly advantageous to thoroughly inoculate
the soil with alfalfa bacteria, preferably by taking infected soil from
a well-established alfalfa field, where root tubercles are found in
abundance or from land where Sweet clover (melilotus), has been growing
successfully for several years. Infected Sweet clover soil serves just
as well as infected alfalfa soil for the inoculation of alfalfa fields.
As a rule, the best results are secured from summer seeding. The land
should be thoroughly prepared and made as free from weeds and foul grass
as possible and then seeded between June 15 and August 15, if the
conditions are favorable. Under exceptional conditions good results are
obtained from earlier and later seeding. Three cuttings are usually
obtained in the northern part of the state and four in the southern
part. The average yield is five or six tons per acre. A liberal use of
farm manure in getting the alfalfa started is advantageous and on some
soils the application of lime is necessary in order to correct the
acidity of the soil. As a rule, the yield is increased by adding to the
soil some form of phosphorous. A yield of 8¹⁄₂ tons of thoroughly
air-dry hay has been obtained where a special effort has been made to
make the conditions favorable.
INDIANA
_C. M. Ginther, Wayne county_ writes in _Orange Judd Farmer_, July 8,
1905:--“Up to last year there had not been half a dozen attempts to grow
alfalfa in Wayne county, not because there was no desire on the part of
the farmers to raise the crop, but because the farmers knew absolutely
nothing about the methods to pursue in order to get a fair stand. Last
year, however, a number of agriculturists in the county determined to
try the crop. A mile west of Richmond lies the farm of J. H.
Hollingsworth, a well-known farmer, whose practical ideas about farming
have given him a local reputation. He is an advocate of intensive
farming and cultivates his crops in the most thorough manner. He keeps a
herd of dairy cattle and in his search for more economical food than
mill stuffs and clover hay, he decided to try alfalfa and feed it with a
ration of corn meal. He had a tract of five acres. This land was a clay
loam with a good mixture of sand. It was not underdrained, and Mr.
Hollingsworth believes the result would have been better had there been
a thorough system of underdrainage. The soil is what is known here as
sugar tree land. About May 1 of last year, the tract was plowed
moderately and then rolled. During the previous winter a heavy
top-dressing of barnyard manure had been applied to two acres for the
purpose of comparison. One week later the roller was run over it again.
After this the ground was thoroughly torn up with a two-horse
cultivator. This was for the purpose of killing the weeds, which had
been given time to take a start. After the cultivator had thoroughly
torn up the ground, the field was harrowed twice both ways. It was then
rolled, and pronounced in first-class condition. The weeds had succumbed
to these repeated attacks and but very few appeared in the crop later.
This thorough preparation of the ground is absolutely necessary for the
successful starting of alfalfa. It is a fastidious plant, requiring the
most favorable surroundings in its early life, but gradually grows quite
robust and strong. Its early weeks seem to be the critical time in its
life, and if it can once be started well its thrifty nature will assert
itself and it will grow with amazing rapidity. On June 11 the seed was
planted. It was sown broadcast and harrowed in lightly. One hundred
pounds pure alfalfa seed were sown, which was 20 pounds to the acre. The
experience of many others is that 15 pounds per acre is better. The seed
was first treated with bacteria, procured from the department of
agriculture at Washington, and when the seeds were thoroughly dry, they
were planted. Exactly five weeks after the seed was planted, the crop
was 1 foot high and covered the ground everywhere. On that day it was
clipped first and later given two more clippings during the season. The
effect of the clipping was to cause the crop to become more stalky, and
spread out more over the ground. None of the crop was removed from the
soil last year, the three clippings being allowed to remain about the
roots as a mulch. This was regarded as highly important and its effect
was noticeable in the perfect manner in which the crop passed through
the winter. Early this spring it started to grow and on April 18 the
plants averaged 12 inches high all over the tract. Mr. Hollingsworth is
a firm believer in the efficacy of the bacterial treatment of the seed
before planting. He attributes the wonderful growth of this crop to the
effect of the organisms produced by inoculation. It is interesting to
note the effect of the top-dressing which was applied to two acres of
the tract. The crop on that part of the ground is larger and more
luxuriant than the part that received no dressing. The crop all over the
tract appears vigorous and healthy, but the two acres show a decided
improvement and superiority.”
[Illustration: Cutting Alfalfa in Southern California]
[Illustration: Bailing Alfalfa in Southern Oklahoma]
[Illustration: =A 400-ton Rick of Alfalfa=
in Malheur County, southeastern Oregon. Dimensions, 400x30x26 feet]
[Illustration: =A Cable Derrick, Provided with a Grapple Fork=
The cable is supported by poles at the ends, and these in turn by guy
ropes]
_Farmers Guide_ says:--With alfalfa more generally grown throughout
Indiana we are hearing less complaint regarding hay crop failures. In
fact, some farmers who have taken our advice and tried the crop are now
saying that they are having all they can do to take care of their crops
of hay. Think of cutting four or even three crops of good hay from the
same area each season. Isn’t it worth being busy and not going fishing
when a farmer can do that? It means an enormous saving in high-priced
land when ten acres will produce as much hay as thirty or more formerly
did, and hay better in quality also. And then, think of keeping a field
in meadow thirty, forty, or more years and having it growing better each
year. There is not much necessity for crop rotation under those
conditions, is there? especially when every season means three or four
crops of good hay. But that is the way with alfalfa and the more farmers
get of it the more they usually want. We are glad so many Indiana
farmers are getting busy with this crop, and there is no question of its
keeping them busy if they will only give it a trial.
IOWA.
_Prof M. L. Bowman, Department Farm Crops, Iowa experiment station._--We
are receiving very good results from the alfalfa which is being grown at
this station, making from three to four cuttings each season with the
yield ranging from 4 to 7 tons to the acre. From one field, seeded in
August, 1905, the first cutting was taken June 11, 1906, and yielded
2.17 tons per acre. Two other cuttings were made. We believe alfalfa is
sure to become one of Iowa’s great crops as desirable results are being
obtained in many parts of the state where land is properly seeded. We
take great pains to see that the ground is in good physical condition
and that the seed is sown in late summer, some time between August 5 and
15, so that the young plants will make sufficient growth to withstand
the winter. If the seeding takes place in the fall, the alfalfa plants
will not make sufficient growth to withstand the winter. Alfalfa should
not be pastured the first season. The growth from seeding time until
winter sets in should be 6 to 8 inches and should be left on the ground
for winter protection. A nurse crop should not be used. Alfalfa will not
do well on low, wet ground, but must have land that is well drained. In
the northern parts of the state it may be sown in the spring, and in
this case desirable results have been secured by using a nurse crop. If
oats are used at all, they should be an early variety. Wheat or barley
is much better. They are not so likely to lodge. If the nurse crop is
heavy, a poor stand of alfalfa is almost sure to follow. Not more than
one-half the usual amount of grain should be sown to the acre. Better
results may be expected if no nurse crop is used. In this case, it will
be necessary for the weeds to be mowed down two or three times during
the summer, so that the alfalfa will not be choked out. It is better to
sow in the spring than late in the fall. Late summer seeding is the
best. The following year it will be freer from weeds and have a better
stand than that which was sown the spring before. Cornstalk ground which
was well manured the year before for corn is generally used for spring
seeding. The stalks should first be removed. The field may then be
thoroughly disked and harrowed. The seed should be sown about the middle
of April.
KANSAS.
_C. D. Perry, Clark county._--In 1887, I sowed 200 acres of alfalfa, and
now have 270 acres. This is nearly all on second bottom land, with
black, sandy loam, black sand, and gumbo. The land is largely “made”
land, about 6 to 12 feet of good soil, with gumbo only on top for 12 or
14 inches. On the heavy land the dry soil begins at the top, and, at the
breaking of the sod, extended down eight or nine feet. Water is found at
a depth of 12 to 21 feet. We irrigate most of our crop from the Cimarron
river. The first time the land is watered it takes from two to five
times as much water as is required later, and now we find the best
results are obtained by watering about 10 days before cutting, using
three or four inches of water. There is no damage by frost, except on
low, wet land. Without irrigation, I should double plow the ground
before seeding, having one plow follow the other in the same furrow, and
going as deep as possible. Seed by drilling one-half to one inch deep,
10 pounds to the acre for seed, 20 pounds for hay, and 30 pounds for
pasture, usually about March 15 here. We mow the weeds the first year
before they seed, leaving them on the ground. After this, there will be
a yield of three-fourths to two tons of hay, or one to six bushels of
seed to the acre, depending on the season. In two or three years the
plant is at its best, and does not seem to need reseeding after that. We
have from three to five crops a year depending on promptness in
watering and cutting. Any later cutting is better than the first for
seed, and, before cutting, two-thirds of the seed pods should be black.
We mow, then rake and cock at once, stacking as soon as well cured. Hay
should be cut when it is coming into bloom. To make good hay, let it lie
for half a day (if dry weather), then rake and cock, and let cure
thoroughly. We stack in long ricks, and it keeps well. The alfalfa land
is valued at $50 an acre, and the four irrigations cost 25 cents each;
the estimated cost of the alfalfa in the stack is $2.15 a ton. An
average yield of seed is three bushels to the acre, and the cost of
threshing and cleaning it is 80 cents a bushel. Hay has sold for $5 a
ton, and seed for 6, 8 and 10 cents a pound. The threshed hay is not so
good as that cut earlier, but cattle eat it all clean. The pasture is
excellent for horses, hogs, and cattle. If the alfalfa is wet, it is
liable to cause bloating with sheep; for cattle, there is not much
danger, except for the first few days they are turned on. If the animal
is seen in time, it may be relieved by driving around, but if too bad to
be helped in that way, it needs the trocar. I have had 50 hogs on six
acres of pasture this summer, and have 50 pigs, 3 to 12 weeks old; used
two bushels of ground wheat and barley each day, and think I could have
had as many more hogs on the pasture. The sod is very hard to plow, but
it can be killed. On a piece of hog pasture plowed under, I raised 70
bushels of barley to the acre. My alfalfa seems to do the best on black,
sandy land and on gumbo, with sand or open subsoil below.
