196 



ALFALFA 



ALFALFA 



69,200, and twenty-five counties had more than 

 10,000 acres each. 



The aforetime theory that alfalfa would not 

 thrive without irrigation, or unless planted on 

 soils that were proved to be adapted to the growth 

 of corn or Cottonwood trees, has been found to be 

 entirely fallacious, and, instead, alfalfa is growing 

 With more or less prosperity on much of the wide 

 diversity of soils the western half of the continent 

 affords, however unpromising their appearance, 

 whether river " bottom " land or the high plateaus 

 60 to 100 feet above available water, gravel, desert 

 sand or richest mold. In fact, in many places sup- 

 posedly least encouraging, and even on rough lands 

 far removed from any accessible water-supply, it 

 grows with a persistence that almost tempts one 

 to class it as a weed. Owmg to its yields of sev- 

 eral profitable cuttings in a season, its unusual 

 protein content, extreme palatability to live-stock 

 of nearly every class, and its longevity, aside from 

 its nitrogen -gathering qualities, the extent and 

 penetration of its root-system and the soil-improv- 



many parts of the Central West, by seeding to 

 alfalfa, lands have been doubled and trebled in 

 value, and in numerous instances its being planted 



Fie. 281. stacking alfalfa in the West with the alfalfa-stacker, 



ing effect as fertilizer and renovator, it is rated as 

 by far the most desirable forage plant in cultiva- 

 tion. In California and elsewhere it has produced 

 in a season, under the most favorable conditions, 

 when irrigated, six to nine cuttings, and in Okla- 

 homa, without irrigation, has yielded nine cuttings, 

 averaging one and one-half tons per acre of cured 

 hay. The hay is a large factor in live-stock-rais- 

 ing, and it is coming to be shipped extensively in 

 bales to distant 



markets, even so • __-: — '— ^^ 



remote as Hawaii, 

 Alaska, and vari- 

 ous transoceanic 

 points. Mills are 

 established in vari- 

 ous parts of the 

 country for grind- 

 ing the hay into 

 meal, which is eco- 

 nomically trans- 

 ported and affords 

 convenient mate- 

 rial, used with most 

 wholesome results, 

 for balancing prop- 

 erly the rations of 

 milch cows, horses 

 and poultry. In 



Fig. 280. stacking alfalfa in the West by the derrick stacker. 



on them has converted lands before regarded as 

 practically worthless into highly profitable invest- 

 ments. 



The method of seeding found most satisfactory 

 is with horse-drills, which deposit the seed at a 

 depth of an inch or less, in 

 rows six to eight inches 

 apart, fifteen to twenty 

 pounds per acre, on land in 

 fine tilth, harrowed smooth, 

 and somewhat compacted 

 rather than light and po- 

 rous. By some growers, half 

 of the seed is drilled in one 

 direction and the other half 

 crosswise of this, to facili- 

 tate its more equable distri- 

 bution. Other growers sow 

 the seed broadcast from 

 or a machine. Sowing in August 



either the hand 



is more popular than spring seeding, and without 

 a nurse crop. A disk-harrow, which stirs the soil 

 surface, destroys weeds, and splits and spreads 

 the root crowns, causing an increased number and 

 finer growth of stems, is the approved cultivator, 

 and on many fields it is used immediately after 

 each mowing, always adding vigor to the suc- 

 ceeding growth. 





AlfaUa in Nebraslsa. 



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