278 



THE IEEIGATION AGE. 



ALFALFA SHOULD BE GROWN ON 

 EVERY FARM. 



These Charts Set Forth the Reasons Why Every Farmer 

 Should Grow Alfalfa. 



By J. E. BUCK. I. H. C., Agricultural Extension Department 



It is a profitable crop because of its abundant 

 yields, three harvests being nothing unusual in the 

 Corn Belt states. The average yield of alfalfa is 

 about double the average yield of clover. 



Alfalfa increases farm values because it en- 

 riches the soil instead of depleting it as grain crops 

 do. Corn, or wheat, or any other grain crop grown 

 on alfalfa sod yields much more abundantly than 

 the same crops grown on the same field before 

 alfalfa was grown there. 



Alfalfa is the premier crop because it excels 

 every other crop in yield per acre in feeding value 

 as a drouth resister and as a soil enricher. Al- 

 falfa is no harder to grow than clover, and therefore 

 because of its many excellent qualities should be 

 grown on every farm. No farmer can do better 

 than to follow the admonition of this chart, and 



and the average acre value of the crop was $31. 

 During the same year, the combined acreage of 

 timothy and clover averaged 1.6 tons per acre, val- 

 ued at $14. It costs no more to grow an acre of 

 alfalfa than it does to grow an acre of timothy or 

 clover. Therefore, assuming that the cost of grow- 

 ing an acre of clover or timothy to be $10, the 

 farmer would clear $4 per acre in growing these 

 crops, whereas the same farmer if he grew alfalfa 

 would reap a profit of $21 per acre. This is a very 

 strong chart, and should be carefully studied by 

 every one who is interested in making the farm 

 more profitable. 



Alfalfa Out- Yields Other Hay Crops. 



By means of a series of experiments carried on 

 over a number of years, the average yield of alfalfa 

 per acre has been found to be 5.4 tons, whereas red 

 clover yielded only 2.5 tons ; timothy 2.3 tons ; 

 brome grass 1.3 tons. Not only does alfalfa yield 

 more than twice the tonnage of red clover, but it 

 also makes a much more valuable feed. 



In view of the foregoing, why should the farm- 

 ers of the United States keep on growing 50,000,000 

 acres of timothy and clover, and only 5,000,000 



ALFALFA HIGHEST IN 

 DIGESTIBLE PROTEIN PER ACRE 



ALFALFA SHOULD BE GROWN 



ON 

 t EVERV FARM, 



1. IT IS A PROFITABLE CROP 

 & INCREASES FARM VALUES 

 a EXCELS EVERY OTHER CROP 



IN TIELD PER ACRE 



IN FEEDING VALUE 



AS A DROUTH RESISTER 



AS A SOIL ENRICHER 

 4. HO HARDER TO GROW THAN CLOVER 



& JWAKE A BEGINNING START NOW 



GROW SOME ALFALFA 

 6JHOTTO 



ALFALFA ON EVERY FARM 



GROW YOUR PROTEIN 



DONT BUY IT 

 ALFALFA EQUAL TO BRAN 

 BRAN COSTS $21 PER TO* 



ALFALFA 5.15 



RENT FOR FIVE YEARS I8S.OO 



SEED 8.00 



PREPARATION AND SEEDING C.OO 

 MANURE UME INOCULATION ETC 4.0O 

 Cl/TTtNO 1* TIMES 86.00 



MM 



TOTAL YIELD FIVE YEARS 14 TONS 

 COST PER TON 



make a beginning to grow some alfalfa. START 

 NOW. 



Alfalfa in the United States. 



Only about 5,000,000 acres of alfalfa are grown 

 in the United States today, as compared with about 

 50,000,000 acres of timothy and clover 46,000,000 

 acres of wheat, and more than 100,000,000 acres of 

 corn. Of the 5,000,000 acres under alfalfa, only 

 218,000 acres of this crop is grown east of the Mis- 

 sissippi River. 



As you will note by referring to the chart, 

 nearly 1,000,000 acres of alfalfa, or one-fifth of the 

 entire area, is grown in the state of Kansas alone. 

 In the rank of states growing alfalfa, Nebraska is 

 second ; Colorado, third ; California, fourth. The 

 great Corn Belt states such as Iowa, Illinois and 

 Wisconsin, rank very low in the production of 

 alfalfa and it is in the Corn Belt states, therefore, 

 that the need for growing alfalfa is found to be 

 the most urgent. 



Alfalfa the Most Valuable Forage Crop. 



According to the 1910 census of the hay crop, 

 the state of Wisconsin grew 18,000 acres of alfalfa 

 which averaged 2.8 tons per acre for the entire state. 



acres of alfalfa? Would it not be much more profit- 

 able to simply reverse the figures, and grow 50,000,- 

 000 acres of alfalfa and only 5,000,000 acres of 

 clover and timothy? Think it over. 

 Save the Alfalfa Leaves. 



Of the entire alfalfa plant, the stalk comprises 

 60 per cent, and the leaf 40 per cent, whereas, the 

 quantity of the protein in the stalk is only 40 per 

 cent, whi-le the protein in the leaf is 60 per cent. 

 Moreover, only 20 per cent of the fat is to be found 

 in the stalk, while 80 per cent is in the leaf. It is, 

 therefore, very important that the alfalfa be har- 

 vested at the proper time, and carefully handled so 

 that all the leaves will be saved. 



Alfalfa Is Rich in Digestible Protein. 



Of all crops alfalfa stands at the head of the 

 list, alphabetically and otherwise. In the matter 

 of digestible protein, alfalfa leads with 12.3 per 

 cent, surpassing even wheat bran by 1.1 per cent. 

 This chart presents some startling disclosures as 

 to the great value of alfalfa, but it may not be very 

 easy for every one to understand the full meaning 

 expressed in percentages. Therefore, another chart 