_J. R. Blackshere, Chase county._--I began with alfalfa in 1875, by
sowing 1¹⁄₂ bushels of seed bought in San Francisco, at the rate of $21
per bushel. As the germination was defective, or the seed grown so far
away was not adapted to our soil or climatic conditions, a good stand
was not at first obtained, but I now have 700 acres on Cottonwood river
bottom land, having a clay subsoil underlaid by a layer of sand 20 feet
below, and with a good portion of gumbo, where the best alfalfa grows.
The soil is not especially moist until water, 20 to 30 feet below, is
reached. My best results have been obtained on corn land, cutting across
the rows with a disk harrow, leveling with a plank drag, and sowing,
after danger of freezing is past, 20 pounds of seed per acre with a disk
having seeder attachment, being sure to have all the seed covered. I cut
the weeds off with a mower, and leave them on the ground. After the
first year my average product annually for 10 or 12 years has been about
five tons per acre. That permitted to ripen seed yields three to five
bushels per acre. I do not irrigate. The plant will thrive on upland
having a clay subsoil without a stratum of hardpan. Grazed closely late
in the fall, it is liable to die out in a dry winter.
_Benj. Brown, Osborne county._--I have had four years’ experience with
alfalfa growing in this country, and have also grown it in England,
without any irrigation, and now have 45 acres. The land is bottom rising
to second bottom, with vegetable loam and some gumbo in the upper
portion, and loam subsoil, similar to surface, but somewhat paler, for
15 feet down. Well water is found by digging 11 to 22 feet through the
soil, which is usually moist except in dry weather, when the upper two
or three feet are not. It has been found best to plow six inches deep,
in August or September; to roll or level with a heavy float about April
15, then harrow, and broadcast 25 pounds (or drill 20 pounds) of seed to
the acre. I broadcast all of mine, and harrow and roll or level. The
best time for sowing here is April 14 to 30, as it almost invariably
rains here about April 20, and frosts have never hurt my crop, nor does
it winterkill. Mow first when the weeds are six to nine inches high,
and, if worth hauling, stack; if not, let lie; generally mow again about
July 4 to 20, and stack; there may be one-fourth to one-half ton of hay
per acre. The second season we cut three times, unless we ripen seed,
and obtain from one-fourth to one ton each cutting; after this it grows
about a foot high by October. For hay, mow as soon as about half full of
flowers, rake the same morning, and haul in one or two days, as the
leaves fall if dry. It does not heat nor mold here if the sap is half
out and the straw long; I use the “Acme” hay harvester, making stacks
with rounded ends, nine steps long by five wide, and top out with straw
or hay, taking care to keep the middle well filled. The total cost of
hay in stack is about $1.50 per ton, the land being valued at $15 per
acre, or $60 with a good stand of alfalfa. The hay has sold for $4 to $6
per ton during the past four years. The best crop for seed depends on
the weather; sometimes the first flowers set best, and again the later
ones do better; on my bottom land the plant grows too large for seed,
unless in a dry time. If seed is ripe, cut only while damp or in the
early morning, rake into rows immediately or early the next morning,
haul with a “Monarch” rake, and use a stacker. Last year and year
before I obtained four bushels of seed to the acre, and it cost me 60
cents per bushel for cleaning. Used ordinary threshing outfit, and set
hind end of thresher 10 inches lower than front. The seed has sold here
during four years for $5 to $8 per bushel. Horses and sheep should not
be pastured on the alfalfa, as it pays to mow and haul it to them,
either green or dry. It makes good pasturage for cattle, but they must
not be turned on when the ground is frozen, nor when they are hungry, as
it is necessary to start them gradually to avoid bloating. Mine never
have bloated, and I feed milch cows in the early spring and on the
fourth crop in the fall. Alfalfa ripened and threshed has little value,
as it breaks up into dust and chaff. My stand improved every year; was
about at its best the sixth year, and continues about the same for an
indefinite time. If it gets a fair start, and is cut three times, a good
stand can be kept; but if it is pastured, and the weeds are not eaten,
it is apt to thin itself. A neighbor plowed under alfalfa for green
manure, but the next year it grew up as thick and strong as if not
plowed. We do not need manure here. I have seen several pieces of fairly
good alfalfa on high prairie, with some gumbo in the soil, but it grows
best where the subsoil is fairly open. Upland is generally best for
seed, as the plants should grow only one to two feet high, and mine on
the bottom grows 2 to 3¹⁄₂ after the second year. I think there is no
other crop here to compare with alfalfa. My third year’s crop cleared me
over $20 per acre. I have known of nine bushels of seed on one acre, and
have heard of 15 in this county. My bottom lands will grow three good
crops of hay almost without rain, and kill out all the weeds.
KENTUCKY
_Prof. H. Garman, Botanist Kentucky experiment station._--We have grown
alfalfa on the experiment farm for a good many years and have been
impressed with its many good qualities, although we have not found it as
well adapted to our soil and climate as it appears to be in the western
states. In our small experimental plots, on good soil, it has recently
done remarkably well. This is partly the result of understanding it
better than formerly, and partly due to the care which these plots
receive. Last year we harvested, from some of them, hay at the rate of
from 6.32 to 10.03 tons per acre. The same plots are yielding very well
this season, but I think will not produce quite as much hay as last
year, though they look very well at present. Farmers in this state are
becoming interested in alfalfa, stimulated by the reports made to them
at farmers’ institutes, and urged by failure to grow Red clover
successfully in some parts of the state. But thus far they have not met
with uniform success. Part of this is due to a lack of acquaintance with
the plant and part may be attributed to our climate. A few men have been
growing alfalfa successfully for eight or 10 years, and I can see no
reason why many others should not succeed with it. The chief difficulty
appears to come in getting a start. Alfalfa, thoroughly started, holds
its own better than Red clover and yields much more forage. The value of
the forage is recognized by everybody, and I expect to see in the course
of the next quarter of a century a much larger acreage sown in
Kentucky.
LOUISIANA.
_Prof. W. R. Dodson, Director Louisiana experiment station._--Alfalfa
has been grown by the Louisiana stations since 1887. At the time the
stations were established there was little or no alfalfa grown in the
state. From the very first experiments conducted by Dr. W. C. Stubbs, it
was apparent that the plant was well suited to the alluvial lands of the
Mississippi and Red rivers. Dr. Stubbs never lost an opportunity to
advocate its culture, and the great progress made in securing its
extensive cultivation is largely due to his efforts. Alfalfa is now
extensively grown in the Red river bottoms, and a very large percentage
of the sugar planters grow it for soiling and for hay for the plantation
mules. We get from four to seven cuttings per year. The average is about
1¹⁄₂ tons for the first three cuttings, but less for the last cuttings.
The station one year secured a harvest of 12 tons of cured hay per acre;
six tons in a season is a good yield. Were it not that one or more of
these cuttings will fall due during a rainy season, when it is difficult
to cure hay, we would go into the business very extensively in this
state. As to the quality of the hay or forage, there is no question
about its place at the head of the list of desirable forage crops. The
sugar planters find it especially desirable to mix with their cheap
molasses, as the former is rich in protein and the latter rich in
carbohydrates. In the southern portion of the state best results are
secured by planting in the fall. In the northern portion good results
are secured from early spring planting. We use from 25 to 30 pounds of
seed to the acre. Some planters use more than this. Land that is least
suited for growing corn in Louisiana, because of its stiffness, is the
very best land for alfalfa. Where the crop has once been used and the
local supply runs short, it is shipped in from Colorado to supply the
demand. It is selling now for $15 a ton. No better testimonial need be
given of the people’s estimate of its value.
MASSACHUSETTS.
_Prof. William P. Brooks, Director Hatch experiment station._--Our
experiments with alfalfa have been continued both upon our own grounds
and those of a few selected farms in different parts of the state. We
are bringing to bear upon these experiments information in regard to
successful methods from every possible source. We find in all cases a
distinct benefit from a heavy initial application of lime. We have used
from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre. We are enriching soils already
naturally good by heavy applications both of manures and fertilizers,
using materials which experience has proved best. We are also giving the
soil a most thorough preparatory tillage. It has usually been
fall-plowed, and in addition it is plowed in the spring, and repeatedly
harrowed to destroy weeds which start in the early part of the season.
We have tried inoculating the soil, both with earth obtained from a
field in New York, where alfalfa is successfully grown and with the
cultures sent out by the department of agriculture and prepared by
private firms. We have not attained such degree of success as justifies
us in recommending the crop. We have occasionally got a fair stand of
alfalfa, but in all cases the winters prove more or less injurious. In
the course of a few years the alfalfa is mostly crowded out by grasses
and clovers. The alfalfa almost every year suffers from leaf spot, which
tends to cut down the yield. We have found a very distinct benefit from
the inoculation with earth from the New York alfalfa field. We have not
found an equally distinct benefit to follow inoculation with any of the
cultures; and, although we are not as yet ready to make a final report,
it should be here remarked that the most careful experiments on the use
of these cultures in sterilized soils, under conditions calculated to
give accurate results, indicate that they have little, if any, value. In
our various experiments alfalfa has been tried on a wide variety of
soils. We have had a quarter of an acre field upon a coarse-textured
soil upon a farm in this neighborhood where there is never any standing
water within 50 to 60 feet of the surface. Even on this soil the
alfalfa, although it did fairly well for a year, has been injured by
successive winters, until it is at the present time almost ruined. In
this connection I call attention further to the fact that D. S. Bliss of
the department of agriculture, who has been making special efforts to
promote the introduction of alfalfa into New England, and who has
traveled extensively for the purpose of studying the results obtained,
now speaks very discouragingly as to the outlook in general. In
conclusion, while we are not inclined to discourage experiments with
alfalfa, we do wish most emphatically to caution against engaging in
these experiments upon an extended scale, for we feel that
disappointment is almost inevitable.
