Destroys Canada Thistles 



Canada thistles have long been a dreaded enemy of the farmer 

 in the Middle West. In fact, they are so persistent in their peren- 

 nial growth that many fields are rendered unprofitable becau s e of 

 the abundance of this weed. 



One way to get rid of them is to wage a bitter and unrelenting 

 warfare against them with the plow and spring-tooth harrow for 

 one entire summer. Like any warfare, this is costly. Not only 

 does it require much labor, but the use of the field is lost for one 

 year. 



Let Alfalfa Fight for You 



Why not let alfalfa do the fighting for you? Alfalfa is a peace- 

 loving plant, but it is the best weed scrapper of all the forage crops 

 that are grown on the average farm. Just give it a good supply of 

 ammunition in the form of lime, inoculation, drainage and a care- 

 fully prepared seed bed, and it will wipe out the worst army of Canada 

 thistles that has ever taken possession of a field. 



A few years ago the Cornfalfa Farms, in Waukesha County, Wis- 

 consin, had a fifteen-acre field of oats. Canada thistles were so 

 thick that it was useless to harvest the grain. It was cut with a 

 mower and burned. 



The field was plowed twice that fall and again the following spring 

 to keep the thistles under control. The soil was limed, inoculated 

 and disked several times. Early in July alfalfa was seeded at the 

 rate of twenty-five pounds to the acre. That fall there was a good 

 growth of both alfalfa and weeds. 



The first cutting was made early in June of the next year. The 

 alfalfa was far ahead, but the thistles were quite abundant. The second 

 crop had less of the thistles and the third crop still less. The 

 alfalfa outgrew its competitor. I was on this fifteen-acre field the 

 third year after it had been seeded, and the only thistles we could 

 find were in a few patches round the edge of the field and on one or 

 two low spots where the alfalfa had killed out. 



A Weed Fighter 



Our common weeds in fact, practically all weeds except quack 

 grass are held in subjugation by alfalfa. Its growth is so dense, 

 so rapid and so overmastering that with the frequent cuttings the 

 weeds have little opportunity to establish themselves. 



This is a benefit that cannot be ascribed to any other hay crop. 

 It is true that a timothy sod or a good stand of clover will in a measure 

 subdue weeds, but_ neither crop can be compared with alfalfa for 

 effectual weed eradication. Clover does not last long enough, and 

 timothy does not grow fast enough. , 



No Criticisms on Alfalfa for Feed 



The most pessimistic critic has faith in alfalfa hay as a feed for 

 cattle, hogs and sheep. There are no complaints in regard to its 

 feeding value. It has a unanimous vote of approval. It is high 

 in protein that valuable and high-priced constituent of any feed- 

 stuff, which builds up the lean-meat tissues, the bones, and the 

 cheese-producing part of the milk. 



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