SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 689 



Asia, and resulted in the depletion of one-third of the original stand, for 

 which I could not well be held responsible. My next mistake was to 

 seed it in spring, in freshly, raw-ploughed soil with a nurse-crop, on land 

 not sufficiently rich. It ought to have been sown on a carefully prepared 

 seed-bed following barley-stubble, in the latter part of August on land 

 sufficiently rich to produce 80 bushels of corn. In short, without knowl- 

 edge or experience at that time I tried to raise alfalfa as we raised 

 clover, which resulted in a partial failure yielding a crop only from three 

 to seven loads of alfalfa hay annually as a hog pasture. In the absence 

 of a thorough understanding of the nature and requirements of this 

 plant, other blunders were committed, hence the partial failure of my 

 alfalfa venture as well as those of others similarly situated. But the 

 undertaking will not rest here. It will be carried to the bitter end, for 

 we are told on the very best authority that land worth $100 per acre 

 before will be worth $200 after alfalfa has proved a success on it. It 

 has greatly raised the price of farm lands in the extreme west, where 

 it was the most worthless, and it must of necessity have a similar effect 

 here after alfalfa culture is a demonstrated success. After all, individual 

 effort must determine in each case whether or not this wonderful plant 

 can or can not be raised on every farm, and the young farmer who starts 

 out today on the alfalfa venture will have decided advantages in his 

 favor for he can profit by our failures, and gain by the valuable infor- 

 mation extended by many experiment stations, and last but not least, 

 considering the great gain that its success assures, he can afford to make 

 great sacrifices. However, I would warn the beginner against becoming 

 a plunger in this, as yet a questionable venture, but rather concentrate 

 his effort on a three to fiveHacre piece to be used as a hog pasture, 

 attachment or extension. This small patch will soon teach him the dif- 

 ference and drawbacks of caring for a larger field. There is a heavy 

 crop to cut and cure the second week in June, when the weather is un- 

 settled, there Is three times cutting and hay making (hog pasture or 

 no hog pasture) just when the plant calls for it and when other farm 

 operations may be pressing. There is bloating of cattle and sheep al- 

 lowed to browse upon it. There is the possibility of spontaneous combus- 

 tion if improperly cured, and many other difficulties. It is always better 

 not to overreach one's self, but rather get accustomed to the obstacles 

 by degrees and get experience on a limited scale. 



ALFALFA AS A COMMERCIAL FEED. 



Kansas today reports an alfalfa crop of 640,000 tons of hay. Prof. 

 Hansen has scoured northern Siberia and has brought home with him 

 from the 63rd latitude clovers and alfalfa varieties to be used for rotation 

 with macaroni wheat to save the wheat soil from exhaustion in the high, 

 dry and cheerless regions of the western Dakotas, an attempt which al- 

 ready promises success. 



If in addition to these natural alfalfa regions the middle west and 

 eastern states will raise alfalfa to their limit, as they are attempting to 

 do; if, furthermore, the manufacturers are starting up simultaneously to 

 convert these vast crops of alfalfa into nutritive value equal to the best 

 of wheat-bran, into suitable form for use in and shipment to eastern 