MICHIGAN
_Prof. C. D. Smith, Director Michigan experiment station._--Alfalfa has
had and is having a checkered career. Under favorable conditions it
makes a good stand. Some fields have produced crops for many years, the
ground being occasionally fertilized by manurial salts. The difficulties
that environ the crop are: (1) The severe winters, which sometimes kill
off whole fields, leaving scarcely a root alive; this has happened to
fields two, three, or four years old. (2) The Blue grass crowds it out
badly; (3) the ignorance of the farmers in regard to the requirements of
the crop and the consequent imperfect preparation of the soil in the
matter of tillage or fertilization, has made it difficult to introduce
it in a broad way. Notwithstanding these difficulties and the farther
consideration that alfalfa does not easily lend itself to a short
rotation, the crop is advancing in the state by leaps and bounds.
Hundreds of farmers are experimenting with it and are learning how to
prepare the ground, sow it and care for the crop afterwards. Statistics
are not at hand to show how many acres of alfalfa there are in the
state, nor can definite figures be given as to the growth of interest in
the crop and its actual acreage. When proper strains have been
developed, it seems fair to presume that alfalfa will be one of the
staple crops in Michigan. On the station grounds at the agricultural
college fields of alfalfa have been continuously maintained from 1897 to
1904. There are fields here sown in 1903 bearing their three crops each
year, yielding from 5 to 7 tons of dry hay annually per acre. There has
been some difficulty in getting pure and vigorous seed.
MINNESOTA
_Prof. W. M. Liggett, Director Minnesota experiment station._--Our
experience with alfalfa has extended over 12 or 15 years. In the early
days of this station, it was not very successfully grown. During the
past eight or ten years, however, the changes in soil due to manures and
cultivation and the discovery of several varieties of alfalfa which
appear to be hardy, have made it possible to grow it successfully in
nearly every part of the state. For the past five years we have cut
three crops of alfalfa hay, yielding from 4 to 5¹⁄₂ tons per acre each
year. With the land properly prepared and some attention given to
seeding at the right time, there is no difficulty in growing it on the
state farm. Occasionally it will winterkill. We were unfortunate enough
to have a heavy, driving rain during March of the present year which
froze as it fell and smothered the alfalfa crop. We are not discouraged,
however, as the clover crop in southeastern Minnesota was killed at the
same time and from the same cause. We regard alfalfa just as sure as Red
clover. It is sometimes a little difficult to get a stand under careless
methods of farming. With the land nicely prepared and with a good supply
of humus in such condition that the plant food is readily available,
strong, vigorous growth and a good stand can be secured during any
normal year. We have alfalfa growing at the northwest sub-station at
Crookston, and in several localities in the northwestern part of the
state, where even clover is not supposed to grow. The outlook at the
present time for this crop is very bright. Dairymen, swine raisers and
sheep men unite in praising its merits as stock food.
MISSOURI
_Prof. M. F. Miller, Agronomist, Missouri experiment station._--Alfalfa
is being grown with success on various types of soil, although many
soils are not well adapted to its growth. A knowledge of the
peculiarities of the plant will ultimately make it possible to extend
Its culture to most soil types of the state. Liberal manuring is the key
to successful culture on upland soils. The manure may be applied before
plowing and also as frequent top-dressings. The value of the crop as a
feed and its high yield, where favorable conditions are supplied, make
it a particularly desirable one to grow, at least in small areas, on
farms where mixed fanning or dairy farming is practiced. While alfalfa
makes a most nutritious pasture crop, it does not lend itself well to
pasturing unless certain precautions are taken. Where it is grown for
hay, difficulty is often experienced in harvesting the first, and
sometimes other cuttings, on account of wet weather. The silo may be
used in such cases. The stiff subsoils of the state are responsible for
most failures reported, because it requires some knowledge of the
methods of handling the crop to make it succeed under such conditions.
Alfalfa is not adapted to our soils, liming, manuring or drainage being
necessary to prepare such for the crop. If sown on upland soils that
have never grown alfalfa or Sweet clover, it is benefited by
inoculation. On bottom lands or lands that are very fertile, inoculation
has little or no effect. The surest and often the simplest means of
inoculation is by means of inoculated soil. The cultures prepared for
seed inoculation have in many cases given excellent results, but they
are still in the experimental stage and some skill is required to
handle them properly. The best preparation of the seedbed is that which
allows of an early plowing and the use of a harrow every time a crust
forms or weeds start before time to sow the seed. The seedbed should be
much like that for wheat--loose above but firm below. The best time to
sow in this state is between the middle of August and the middle of
September, the last week in August usually giving best results. The
amount of seed to sow is between 15 and 20 pounds, depending upon the
quality and the character of the soil. It is best sown without a nurse
crop. It must be clipped frequently the first and sometimes the second
season, especially on soils to which it is not well adapted. It should
usually be cut when the lower leaves begin to turn yellow.
MONTANA
_Alfred Rasicot, Deer Lodge county._--Alfalfa is the most valuable crop
that is raised in Idaho or Utah for hay, growing on any kind of land but
that which is low and wet, yielding five to seven tons of hay to the
acre, and providing excellent feed for all kinds of farm animals. For
about 20 years I have grown from 20 to 50 acres on second bottom and
upland of heavy clay soil, with gravel below and water at a depth
varying from 16 to 100 feet on different localities. We irrigate from
streams, flooding the land and turning the water off as soon as the land
has been all covered, applying once for the first cutting and twice for
each succeeding cutting, whenever the ground is dry. The first year on
new land requires fully one-third more water than is needed afterward.
Before seeding, the ground should be mellow, then harrowed with the
back part of the harrow or brushed, and seeded with 15 to 20 pounds to
the acre, between the first and middle of April. The plant will usually
run out the weeds, and on that account no special treatment is needed.
The first season will produce a small crop of hay, but no good seed.
Unless water is allowed to freeze on the land, alfalfa does not
winterkill here, and at two or three years of age it is at its best,
continuing vigorous for 10, 20 or 30 years without seeding. The first
cutting of the season yields about 2¹⁄₂ to 3 tons to the acre, the
second about 2 to 2¹⁄₂, and the third 1 to 1¹⁄₂ tons. The hay is cut
when the plant has been in bloom 8 or 10 days, allowed to lie for 24 to
36 hours, and treated as Red clover is. The second crop is always the
best for seed here. The cost in the stack, on $25 land, irrigation
costing 50 to 75 cents an acre, is $2 a ton. To put this into 100-pound
bales costs $2.50 a ton. On the ground it sells for $3 to $5 a ton,
while the seed brings $3, $4 and $5 a bushel. An ordinary yield of seed
is 300 pounds to the acre, and this is threshed with the same machine
used for grain, at a cost of about one-fourth of the seed. The straw is
worth about one-fourth as much as the hay. We consider alfalfa hay, for
cattle, sheep, and hogs, far superior to clover, but for horses timothy
is best. It will keep steers and sheep fat all winter, providing they
are under shelter, and is excellent for milch cows. The pasture for
swine and cattle is far better than clover, and for work horses and
sheep it is good, but not the best for horses that are driven fast.
Cattle will bloat about as they do on Red clover when turned onto it
after rain, dew, or frost. To rid land of a stand of alfalfa is very
difficult, requiring four stout horses with a very sharp plow to turn it
over, but as a green manure it has about the same effect as Red clover,
producing two or three extra crops afterwards.
NEBRASKA
_Olmstead & Olmstead, Furnas county._--Alfalfa, while excellent for all
other stock, is preeminently the feed for hogs. Its early appearance,
its wonderfully rapid growth, its nutritious properties, its perennial
nature (keeping green until about December), its resistance to drouth,
its wonderful fecundity, and, lastly, its adaptability as a dry feed,
make it, in our opinion, the most profitable crop that can be grown. Ten
acres of alfalfa will pasture 150 head of hogs, and give them abundance.
From the 15th of March, or at most not later than the 15th of April,
hogs and cattle can be turned on pasture, and kept there until snow
flies. On first bottoms, six tons per acre can be depended upon as a
fair, average yield, while many fields this year have made as high as
eight. On divide, or high land, where it has been tested for three
years, it averages about two to four tons per acre, but this land gives
the best returns for seed, not growing too rank. Since we have been
investigating and gathering information on this subject, we have had
reported to us a yield as high as eight bushels of seed per acre, and
quite a number as high as nine, and some eleven. Six bushels an acre on
a good stand is an average yield, while some will fall below that. The
seed has never sold here below $4 per bushel. Last year and this, all
seed grown in this part of the country sold readily at $5 per bushel,
and for the next five years will probably not go lower than $3. One crop
of seed and two of hay are the average on low land, and one crop less of
hay on high land. The threshed hay is nearly as good for feed as the
unthreshed. There is no waste in feeding this hay, and horses are
especially fond of the coarse stems. It stands our winters remarkably
well, so far, coming through in excellent condition. There is no stock
but eats alfalfa hay as well or better than clover or timothy. Young
colts and calves will winter in fine condition on this hay, with little
or no grain. If the last cutting is allowed to stand, with a growth from
six to eight inches, horses and cattle will graze on it through the
winter, the same as on Red clover, doing equally as well. Now, as to the
other side. Will this clover grow in all latitudes and longitudes as
well as Red clover? We think it doubtful. It requires a dry, porous
soil, in which there is no hardpan nor too much clay, and it does not
like too much water. It does well where the soil is somewhat sandy, its
roots penetrating to a depth of from 15 to 25 feet, thus drawing its
nutrition from various strata of soil. What else against it? If cattle
are turned on after a rain, when it is wet, or dew is on, they often
bloat and die; but if turned on in the spring, and kept on continuously,
have little danger of gorging themselves or bloating. No other stock is
adversely affected by it. This is all that can be honestly said against
alfalfa, and this is obviated by a little care by the farmer, while the
many good things said about it must certainly recommend it to the
intelligent husbandman. Thus we can enumerate: First, its certainty as a
crop; second, its enormous yield; third, its excellent pasturage
qualities; fourth, its nutritious qualities, being equally good green or
dry; fifth, its yield and price of seed, which is threshed with an
ordinary grain separator; sixth, its tremendously rapid growth during
the summer season. There are many more attributes that can be credited
to alfalfa.
