640 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



have seeded to timothy and clover. Under these circumstances we would 

 not hesitate to mow the oats and use them for hay, curing them precisely 

 as we would timothy and clover. 



In the more eastern portions of our territory and in the more northern 

 portions, where there are heavy dews and less sun heat during the day, 

 farmers cure them in the cock. This is all right, but the cock should not 

 be allowed to stand any longer than is necessary where the land has been 

 seeded to clover and timothy, for the reason that while timothy will not 

 be seriously injured, the clover under the cock will undoubtedly be killed. 



Even when the oats do not lodge, if the season is dry and on examina- 

 tion it is found that the clover is becoming yellow and delicate looking, 

 and you are anxious to have a good crop of clover, then you had better 

 mow the oats and cure them for hay. 



In fact, we believe that the man who has plenty of dairy cows and young 

 stock will make quite as much net profit from his oats by making them 

 into hay at the soft dough stage as he would if he went to the additional 

 expense of cutting and thrashing. 



ALFALFA AS A FOOD AND HOW TO GROW IT. 



Wm. B. Goodrich, Climbing Hill, Iowa, Before Woodbury County Farmers' 



Institute. 



The value of alfalfa is but little realized by the farmers of Iowa as a 

 class, and in my opinion but few of the small number who are raising it 

 fully appreciate its great usefulness and the extent to which its general 

 and intelligent cultivation would add to the wealth of the farmers of this 

 part of the State. Its importance is by no means limited to its use as feed 

 for live stock. Its wonderful ability as a feeder and builder of the soil is 

 found to be more and more appreciated as its cultivation is extended and 

 its effect on the soil observed. 



Nitrogen is one of the most necessary elements of fertility, and the 

 most expensive. Alfalfa gathers it from the air for its own use and stores 

 a surplus in the soil for the benefit of other crops which may follow on 

 the same land. Its roots, penetrating the soil to great depths, bring up 

 mineral elements of plant food, leaving them near the surface, and also 

 draw up an immense amount of moisture. The surface soil of an alfalfa 

 field becomes so moist that the space between the plants is frequently 

 covered with moss. 



The mechanical effect of these roots on the subsoil is very beneficial, es- 

 pecially where it is of a clayey or of a compact nature, by making it more 

 porous for the passage of air and water. The decay of these roots, and 

 the leaves which fall to the ground at each cutting add a large amount 

 of. necessary humus to the soil. Further than this the barnyard manure 

 where alfalfa is fed is a richer fertilizer than that from any other forage 

 crop and will be of greater benefit to the soil when returned to it. 



This question of restoring fertility to our soils is one of growing import- 

 ance, and one to which we must turn our serious attention, for it is the 

 keynote of successful agriculture. No soil, however rich in a virgin state. 



