60 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



years, in some sections of Kansas, the 

 conditions for fall sowing may be secured 

 but grasshoppers will destroy the young 

 plants. 



From the east line of Kansas westward 

 for 120 miles, spring seeding of alfalfa 

 fails more often than it succeeds. Last 

 year, in Wabaunsee county, a farmer se- 

 cured a heavy stand of alfalfa from fall 

 seeding on a field where he had tried 

 spring seeding for four years in succession 

 and failed. Alfalfa seeded in September, 

 1900, yielded its first crop of hay in May, 

 1901. 



West of a line 120 miles west of the 

 eastern line of the state, fall seeding of 

 alfalfa is not so certain. If conditions are 

 right it will pay; otherwise sprkg seeding 

 is best. Judging from our correspondence 

 and investigation, fall seeding is usually 

 best in states east of Kansas. 



ADVANCING OP PALL SEEDING. 



Alfalfa may be seeded in the fall after 

 another crop has been taken off. The 

 next year it will yield full crops of hay. 

 and no time is lost. Alfalfa seeded in the 

 spring usually yields no hay until the fol- 

 lowing year, and requires mowing several 

 times during the first summer to keep the 

 weeds down. Alfalfa sown in the fall 

 under proper conditions requires no atten- 

 tion whatever until the following spring, 

 when a crop of hay is ready to be har- 

 vested. 



It must be remembered, though, that 

 conditions must be right or fall seeding 

 will fail, as a vigorous growth must be 

 secured in order to carry the alfalfa 

 through the winter. 



Alfalfa, when sold, will probably return 

 a greater cash income year by year than 

 any other feed crop . raised in Kansas. 

 When fed on the farm where raised it 

 ranks among the most profitable crops. 



At this Station, pigs are pastured 

 through the summer on alfalfa with a 

 light feeding of corn. After deducting 

 the probable gain from the corn, the gain 



per acre from the alfalfa pasture was 776 

 pounds of pork. One lot of fattening hogs 

 were fed all the grain they would eat; an- 

 other lot all the grain and dry alfalfa hay 

 they would eat. The lot having the hay 

 made a gain of 868 pounds of pork per ton 

 of alfalfa hay. Alfalfa should form part 

 of the daily ration of every growing pig and 

 of all stock hogs. 



With scrub cows fed alfalfa hay and 

 Kafir-corn grain, at ordinary prices for 

 feed, butter-fat was produced at a cost for 

 feed of seven cents per pound. On the 

 College farm young cattle are wintered on 

 alfalfa hay and corn, Kafir-corn or sorg- 

 hum fodder, and make through the winter 

 a good growth without grain. 



A stockman in Rice county. Kansas, 

 made a gain of five pounds per day per 

 head on steers for forty-seven days with 

 alfalfa hay and corn. In ordinary feeding, 

 1000 pounds of grain are required to put 

 100 pounds of gain on a fattening steer. 

 With alfalfa hay and corn-meal, at this 

 Station, fattening steers made 100 pounds 

 gain for each 718 pounds of grain. 



Alfalfa makes a good pasturage for 

 horses. Horsemen report a gain of six 

 pounds a day per head on horses pastured 

 on alfalfa and given a light ration of corn 

 or Kafir-corn. 



Alfalfa hay is one of the best feed for 

 sheep that is grown, and both green and 

 dry alfalfa are valuable feeds for poultry. 



On account of the effect on the skin and 

 hair, alfalfa is one of the best feeds for 

 cattle being fitted for the show ring. 



At the Wyoming Experiment Station, 

 part of a field was seeded to alfalfa and 

 part planted to a variety of field crops. At 

 the end of five years, the alfalfa was plowed 

 up and planted to the same crops as the 

 other part of the field. Wheat, on the 

 part kept for five years in alfalfa, yielded 

 thirty bushels per acre; on the other part, 

 eighteen bushels. Oats on the alfalfa land 

 yielded seventy-eight bushels per acre; on 

 the other land, thirty-seven bushels. Alf- 