_W. O. Thompson, Lincoln county._--I have had 20 years’ experience with
alfalfa, on second bottom and upland. The upland has a clay subsoil; the
second bottom soil is three feet deep, underlaid with a bed of sand and
gravel. Abundant water is found from 8 to 23 feet from the surface. If
dry soil is found, it is the first three feet below the surface. Land
should be tilled several years before seeding, in order to perfectly
subdue the sod. Use about 16 pounds of seed per acre, and prepare the
ground the same as for wheat, sowing in the spring. The first crop will
be nearly all weeds; cut and haul these off the ground. The second crop
will produce about one ton of hay per acre. Alfalfa is liable to
winterkill if the winter is warm and dry. I irrigate from a stream two
or three times during the season, with sufficient water to flood all the
ground. The first year the ground is soft and porous, and twice the
water is required as in the following years. From three to four crops
are raised during the season, yielding from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 tons each cutting,
or from five to six tons per acre in one season. Cut when in bloom for
hay, and let the seed ripen before cutting for seed, using either the
first or second crop for this seed. When cutting for seed, it should be
pitched out of the way of the mower after each round; then let it dry
before stacking, but not enough for the leaves to fall off when
handled. Stack in the ordinary way, but be sure the hay is thoroughly
dry in the shock before stacking. It is more liable to get moldy in the
barn than in the stack. About $2 per ton will cover all expenses of
raising, on land worth $50 per acre. The expense of baling is about
$1.50 per ton, 100-pound bales being preferred. It should not be baled
until perfectly dry in the stack. About six bushels per acre is the
average yield of seed, and it costs about 75 cents per bushel to thresh
and clean. A clover huller is the most satisfactory for threshing
alfalfa. The hay has sold here at $3 to $10 per ton, averaging $6. The
seed has brought from $3 to $10 per bushel averaging $5. One acre of
alfalfa will raise 35 hogs, with the aid of a little grain. Horses
thrive on it, but it is unsafe for sheep and cattle. Animals which chew
the cud will bloat if pastured on alfalfa. The only way to prevent it is
to keep them from the pasture. The best way to cure it is to insert a
tube into the paunch, to allow the gas to escape. As to the longevity of
the plant, I call to mind a patch sown in 1873, on upland, and it is
still growing. Alfalfa attains its best growth in about two years. I do
not think it can be profitably raised on high, arid ground, without
irrigation. Hogs can be wintered on alfalfa hay and a very little grain,
and cattle can be fattened for the home market, but it produces softer
flesh, and they could not be shipped a great distance in the best
condition.
_Richard Stolley, Hall county._--In reading the farm papers I see many
articles about seeding alfalfa, but have failed to see anything in the
line of advice regarding a sure way to kill it, if it has to be done. We
have had alfalfa on our place as long as I can remember--nearly thirty
years. At first it was a small piece, just for experiment’s sake.
Finally we sowed about nine acres on good soil and had it well manured
before sowing. The result was immense crops, as high as four cuttings;
and, really, the worst feature was to harvest the crop so often, since
it came just as regularly as clock-work. It actually stood in the way of
alfalfa, for I asked one of our neighbors, who had very little hay, why
he did not sow alfalfa, and all he could answer was: “Well, I have to
harvest it too often and I haven’t the time to do it.”
We did not sow more of it until we got more improved methods of handling
it, and we have had as high as fifty to sixty acres on a 160-acre farm
here at home. Some fields run out in about ten years. Our plan is to
then plow it up. The first thing you learn is to have a very sharp plow,
and it must have a strong cutter bolted to the share, being long enough
to reach well through the sod. Then if you have three good horses you
are fixed out. A riding plow that we tried was thrown out too easily or
pulled too hard. Others had the same experience, and the old reliable
fourteen or sixteen-inch walking plow fills the bill best. We plowed
some of it quite early in the spring and after harvesting the oats we
had a wonderful stand on the field in the fall. All the inconvenience
the clover had was to take a little time to start work at the crown and
start sprout at the other end; that is the root end.
I do not know of any other plant that is not a weed that has this
peculiarity. Planting corn on alfalfa sod cannot work well, because the
roots are so tough that no cultivator will be able to cut them, and
since burning does not make any difference, it only has a tendency to
start roots and sprouts at both ends at the same time. This is, of
course, only possible in a wet year. Now, we tried late plowing in the
spring; that is, let the clover get up to about six or eight inches. We
had a chain on the plow and disked and harrowed it well, and to kill it
sure, put in millet to smother it. We intended to raise seed from the
millet, but the crop got too heavy and we cut it for hay. After putting
it up I saw very little alfalfa signs and went home contented that all
was dead.
Some nice rains came on and soon I noticed from our house, since I did
not go to that corner of the farm in between, that all of it was green
again, and sure enough, there was a comparatively good stand and the
sprouts showed quite a bit of vigor. This surprised me. I had no time to
plow right away and having a large harvest of bottom hay, I did not go
to the field for three weeks, and when I saw it again it was just about
ready to cut. I actually did cut and harvest it and it was well worth
the time it took us to do the work. The next plowing and disking, of
course, thinned it out, and especially as dry weather came just right to
assist in killing it.
All this made it clear to my mind that we did not find the right time to
plow alfalfa, so the next time I tried it still later; in fact, it was
almost in bloom, and, being a wet year, there was little difference in
the result. This year I waited the second time for the alfalfa to come
up a foot high before plowing it back and drilled in sweet corn, and now
I can hardly see any difference on parts of the field.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
_Prof. Frederick W. Taylor, Agriculturist New Hampshire experiment
station._--We have tried to secure a stand of alfalfa for four
consecutive seasons, but so far our efforts have been unsuccessful.
Various types of soil, from a heavy boulder clay to a light sandy loam,
have been tried, and, contrary to our expectations, the most promising
crop was on the heavy clay soil. Our chief difficulty has been in having
the alfalfa keep ahead of the weeds and in getting a uniform catch that
would withstand our winters. From one-fourth to one-half of the plants
have usually wintered over in good condition and made a vigorous growth
the next season, but there has not been enough of them to say that we
have made a success with alfalfa. We have largely eliminated the seed
question by plowing the ground early and keeping it harrowed until about
the middle of July, when it is sown. Our experience seems to indicate
that an application of lime is beneficial, if not absolutely necessary,
in this section and we have accordingly been using it at the rate of a
ton to the acre. We have also tried inoculation with the various
cultures, but in no case have any benefits been observed. So far as we
know, there have been no successful attempts to grow alfalfa on a medium
or large scale in this state, although several farmers in the
Connecticut river valley have reported success on some areas of an acre
or less. When we more thoroughly understand the plant, and the
conditions necessary for its growth, we believe it can be grown upon
some of our soils.
NEW JERSEY
_Dr. E. B. Voorhees, Director New Jersey experiment station._--The
farmers of the state have manifested much interest in the growing of
alfalfa, and many experimental plots have been seeded in the past two or
three years. In order to obtain accurate information as to the methods
employed, and the results obtained, a circular letter was sent out
during the past summer to 140 growers. Detailed replies were obtained
from 101 growers. Of these there were 57 distributed over 15 counties,
which showed the successful establishment of the crop. The soils upon
which these successful crops are growing vary widely, both in their
physical and chemical character, ranging from a light, sandy loam, with
sandy subsoil, to a medium heavy clay, with compact clay subsoil, which
indicates clearly that success does not depend so much upon the
character of the soil as upon the methods of seeding, fertilization and
after-treatment, though the most successful stands were, as a rule,
obtained upon sandy soils, overlying a reasonably open subsoil.
Twenty-seven growers had a more or less satisfactory experience, while
17 were absolute failures. A study of the reports of failures shows that
in most instances they were due to lack of observation of the methods
recommended for the seeding and care of the crop, which experience at
the station showed to be essential for success. In most cases the land
was imperfectly prepared; in many an insufficient amount of fertilizer
or manure was applied. In many cases, too little seed was used; in
others the date of seeding was contrary to all recommendations, or the
crop was not clipped often, and thus choked out by weeds. In many
instances, where lime had not been used for many years, none was applied
at the time of seeding. In the case of those having more or less
success, the recommendations were not fully observed or soil conditions
were imperfect.
_D. C. Lewis of Middlesex county_, in the summer of 1903 seeded about
1¹⁄₄ acres with alfalfa, observing closely all of the recommendations of
the experiment station in reference to seeding, but did not inoculate
the soil. The seed germinated well, and the crop grew nicely during the
fall, but entirely disappeared later. In 1904, the same area, after an
oat crop was grown, was seeded again, on August 10. The soil is a clay
loam, with a clay subsoil, and in a good state of fertility. The land
had been previously in grass and corn. The corn was manured and the
alfalfa area well limed previous to seeding in 1903. The seed was at the
rate of about 25 pounds, and at time of seeding 800 pounds of Mapes’
fertilizer and an extra bag of high-grade sulphate of potash were
applied, and the field was inoculated with about 300 pounds of soil,
taken from the old alfalfa patch at the experiment station. The seed
germinated well, and made a rapid and large fall growth and passed the
winter successfully. The yield per acre was about three tons of hay for
the first cutting. This experiment is strikingly suggestive in showing
the importance of soil inoculation, for while inoculation is not
apparently essential in all cases, it would seem that where soils have
not been heavily manured that this point should be carefully observed.
