THE IRRIGATION AGE 409 



alfalfa a "mortgage lifter" out here, and it has assisted in the pay- 

 ment of a large portion of the farm debts of the state. 



Alfalfa is the Spanish clover. In every town of spain and South 

 America long strings of donkeys come in every morning with every- 

 thing but their heads and their pipestem legs concealed by their 

 burdens of alfalfa. The peons sell it on the curbstone to feed the 

 cows, the pigs and the goats of the poor and the saddle horse of the 

 proud hidalgos. Out here in Nebraska they convert ti into beef, 

 mutton and pork, and it is by far the most certain as well as the most 

 profitable plant that grows in this region. 



Alfalfa is comparatively a new thing in North America, although 

 it is as old as history in Europe. The legions of Caesar and Alex- 

 ander the Great fed their horses upon it. It was introduced into 

 South America by the Spaniards and flourished there for three 

 centuries before it was brought to California, where its usefulness 

 was soon demonstrated, and gradually worked its way eastward over 

 the mountains into the dry portions of the prairie states, where it 

 has now become the most important staple. 



Alfalfa will not grow without water any more than corn or 

 wheat, but it can get along with less and its roots will penetrate the 

 ground to a depth of thirty feet or more in search of moisture. It is 

 said that alfalfa roots have been found as far as sixty feet from the 

 surface, reaching the very artesian basin. It thrives best in porous 

 soils, which offer the least resistance to its roots. On good land it 

 produces four crops during the season, from one to one and a half 

 tons an acre, and a fifth crop that is used for hog pasturage late in 

 the fall. Cured alfalfa sells at from 3 to $7 a ton according to 

 supply and location. The price here to day is 7, which is due to an 

 active demand from cattle feeders. Thus not less than $20 in cash 

 an acre ought to be derived from alfalfa under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances. 



One crop of seed, about four bushels to the acre, is usually 

 saved and sells for about 4 a bushel. There is a ready market and 

 an increasing demand. The hay from which the seed has been 

 threshed is fed to horses, but is not good for fattening cattle. 



A by-product of the alfalfa fields is honey. Nearly all the 

 farmers' wives keep hives of bees, which feed upon its purple 

 blossoms. 



Somehow or another it is impossible to obtain official crop 

 statistics in Nebraska. The labor commissioner makes an annual 

 report which contains estimates of surplus farm products and the 

 output of the manufactories, but they are not complete and are of 

 comparatively little value because they are not published until a year 

 or more after they are collected. It would be easy to obtain reliable 

 returns through the county clerks and other officials, as is done in 

 other states, but Nebraska has never tried it. Kansas has an admir- 

 able system of statistics of all kinds of industry, better than you can 

 find in almost any other state, and what is equally important, 

 promptly published. 



