28 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS. 



Yakima region considerable clover, orchard grass, and Kentucky blue- 

 grass are raised, the latter usually for pasture. While bluegrass 

 thrives here, it is not considered a paying crop for hay, especially 

 when compared with timothy and alfalfa. 



ALFALFA. 



It is not necessary to go into details regarding alfalfa, as its growth 

 in this general regfion has recently been discussed at considerable length 

 by a member of the office staff. Some additional points with refer- 

 ence to it, however, are of sufficient importance for record at this time. 



It is unusual, especially in the West, to attempt to grow alfalfa 

 without irrigation, but a few experiments observed appear to indicate 

 that production in this way may become of some importance in certain 

 favored localities. Two small areas with no irrigation whatever were 

 seen near Prescott, Wash., which bore much promise. The best of 

 these was on the farm of U. L. Malloy. about 7 miles from Prescott. 

 This had not been cut when seen, but it would yield, apparently, about 

 2 tons of dry feed per acre. Another area a short distance west of 

 Ritzville, in the same State, also showed considerable promise. Here 

 it was evidently intended to be used as a summer pasture for hogs. 

 The growing of alfalfa without irrigation deserves attention, for there 

 are probably many limited areas in this general region where it can be 

 grown successfully without the aid of an artificial water supply/' 



The ability of this crop to withstand large amounts of soluble salts 

 in the soil was especially noted at Lovelock. It is truly remarkable 

 what has been done in the upper settlements here in the reclaiming of 

 alkaline desert lands. Much of the best alfalfa land above Lovelock, 

 where the finest crops are now grown, was recently what is popularly 

 known as "hillv srrease-wood land," which is always alkaline. This 

 land is characterized by having a rather heavy growth'of grease wood 

 and saltbush (Atriplex torreyana), with the bushes as a rule situated 

 on mounds 1 to 3 feet high, making of the generally level plain 

 a very rough and uneven surface. Before the land can be handled at 

 all the brush must be gotten rid of and the mounds must be leveled 

 off; then comes the task of getting an alfalfa crop established. To 

 one who is not an expert in alfalfa culture the task would appear hope- 

 less. A grain crop, usually wheat or barley, is raised for one or two 

 years, until the land is subdued, when alfalfa is sown, in the majority 

 of cases without a nurse crop. The surface salt in the heaviest deposits 

 is removed by Hooding and draining rapidly just before the seed is 



»A. S. Hitchcock. Cultivated Forage Crops <>f the Northwestern states. Bulletin 

 No. 31, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, l'"»:;. 



''Alfalfa is grown quite successfully without irrigation in the wheat-growing dis- 

 tricts of eastern Washington, yielding out- and sometimes two cuttings a year.— 



W. J. s. 