_J. P. Nelson of Monmouth county_ has had a very successful experience
in the growth of alfalfa, since he has observed all of the
recommendations made as to methods of seeding and after-treatment. The
following is a description of his method and the results obtained from a
seeding made August 10, 1904. The surface soil is a medium clay loam,
underlaid with a gravelly clay subsoil. The crops preceding were grass
and corn, and the manures used were barnyard manure and 600 pounds per
acre of ground bone. The corn preceding the alfalfa was limed at the
rate of 1,000 pounds per acre, and 1,400 pounds per acre were applied
just previous to the seeding of alfalfa. Thirty pounds of seed were used
per acre, and lightly harrowed in and the land rolled. The germination
and early growth were good, and the first crop was harvested June 1,
1905. The yield was two big, two-horse loads of cured hay per acre.
_E. T. Gill of Camden county_ has a sandy loam, underlaid by a subsoil
varying from sand to clay. He has an area of 24 acres, ranging from two
to six years in age. The first seeding of about two acres is still
growing profitable crops, though not uniform in stand. The later
seedings show an excellent stand and large and profitable crops are
annually harvested. Usually four cuts are made each year, which are used
both for soiling and for hay, with splendid results. The practice on
this farm is to top-dress with manure during the winter at the rate of
about eight tons per acre. Mr. Gill’s experience leads him to believe
that the stand is often injured, particularly during the first year, by
allowing the crop to reach too great maturity and then cutting when the
plants are just beginning to bloom, and leaving a stubble of at least
three inches. Mr. Gill did not inoculate the seed or soil at his first
seeding, but did follow this practice with recent seedings, and believes
it to be a wise precaution, especially on soils that have not been
previously heavily manured.
NEW MEXICO
_Thomas J. Clark, Grant county._--I have had 15 years’ experience with
alfalfa on first and second bottom land with gravel soil, dry to within
four feet of water, which is reached at a depth of 15 feet. I irrigate
from the Gila river, and my alfalfa, which is 14 years old, is as good
to-day as at any time since it was sown. The seed is sown as turnip seed
is. I plow the land thoroughly, harrow it over smoothly, then sow the
seed in March, and harrow lightly once. Then the water is turned on, and
the ground will remain moist until the seeds sprout. After the alfalfa
is six inches high, I cut it to make it spread and destroy all the large
weeds; and there may be two cuttings of hay that same season. Water will
not injure the plant unless it stands on it in low places. Stagnant
water standing on the plant, or mineral water so near the surface that
the roots reach it, will kill the plant, but it is not liable to injury
from winter frost. After the first season there are three or four crops,
the first being usually chosen for seed and not irrigated. For hay it is
cut when in full bloom, and, if the sun is shining, should cure 24 hours
if in June, or 20 in July or August, before raking, and then 30 hours in
the cock. It must be thoroughly cured before stacking, and then will
not mold. The most convenient bales weigh 90 to 100 pounds, and the
cost of preparing them is $2 a ton. The total cost of hay in the stack
is about $3 a ton, and the average yield about three tons to the acre
each year. When the burs turn brown the seed is harvested, and when well
cured should be stacked in a dry place. An average yield is 500 to 600
pounds to the acre, and it sells for $4 a bushel. The hay makes
excellent feed for farm animals, keeping them in good condition the year
around without grain. The alfalfa pasturage is better for swine and
cattle than clover, and yields more largely; sheep may be kept on it to
advantage also. A good acre will keep five grown hogs in excellent
condition, but will not make them fat. If they are taken up in October
and fed about 40 days on grain, they will be marketable. Cattle on the
pasture sometimes bloat, but I have had 100 head of cows and calves on
mine for two months, and have had no trouble. The irrigated alfalfa is
better than that grown on land that requires no water. The straw is
about equal to oat straw, but not half so good as the alfalfa hay. To
rid land of the plant requires a strong team and a sharp 10-inch plow.
The roots rot at once after plowing, and the land is well fertilized for
other crops. In my opinion, alfalfa is the best forage plant known in
this western country. It is most easily raised, produces the largest
yield, commands the best price, and can be planted at any time from
March to September. Land seeded to it is the most valuable, and the
farmer who has plenty of it is the most prosperous. Farming here cannot
be a success without it, and I take pleasure in recommending it to my
brother farmers. It will lie dormant all summer if it is dry, and with
fall rains revive and make good pasture. It is the earliest plant up in
the spring, and the last to stay green in the fall. In other words, it
is the best of all.
_Hartman & Weil, San Miguel county._--We have been dealers in alfalfa
hay for eight years, and have some small fields of our own. This is on
both bottom and upland. In the bottom, the subsoil is sand and bowlders;
on the upland, stiff bluish clay, and in some places blue limestone.
Well water is reached on the bottom land at a depth of 8 to 10 feet,
through soil moist all the way; on the upland, it is necessary to dig 60
to 100 feet, and, beginning two or four feet from the surface, the
ground is dry. When seed is planted in the spring, the soil should be
well pulverized, moist, and warm, that the seed may germinate quickly.
It should not be put in deeper than 1¹⁄₂ inches, and may be planted in
May or June, or any time in the spring after the soil becomes warm. In
our climate, it is best to sow about 30 pounds of good seed to the acre,
besides just enough oats to shade the ground and protect the young
alfalfa from the hot sun. Once well started, it will kill out all weeds,
and does not winterkill here. We irrigate from streams. Alfalfa should
not be irrigated when quite young, for, if the small plant is covered
with soil, when watered, it will not come up again, but, after it gets a
good start, it is not easily killed. There should be about two
irrigations to each crop harvested, or ordinarily, six in a season. The
heavier the stand the more water is needed. We have three cuttings,
yielding about 3,000 pounds of cured hay per acre per cutting. When the
plant is fairly well in bloom, it is cut, and is best when cured under
large sheds or in the shade. If left until dry where cut, the foliage
will fall off and pulverize. It is best to stack in narrow ricks, as it
is liable to heat if put in large stacks, and it should be salted
liberally when stacked. The last cutting is preferred for seed, which is
mowed when most of the pods are well matured; in this case only two
crops should be cut during the year. The straw makes good feed for stock
in winter, having about half the value of the hay. Each irrigation costs
about 50 cents per acre, and the total cost of hay in the stack is about
$3.50 per ton. Baling costs $1.25 per ton, with 50 cents additional for
wire. The common yield of seed is 6 to 10 bushels from the acre.
“Reeves” clover huller will thresh about 12 bushels per hour. The price
of hay, baled, in New Mexico has averaged about $8 per ton for the past
eight years and seed for the same time about $5 per bushel. Our
experience indicates that alfalfa hay is a more nutritious food for farm
animals than either clover or timothy. We have found nothing better to
feed cattle for market; it makes good, solid beef, and they take on fat
very fast. The pasturage is excellent for swine, horses, and cattle. If
overfed, animals will sometimes bloat on rank alfalfa, especially if
unaccustomed to it. About the third year from seeding, the plant has
acquired its best yield. It is difficult to rid land of it, as plowing
under is sometimes beneficial, making it come up thicker than before.
Success with it on high prairies depends upon the precipitation during
the growing season. We think four inches of rainfall during the time of
its growth would make a fair crop of hay; or 8 to 12 inches from May to
September, for two or three cuttings.
NEW YORK
_Isaac Zoller, Montgomery county_, writes in a recent article in
_American Agriculturist_:--“In the spring of 1889, I sowed my first ten
acres of alfalfa. The field was reseeded for the second time in April,
1905. I now have 25 acres. The land was plowed in the fall after being
manured. In the spring, generally during the last two weeks of April,
the surface for five or six inches is made extra fine and 25 to 30
pounds of the best seed are sown with three pecks of oats as a nurse
crop. By June 1 the oats are cut three inches above ground and again
every four weeks during the first season. The following June during the
third week the first crop is cut, usually yielding about three tons. The
second cutting generally comes during the last week in July when 1¹⁄₂
tons is an average. By September, the third cutting is made, but I
generally let sheep browse it, but not very close or after it is frozen.
The season of 1905 it was cut and allowed to wilt, raked with a side
delivery rake, allowed to lie a couple of hours, then rolled over with
the rake and drawn to the barn. Formerly I used to shock it and allow it
to sweat, but this is too much work. I feed it to sheep and find it
equal, if not superior to Red clover. To be at its best it must be cut
when about one-tenth of the blossoms are out. The soil in which my
alfalfa grows is a heavy, clay loam and rolling, but is underdrained.
The soil here is apt to heave three or four inches during winter and
injure clover. But where properly drained, this does not occur on
alfalfa fields. I am certain alfalfa can be more extensively and
economically grown here.”
_H. B. Fullerton, Long Island._--As an experiment, an acre of scrub-oak,
waste land was cleared and the brush and stumps burned in November,
1905. About 2,000 pounds of wood ashes were applied and turned under at
once. In April about ten tons of manure was applied so that each quarter
acre would have about 2,500 pounds. Three weeks later 400 pounds of
kainit were applied and ten days later 200 pounds of Canada wood ashes.
