138 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Profit in Alfalfa. Irrigated alfalfa fields in 

 parts of the arid west last season paid net profits 

 of upward of $30 per acre. At least such are the 

 figures, upheld by the statements of dozens of as 

 good, reputable, reliable men as can be found any- 

 where, and they stand ready to back up their state- 

 ments by sworn testimony. This was on land 

 which was not worth more than $15 per acre 

 as raw land, and would not have been worth one- 

 tenth that amount but for the value given by good 

 location. Alfalfa can be set at an average expense, 

 in some localities at least, of not more than $6 per 

 acre, and in many instances a good stand has been 

 obtained at less than $5 per acre from the sod. Given 

 fifteen-dollar land, and add $5 per acre to seed it to 

 alfalfa, making a total of $20 per acre, and it is small 

 wonder that with such results as above mentioned 

 there should be a rapid increase in the acreage of 

 alfalfa in many sections. 



Keep Abreast the Times. Nothing shows the 

 unreasoning conservatism which seems to largely 

 dominate reasoning humanity more strongly than the 

 persistence with which thousands of farmers will, year 

 after year, grow crops and stock, or follow methods 

 of farming, which have ceased to pay and which an 

 intelligent study of conditions would show must con- 

 tinue, for a time at least, to be unprofitable. Farmers 

 must learn to watch the course of business and pro- 

 duction closely. 



IjUcerne.. Utah Experiment Station bulletin No. 

 31, just issued, reports experiments on the time of 

 cutting lucerne, and on mulching. As to the proper 

 time of cutting lucerne, the results given are timely 

 and interesting. It is shown that, whether cut twice 

 or thrice, the yield is practically the same. The 

 weights are given for each cutting, also the dates of 

 cutting. The principal feature of the trial, however, 

 was the feeding of steers to test the relative feeding 

 value of lucerne cut at different degrees of ripeness. 

 The first cutting was done before the lucerne came 

 into bloom, the second lot in early bloom, and the 

 third lot completely out of bloom. In the feeding 

 trial the "early cut " lucerne gave a gain per day per 

 steer of .778 pounds ; "medium cut," .234, and "late 

 cut," .328. On the second crop, " early cut '' gave a 

 gain of .743; " medium cut," .751, and "late cut ".169. 

 Taking the average of the first and second crops, it 

 is seen that early cutting gave decidedly the best 

 results. It is believed, however, that conclusions 

 should be suspended until further experiments verify 

 the results of this. The bulletin is summarized as 

 follows: 



1. Early-cut lucerne gave a greater gain than 

 late-cut lucerne. 



2. As large a crop was received from two cuttings 

 as from three, whether the first cutting was at an 

 early period or at a medium period of its growth. 



3. As early-cut hay gave a slightly better gain, the 

 balance of the experiment favors early cutting. 



4. It is assumed, not known, that the character of 

 the growth from early-cut lucerne would not be as 

 substantial as from the late cut. 



In the mulching trial, reported in the same bulletin, 

 no good results are shown to come from mulching. 

 In fact, there is a decrease in yield shown in almost 

 every instance where mulch was applied. The state- 

 ment is made that the trial was conducted on a very 

 poor piece of ground, and that it will be transferred 

 to a more favorable area of the farm. 



Utah Experiment Station bulletin No. 32, also just 

 received, is entitled "Roots and Plants of Farm 

 Crops." The weights of roots of oats, clover, corn, 

 potatoes, timothy, barley, wheat, at each inch of depth 

 down to twelve inches deep are given, and then the 

 total weights for the twelve inches. A very accurate 

 method was pursued in gathering the roots. The soil 

 was a sandy loam, upper bench, and several feet deep 

 at the point tried to the cemented limey sub-soil 

 filtered into gravel. 



The same bulletin contains a table showing the 

 number of plants and stalks of farm crops per acre 

 and per square foot taken from four plats and aver- 

 aged, the crops being oats, barley, spring wheat, fall 

 wheat, rye and clover. The bulletin is interesting 

 and valuable for reference. 



INFORMATION WANTED. 



A READER of THE AGE desires other readers 

 who have the knowledge to tell him all about 

 the " midge " or " louse " which is doing, or seems to 

 seems to be doing, so much damage to alfalfa in por- 

 tions of the Arkansas Valley this year. It is a minute 

 winged insect; is about a sixteenth of an inch in length 

 but is narrow as the finest mark made by a fine- 

 pointed pen, hence can only be seen by close search- 

 ing. It is supposed to suck the juices from the blos- 

 soms of the alfalfa, causing them to wither and drop 

 off, thus curtailing the seed crop. What is the in- 

 sect? What is its life history? What actual damage 

 does it do, and what measures can be successfully 

 adopted to destroy it '? 



It is also desired to know the name and nature of a 

 slender, bright yellow vine which has appeared in 

 some western alfalfa fields, which spins its filaments 

 from plant to plant like a huge, golden-colored spid- 

 er's web. Is it a dangerous pest ? What can be done 

 to check its spread and destroy it? It is suggested 

 that some of our German readers who grew alfalfa (or 

 "luzern ") in the old country tell our inquirer about 

 this parasite, what damage, if any, it did in alfalfa 

 fields there, and what steps were taken by people 

 and government to get rid of it. 