Since the soil, when tested, still showed acidity, about 400 pounds more
of ashes were spread, chiefly because of its high percentage of
vegetable lime, 40 per cent. The lime of ashes on Long Island soils is
considered superior to that of stone or shells. Early in June the test
acre, being considered ready, was finally prepared and sown to alfalfa
in two directions crosswise over each quarter acre. In less than a week
the plants appeared evenly on all four plots. Showery weather continued
from before seeding until well into June. One of the quarter acre plots
sown with a dressing of 150 pounds of soil from an old alfalfa field at
Fayetteville, N. Y., early took the lead in color and vigor and about
six weeks from sowing could be readily distinguished at a distance by
the richness of its foliage. It was also in flower before the other
plots, one of which was uninoculated, the other two sown with inoculated
seed. Unfavorable weather prevented cutting until mid-August when all
four plots were cut, the few large weeds were removed and the alfalfa
weighed. The plot inoculated with alfalfa soil yielded 1673 green pounds
which cured to 701 dry; the uninoculated plot yielded 726 green and 313
dry, the other two plots sown with inoculated seed 416 and 377 pounds
green or 189 and 168 pounds dry respectively. These results point
favorably to inoculating the soil from old alfalfa fields.
[Illustration: =Sweet Clover= (_Melilotus alba_.)
The seed of Sweet clover is an occasional adulterant of alfalfa. The
plant is much taller than any of the species of Medicago. The flowers
are white and borne in rows on elongated flower stems]
[Illustration: =Yellow Trefoil= (_Medicago lupulina_.)
A common adulterant of alfalfa. The leaflets are broader and more
clover-like than alfalfa. The flowers are yellow and sparsely scattered
in small, hop-like clusters at tips of long flower stems]
NORTH CAROLINA
_Dr. B. W. Kilgore, Director North Carolina experiment
station._--Alfalfa has been grown in a small way in this state,
particularly in the section around Hillsboro, for 75 to 100 years. The
soil there has become well inoculated and there are some small areas of
good alfalfa grown there. There has been for a number of years past
considerable interest in the production of this crop, but its
cultivation has not been very successful. On our experiment farms in
different sections of the state it has done reasonably well, and there
have been put out quite a large number of small areas during the last
few years, which give hopes of success with the crop. When some further
details regarding the time and method for seeding and treatment,
especially to prevent crab grass and weeds from getting the upper hand
of the crop during the summer have been worked out, we believe that
alfalfa will be grown to quite a large extent and be a most valuable
addition to our present forage crops.
NORTH DAKOTA
_Prof. J. H. Shepperd, Dean of the North Dakota Agricultural
college._--Alfalfa has not been given a thorough trial by the people of
North Dakota, but the results secured by the experiment station indicate
that it is capable of producing paying crops here. It will yield two or
more tons of hay per acre annually and will, when sown on well drained
land, continue to live from year to year as it does in old alfalfa
districts. A little growth should be allowed to stand through the winter
season to protect the roots by catching a covering of snow over the
entire field. Our people are thoroughly awakened and encouraged by the
results secured at the experiment station, and its growth is likely to
soon be a common practice in the state.
OHIO
_Prof. Charles E. Thorne, Director Ohio experiment station._--Numerous
attempts were made during the latter half of the nineteenth century to
grow alfalfa in Ohio, but so far as the knowledge of the writer goes,
that of Joseph E. Wing of Mechanicsburg was the first that could be
pronounced a decided success. Mr. Wing had seen the plant growing in the
arid region of the West, and was fortunately able to make his initial
experiments on the soil formed from the decomposing limestone gravels of
Champaign county, a soil possessing three of the indispensable
requisites for alfalfa culture. Plenty of lime, plenty of humus and good
drainage. Other farmers during recent years have attempted the culture
of this plant, and where experiments have been conducted upon suitable
soils and carried out with sufficient care and persistence, they have
been successful. Thus far the most promising alfalfa fields in the state
are to be found either in such localities as those of Mr. Wing, namely
upon the soils underlaid with limestone gravel which are found over the
western half of the state, or upon such of the river bottom lands of the
state as are above overflow and are underlaid with gravel, giving
natural drainage. The experience of Ohio growers of alfalfa has
demonstrated the following points: (1) Alfalfa must have lime. If the
soil is naturally deficient in this substance it must be added
artificially. (2) Alfalfa must have humus. It is idle to attempt to grow
it upon a soil which has been worn so thin that it will not grow a good
crop of corn. Such soils must be manured before they will successfully
produce alfalfa. In this respect it is very different from the plant
which it so closely resembles in habit of growth, Sweet clover. (3)
Alfalfa will not grow with wet feet, yet it is a great consumer of
water, and the soil must be of such a character as to hold large stores
of water without being water logged. Hence the value of bottom lands
naturally underdrained by strata of gravel a few feet below the surface.
(4) When lime, humus and drainage are supplied, the bacterial organisms
through which atmospheric nitrogen is assimilated will gradually appear
upon the alfalfa roots, but their growth may be hastened by inoculating
the land with soil from a field in which alfalfa or Sweet clover has
previously grown. The experiment station has been most successful in
getting a stand of alfalfa where the land was thoroughly prepared in the
spring and then harrowed every week or ten days until July or August.
The seed was then sown and harrowed in. By this means the weed seeds
were germinated and destroyed before the alfalfa was sown.
OKLAHOMA
_Agricultural experiment station_: Bul. 71, by Prof. F. C. Burtis and L.
A. Moorhouse.--This crop is being grown in every county in Oklahoma and
in some sections, a fair acreage is present. From many fields as large
yields are obtained as are produced any place else in the United States
without irrigation. On the uplands in Oklahoma, as elsewhere, the
returns vary. Where the subsoil is hard and impervious, the yields are
quite meager under unfavorable climatic conditions and the crop needs
considerable nursing such as disking and harrowing, to keep the crab
grass from taking the field in a few years. On these upland soils with
the hardpan subsoils which grow cowpeas to perfection, the farmer who is
not willing to inform himself about proper methods and to give his
alfalfa fields much attention and care, should grow cowpeas instead. But
as has been indicated before, alfalfa is being grown on such soil
successfully and profitably, but only in small areas.
The soil of the experiment station farm at Stillwater, on which the
following yields of alfalfa were obtained is a clay loam underlaid by a
very stiff, impervious subsoil of a hardpan nature.
Yields of Field F, containing about four acres; cured hay for the
season.
1902--1.76 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
1903--1.23 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
1904--3.13 tons hay per acre in 4 cuttings.
1905--3.13 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
Average for four years, 2.31 tons of hay per acre.
In the spring of 1904 the field received an application of barnyard
manure at the rate of 15 tons per acre. Every season, the field was
disked from three to four times and harrowed. During 1903 and 1904, web
worms damaged the crop.
Yields of Plats 1, 2, 3, and 4, Field E. The plats are on similar soil
to that of Field F and have been handled about the same as that field.
The yield is given for all the plats together.
1902--2.67 tons hay per acre.
1903--3.27 tons hay per acre.
1904--3.31 tons hay per acre.
Average for three years, 3.08 tons of hay per acre.
Yield of Field H, containing about five acres:
1902--4.20 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
1903--2.88 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
1904--2.12 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
1905--2.27 tons hay per acre in 5 cuttings.
Average for four years 2.69 tons per acre.
Barnyard manure was applied to this field in 1900-’01, and it was given
the same treatment as was received by the fields previously mentioned.
Other results will be given in a later bulletin, but those cited give a
fair idea of what may be expected on upland where the subsoil is a
hardpan. The hay from all the fields mentioned above, obtained in the
last two or three cuttings, contained varying amounts of crab grass, so
the yields given are not all alfalfa. Since the above results were
obtained, some good bottom land has been acquired by the experiment
station and alfalfa has already been seeded on some of it. In a few
years, yields that will look better when compared with those of our best
alfalfa growers can probably be reported. The following summary will be
helpful.
1. Alfalfa is a great and valuable crop for Oklahoma, where there are as
good alfalfa soils as are found in the world and as good yields are
produced as anywhere.
2. The acreage of alfalfa should be greatly increased in Oklahoma. There
are but few farms here that do not contain a few acres at least that
will grow the crop profitably.
3. Select the best soil on the farm for the first trial, and try only a
few acres at first.
4. Decide a year or two in advance of seeding time what field is to be
seeded to alfalfa, and follow the best methods of cropping and
preparation known.
5. Buy only the very best seed. Get a sample and test it before buying
and purchase your seed a year before you expect to sow it unless you are
sure you can get good seed just when you want it.
6. Twenty pounds of good seed to the acre is plenty and as low as twelve
pounds is all that is used by many.
7. Seed either with the drill or by broadcasting. Conditions must be
right for either to succeed.
8. Fall seeding and spring seeding are both followed in Oklahoma with
good success. If the conditions are not right at seeding time, or turn
out unfavorable after seeding, or while the plants are small, either may
fail.
9. As a rule fall seeding is preferable in Oklahoma, particularly on the
less adapted soils.
10. Take due care in harvesting the hay that half its value is not lost
at that time.
11. Don’t give up trying to raise the crop because you fail in your
first attempt or even if the failure continues to the second and third
attempts. Successful alfalfa raisers have stated that in instances they
have failed as many as five times in getting certain fields started to
alfalfa, and after they did get the field seeded, the returns from it
would justify reseeding ten times if necessary.
OREGON
_George W. Dunn, Jackson county._--For eight years I have grown 60 acres
of alfalfa on bottom land with granite loam soil, gravelly and sandy.
The plant does not grow well unless the soil is deep and well drained,
and will not grow where there is a clay subsoil or stagnant water. Well
water is reached at a depth of 10 to 12 feet, and the soil, unless
cultivated or irrigated, becomes dry and hard in the summer. As soon as
the heavy frosts in the spring are over, seed may be put in, after
thorough, deep plowing and pulverizing. I always sow broadcast, 20 to 25
pounds to the acre, then harrow in and clod-mash or roll. Water for
irrigation is obtained from streams, and it should be applied as quickly
as possible, the best way being to flood the whole field for a few days,
and then take all the water off, as standing water will kill the plant
quicker than anything else. The quantity of water needed the first and
later years does not seem to differ materially. As soon as the young
alfalfa is high enough, it should be mowed. This kills the weeds, and
gives better chance for growth. Then I cut for hay, but it does not pay
much the first year. If land is well drained, the plant lives through
the winter easily, and by the second or third year is at its best. In
ground adapted to its growth, it is almost everlasting, unless killed by
gophers or hogs. After the first season, there are three or four
cuttings, averaging each from one to three tons to the acre. For hay, I
cut as soon as it begins to bloom freely, ordinarily raking the next
day, and cocking the third, in this dry atmosphere. The stack does not
shed water well, and the best plan is to put in a good barn. The hay
bales well, and the size of bale is simply a matter of opinion or
convenience, there being no difference in the keeping quality. The
second crop is the one for seed, as the first always contains more or
less foul stuff, and the third will not mature seed. I dispose of hay at
from $4 to $10 a ton--the same price as other hay in the same
market--and it is in great demand for milch cows. The seed costs me from
10 to 16 cents a pound. The straw makes good feed, but of course is not
so good as the hay. For feeding farm animals, alfalfa is superior to
clover or timothy. We produce as fine beef here, by feeding alfalfa
alone, as can be done in Kansas or elsewhere by feeding ordinary hay and
corn. The pasturage is profitable and satisfactory for horses and sheep,
and for hogs it is unsurpassed--they will grow and fatten on it without
other food. Cattle on the pasture sometimes bloat, but not when they are
used to it, or when it is dry. I keep about 150 head, and in eight years
have lost but two. The roots will grow to, but not into, water, and
thrive in deep gravelly or sandy soil. The plant sends down a large,
straight taproot, which, as it approaches water, branches and spreads
out into numerous small rootlets.
PENNSYLVANIA
_Prof. George C. Watson, Pennsylvania experiment station._--The
experiment station has received many letters requesting information
pertaining to the growth and cultivation of alfalfa. From these
communications it has been learned that many farmers have attempted to
grow alfalfa on land that is not at all well suited for this purpose,
and consequently, many failures have resulted. The first attempts to
grow alfalfa were made wholly by spring seeding, which, in most
instances, has proved quite unsatisfactory. As alfalfa starts slowly and
exists as a small plant for a considerable length of time, the weeds
have an abundant opportunity to germinate and outgrow the more delicate
alfalfa plants. Whatever conditions favor the growth of weeds,
particularly in the early part of the growing season, materially
increase the risk of failure with alfalfa. Largely on account of the
weeds and grass, late in summer or fall seeding has been most
satisfactory. While a drouth at this time may seriously interfere with
germination, yet the injury from insufficient moisture is not likely to
be so great as that from a rank growth of weeds earlier in the season.
Land that has been cultivated for a few weeks during the summer may be
sown to alfalfa in August or September with comparatively little danger
from annual weeds, which are so troublesome in spring seeding. Land that
is infested with noxious perennial weeds and grass would not, of course,
be in suitable condition for seeding after a few weeks of cultivation,
no matter how thorough it may be. The most tenacious grasses and weeds,
like Canada thistles and quack grass, should be given at least a few
months of thorough cultivation before seeding. Experiments indicate that
alfalfa will not survive continued alternate freezing and thawing if the
soil contains very much moisture. Land that is at all inclined to
“heave” is not suited for the growth of this crop. The soil of the
station farm, upon which most of these experiments have been made, is a
porous limestone clay underlaid with limestone rocks which afford
abundant drainage through the fissures. Notwithstanding the fact that
the soil is naturally well drained, in some places it seems to hold too
much water to afford a most congenial home for alfalfa. This crop will
endure severe freezing, provided the soil is sufficiently dry so that it
has no tendency to “heave.” Land upon which clover will “heave”
undoubtedly contains too much moisture for alfalfa. It seems to be able
to endure the rigors of winter better than clover, provided the moisture
conditions are favorable.
RHODE ISLAND
_Dr. H. J. Wheeler, Director Rhode Island experiment station._--Alfalfa
culture in Rhode Island is a very uncertain undertaking. A few persons
have occasionally met with some success, but the majority of experiments
have been failures because: (1) Most of the soil in this state is too
deficient in carbonate of lime to enable alfalfa to succeed even if
other conditions are favorable. (2) It is occasionally almost destroyed
by clover leaf spot. (3) The general culture of alfalfa in this state
cannot be made successful even if all of the conditions aside from the
climate are made favorable. Farther north where the snow falls before
the ground freezes and remains until the opening of spring, this plant
can be grown successfully. Farther south where the changes are less
severe, the same is true. In Colorado and other places where irrigation
is practiced, if it is desired to get rid of a field of alfalfa, the
ground is flooded after it is frozen and the freezing of water over the
surface accomplishes what is desired. In Rhode Island it not
infrequently happens that we have in winter a considerable fall of snow.
A warm southeasterly rain may fall which transforms it very shortly to
slush. In a few hours the temperature may drop to zero or below.
Sometimes rain which falls freezes over the surface, forming a solid
coating. These conditions in this state destroy the alfalfa just as the
flooding does it in the West, and while alfalfa may be carried
successfully through the winter, if the season is favorable, I believe
the chances are too great to make it a promising crop. Last winter we
carried some through successfully and have done so once or twice before,
but my advice to Rhode Island farmers is to grow the clovers, soy beans,
and possibly cowpeas rather than attempt to embark in growing alfalfa
until it has been definitely shown by experiment that the climate and
other conditions can be successfully combated.
SOUTH CAROLINA
_Prof. C. L. Newman, Agriculturist South Carolina experiment
station._--We have, to some extent, had remarkable success with alfalfa.
On the old exposition grounds at Charleston, over six tons of cured hay
were cut last year on one acre. This year one cutting afforded 4.15
pounds of cured hay. In the upper portion of the state, alfalfa is grown
with considerably greater difficulty. At Anderson, the county seat of
Anderson county, there is an alfalfa field that was sown 65 years ago
and it still affords some return.
SOUTH DAKOTA
_Prof. James W. Wilson, Director South Dakota experiment
station._--Experience shows that a good stand of alfalfa can be secured,
if ordinary care be exercised in preparing the seedbed. It is not a
plant that does well when sowed on the native prairie sod after disking.
On the college farm during the spring of 1904 a small area of native sod
was disked five times; part was sowed to alfalfa and part to clover. The
next spring only a few scattering plants of alfalfa could be found,
while a fair stand of clover was secured. Good results have been
obtained with both the Turkestan and the American varieties. Neither has
winterkilled during the time, and the yield per acre in each case has
been good. A field sowed to Turkestan alfalfa in 1899 at Highmore Forage
testing station still produces good yields. The quantity of seed to sow
per acre depends largely on the way it is sowed, requiring more if
broadcast than when drilled. We suggest 20 pounds when drilled and 25
pounds when sown broadcast. The time to sow depends upon the condition
of tilth. Contrary to what is sometimes supposed, alfalfa does not
require a wet soil, but one that is well drained, with a loose subsoil.
The plants will stand cutting several times during the first year. This
method should be resorted to when sown on a field badly infested with
weeds, in order to secure a stand of alfalfa. In 1902 a field rented by
the college farm, which had been cropped for several years and become
foul with mustard, was sowed to alfalfa. It was cut three times during
the growing season, and the result was that in 1903 there was
practically no mustard to be seen, but a first class stand of alfalfa
was obtained.
_George E. McEathron of Beadle county_ writes: “I consider alfalfa and
clover culture practicable in this locality. I do not think it necessary
to inoculate soil for these crops in South Dakota. After the first year
I cut my alfalfa fields three times and secured an average yield of five
tons to the acre. I have never allowed seed to mature, always cutting
for hay. No trouble from winterkilling has been noticed.”
_O. S. Jones of Lake county_ writes: “I began raising alfalfa on my
place two miles west of Madison five years ago. The soil is a dark loam
with some sand in it, lays level and has a sand and gravel subsoil.
Water is obtained at a depth of eight to ten feet. I have used both the
Turkestan and the common alfalfa, and I consider the latter the better
for my land, as it grows ranker, with more leaf and better color than
the former. I have had the best success in sowing about the first of
May, without a nurse crop. On one four-acre piece seeded three years
ago, I pastured 150 to 175 head of hogs and spring pigs for two months
this year and also cut between 15 and 16 tons of hay in two cuttings. I
sowed 12 acres this year in two six-acre fields, that have been
pastured, continually, with 175 head of hogs and pigs and ten head of
young cattle since early in July, and a great deal of it matured seed.
I could have cut these pieces in August with profit had I so desired,
and then had plenty of growth to have kept the stock in pasture,
changing pastures each week.”
_N. O. P. Synoground of Brown county_ writes: “I consider alfalfa and
clover culture practicable in this locality. I also consider the
Turkestan variety superior to the home-grown varieties. Cut the field
twice the first year and received four tons per acre. I have never cut
any for seed. These crops have not winterkilled here.”
TENNESSEE
_Prof. H. A. Morgan, Director Tennessee experiment station._--Alfalfa
has been known in Tennessee for many years, but not until the general
failure of Red clover, due to one or more species of _Colletotrichum_,
and the search for substitutes for Red clover, were any serious efforts
made to grow alfalfa in this state. On alluvial land along the
Mississippi river in west Tennessee, in what is known as the Central
Basin section of middle Tennessee, and on the richer lands of east
Tennessee, alfalfa has been grown very successfully, and each year large
areas are being sown to this clover. Mr. L. Donaldson, of Lake county,
gives the following relative to the preparation of soil, etc., for
alfalfa in the alluvial area of west Tennessee: “The land is plowed deep
with large moldboard breaking plows in September or about the first of
March. It is then harrowed until thoroughly pulverized, and either about
October 10 or April 1, two gallons of seed are sown, by machine or by
hand. The harrow is used for covering the seed. We have no more trouble
with the crop after seeding. The plants germinate and take root
rapidly. I have known alfalfa roots to reach a length of two feet from
the last of March to June 25. We frequently cut the crop five times per
year.” George Campbell Brown of Maury county states that he has sown
alfalfa in March using spring barley as nurse crop, and in September
with success. Land sown to alfalfa in 1901 yielded four cuttings per
year in 1902, 1903, and 1904, averaging from 16 to 18 tons per acre in
the three years. Mr. Brown uses soil for inoculating, and believes he
has gotten well-defined results from nitro-culture sent out by United
States department of agriculture. At the experiment station at
Knoxville, alfalfa has been successfully grown for many years. Heavy
applications of farmyard manure and the use of 300 pounds of acid
phosphate and 25 bushels of lime per acre invariably insures large
yields of alfalfa. Crab grass, _Panicum sanguinale_, in summer and
chickweed, _Stellaria media_, in winter are enemies to alfalfa in this
latitude. These pests should be gotten rid of by the use of clean
culture crops preparatory to the sowing of alfalfa. With plenty of
stable manure, lime, and phosphorous, artificial inoculation seems
unnecessary. Any soil of over a few feet deep may be prepared so as to
grow profitable crops of alfalfa. This preparation is much more
expensive on some soils than others.
TEXAS
_Prof. B. C. Pittuck, Agriculturist of the Texas experiment
station._--Alfalfa should receive the attention of farmers in every
section of Texas where conditions are in any way favorable to its
growth. At present prices, after it is once established, a yield of one
ton of hay per acre will afford a good profit, while yields of four and
six tons, which are not unusual on favorable soils, make the investment
exceedingly profitable. The present demand is much greater than the
supply and bids fair to increase in greater proportion during the coming
year. Its increasing popularity with the farmer is based upon sound
business principles, as its value does not consist solely in its market
price, but in its value as food for his stock and food for his soil. It
will furnish green pasturage and hay of the best quality without
materially impoverishing the soil. Many farmers refrain from planting
alfalfa because some neighbor, far or near, planted on land apparently
similar to theirs, and it died of the disease commonly known as cotton
root rot. It would be far better for each farmer to test his own land,
for alfalfa may be affected by this fungus at one place and entirely
unaffected on ground only a few rods away. The value of an alfalfa
meadow is such as to warrant a farmer in giving considerable time, labor
and study to the plant, before deciding that natural conditions prohibit
him from successfully growing it.
UTAH
_Aaron F. Farr, Jr., Cache county._--Fifteen years ago, when I began
raising alfalfa, I had 40 acres, and for the past eight years I have had
about 135 acres, all on heavy clay soil, containing considerable salt,
and underlaid with very stiff, white clay. The soil is dry on top, but
below a depth of 2¹⁄₂ feet is damp, and salty water is found at a depth
of eight feet. Small grain was raised on the new land for one or two
years, after which the ground was plowed in the fall, and again in the
spring, harrowed, and well pulverized. Seed was put in, 12 pounds to the
acre, two inches deep, with a press drill. The time for sowing is about
the same as for corn, in April or May. If there is plenty of water, it
is well to sow the alfalfa with oats, and then cut for hay the first
season. Some of my land is irrigated, by flooding, three times in the
season, by means of a large canal from the river. The more water is
used, the more alfalfa there will be, but the hay from unirrigated land
is less sappy than that which has been watered. The plant is not liable
to winterkill here, and on sandy loam and gravel soils the full yield is
attained the second year, while, on heavy soils, it requires three or
four years. I have some that is 20 years old, and cannot say how long it
will yet continue vigorous. There is difficulty in ridding land of the
plant, unless it is flooded in the winter time. We have usually two
cuttings each season, with an average yield for each of about two tons
to the acre, although some parts of the land yield four tons at each
cutting. I have found it more profitable to raise seed than hay, and for
this purpose I prefer the second cutting, using the self-rake, allowing
the alfalfa to lie in small piles until dry, then hauling, stacking, and
threshing, the same as wheat. The hay lies about 22 hours in the swath,
24 hours in the windrow, and one or two days in the cock, after which it
is stacked in large ricks with a horse fork. If properly cured, it will
not mold or heat, as it will if damp. On land valued at $30 an acre, the
cost of the alfalfa, in the stack, is about $1.50 a ton. The cost of
baling is about $2 a ton, the popular weight for bales being about 100
pounds. An average yield of seed is from 300 to 500 pounds to the acre.
Threshers take one-sixth toll, and can thresh about 100 bushels in a
day. The common machinery saves only about two-thirds of the seed. A
bushel of seed weighs more than 60 pounds, and we put 175 pounds in a
two-bushel seamless sack. The average selling price of the seed is about
$3.50 a bushel. I have one piece of land, containing 60 acres, not
irrigated, valued at $30 an acre, from which, for ten years, I have cut
one crop of hay, and one of seed, and realized an annual net profit of
$1000 cash. As compared with clover and timothy for feeding farm
animals, my opinion is that alfalfa will fatten quicker, but will not go
so far. The pasturage is profitable and satisfactory for horses and
sheep; for hogs, one acre of it is as good as 2¹⁄₂ of Red clover, and
for cattle, one acre is as good as two of clover, provided the land is
dry. On wet land, the clover is better for cattle, and, as to bloating,
the danger is just the same from the two plants. In my opinion, the
plant will do well on side-hills, where the drainage is good, if the
land is plowed deep, and the seed drilled in two inches deep and rolled
with a heavy roller. Once started, the plant lives almost forever, on
any soil, unless the wrong kind of a winter strikes it. I have an
alfalfa root, taken up in digging a well, that is 21 feet long. The
roots of alfalfa are sure to find the water, if anywhere at all within
reasonable reach.
_John Jones, Utah county._--I have raised alfalfa 20 years, and now have
250 acres, mostly on sandy loam upland; have some on bottom land, where
it grows too rank for seed. The subsoil is light clay, with water from
15 to 20 feet from the surface. On land with hardpan subsoil, it
declines after a few years, unless irrigated often. In digging for
water, we find the subsoil begins to get dry at about 18 inches, and
continues quite dry for 8 or 10 feet; then moisture increases until
water is reached. We prepare ground by plowing in the fall, drag very
fine in the spring, and sow as early as the season will permit, in order
to catch the spring rains, using 20 to 25 pounds of seed per acre. Our
first cutting is made about June 20, and is a little weedy, but there
are fewer weeds in later cuttings. We get about two tons the first
cutting, if the stand is good, and about the same the other cuttings
that year; have no trouble here about winterkilling; standing water is
injurious to the plant. Here alfalfa on uplands is watered three or four
times each season; some land needs only one or two floodings, while
other lower lands have no irrigation. After getting a good start from
the seed, we begin watering about May 1, from small mountain streams.
The first year requires water about every week; after that, once a month
is sufficient. For hay, we begin cutting with the first bloom, obtaining
2 to 2¹⁄₂ tons from the first cutting, about 2 the second, and from 1 to
1¹⁄₄ the third cutting; let it lie about two days before hauling to
stack, being careful not to stack too green. For seed, begin cutting
when seed is ripe, the second crop being considered best. The
grasshoppers have been troubling the second crop to some extent, and we
have on that account been cutting the first crop for seed, using a
reaper and separating with a threshing machine. On a basis of 7 per cent
interest on $30 per acre with five tons of hay per acre each year, it
has cost about $1.55 per ton to raise alfalfa. We estimate $1 per ton
for cutting and stacking, and 60 cents per acre for water tax. It costs
$2.25 per ton for baling, 100 to 125-pound bale, the size having no
effect as to the keeping of properly cured hay. From 8 to 10 bushels is
a fair average seed yield, the cost of threshing and cleaning being
about 40 cents per bushel. Baled hay is worth (free on board) about
$6.50, and loose, about $4 per ton; seed sells for about 7 cents per
pound. Alfalfa hay is preferable to timothy or clover, ton for ton, for
feeding without grain; with grain, our liverymen prefer timothy. We find
alfalfa with grain equal to timothy for draft horses, but for drivers,
timothy is preferred. Alfalfa is considered better than clover by our
hog raisers; it makes good pasturage for horses, and is better than Red
clover for cattle. If cattle are kept continually on the alfalfa, they
are not very likely to bloat; the trouble arises from turning hungry
animals on it. We use a gag, made of a stick about three inches in
diameter, to force the mouth open, but sometimes have to make an opening
in the paunch with a knife. Irrigation seems to improve the quantity
without increasing the quality. The early cut hay has at least 20 per
cent more value than the straw from the seed crop; we have had very good
results from feeding the straw, as it always contains more or less seed.
Alfalfa sown on clay soil, with hardpan subsoil, gradually dies out
after two or three years; also when water is near the surface; when the
roots reach water too near by, the plant dies. Sown on good sandy loam,
it reaches its best yield about the second year; on heavier soils,
about the third year. We have alfalfa 20 years old, as vigorous and good
to yield as when started. It is preferable to clover for turning under,
as the large roots make more manure, and the tops are much heavier. We
grow alfalfa on our uplands without irrigation, but it requires two or
three years to get a start; the first year, it makes a growth of 8 or 10
inches, and wilts; second year, it grows a little taller, thickens up
somewhat, and then, apparently, dies; the third year, it gains in height
and strength, and yields a good crop, or even two crops, according to
the subsoil. If the subsoil is hardpan, I would not predict the result
as worth the effort. I do not see how Utah would get along without
alfalfa. I have 100 acres, from which are cut from 2 to 2¹⁄₂ tons of hay
per acre, and from 800 to 1300 bushels of seed each year, and it has not
been irrigated for 15 years. Last year the seed yield was 968 bushels,
and the grasshoppers damaged it considerably; the seed brought 10 cents
per pound on the track here. We make good beef from the hay alone, and
have done so on the threshed straw.
VERMONT