12 



HENDERSON'S AMERICAN FARMER'S MANUAL. 



Glovers loije Sol. 



ALFALFA OR LUCERNE. 



(Medicago saliva. 



This has been a favorite forage plant in some parts of the 

 Old World for hundreds of years, where soils and climates are 

 adapted to it, and is considered indispensable. 



It is remarkable that Alfalfa has not come into more general 

 cultivation in our Southern States, and other sections suitable 

 to it, for it is of inestimable value, particularly in localities 

 subject to protracted droughts. The late senior member of 

 our firm, Mr. Peter Henderson, after a visit through the 

 South, stated: " I was much impressed with the utter dearth 

 of forage plants in some localities, and the consequent starved 

 looking cattle, and to my inquiries as to the cause, the reply 

 was always, ' No good grass or clover can be found to stand the 

 heat and drought of our long summers.' Fortunately, in allud- 

 ing to the subject to a gentleman in St. Augustine, Fla., I was 

 shown a practical solution of the difficulty by being taken to a 

 patch of Alfalfa only j*g of an acre in extent — which had fed 

 a cow during the summer months, which produced as fine milk 

 and butter as could be got North. The land on which this 

 was grown was identical with thousands of acres in the im- 

 mediate vicinity which was given over to Scrubby Pine and Blue 

 Palmetto." 



The great value of Alfalfa is in its enormous yield of 

 sweet and nutritious forage, which is highly relished by stock 

 either when green or cured into hay. It will grow and yield 

 abundantly in hot, dry sections, and on poor, light and sandy 

 land, where no other grasses can be grown, for it sends its roots 

 down to enormous depths, they having been found in sandy soil 

 13 feet long; consequently it consumes food, moisture and the 

 leach of fertilizers, which have been for years beyond the reach of 

 ordinary plants. 



Alfalfa greatly enriches the soil, even more than ordinary 

 Clovers, as it derives a very large portion of nutritive material 

 from the atmosphere. It aerates the land to a great depth, and a 

 large portion of its great fleshy roots, equalling small carrots in 

 size, annually decay from the outside and keep growing larger from 

 the centre, and are constantly increasing the fertility of the ground. 



Alfalfa is not considered perfectly hardy in our more Northern 

 States, yet experiments made by some of our Northern Agricul- 

 tural Experimental Stations prove it of more value North than 

 previously supposed. 



The Great Yield. — Because Alfalfa flourishes on poor and 

 worn-out lands, it should not be thought unadapted to good soils. 

 In the latter, its yield almost exceeds belief. At the New Jersey 



SAINFOIN OR E6PARSETTE. 



SAINFOIN. 



(Onobrychis sativa. Esparsette, French 

 Grass, Holy Hay.) 



Eoot perennial. Time of flowering, June and July. 

 Height, 2 to 3 feet. 



An excellent fodder plant, particularly 

 for southern and western sections, for 

 light, dry, sandy, gravelly, limestone or 

 chalky soils. It flourishes during long 

 droughts, owing to its long descending tap 

 roots, which have been found 16 feet long. 

 It succeeds where many other grasses 

 will not. In some parts of France and 

 England it has been grown for years, and 

 is without doubt a most important forage 

 plant for calcareous districts in any coun- 

 try. It is very nutritious, and when fed to 

 milch cows it improves the quality of the 

 milk and may be given without produc- 

 ing " hoove." The quality of fodder more 

 than compensates for the slight deficiency 

 in quantity. The seeds are more nutri- 

 tious than oats, and are eagerly eaten by 

 fowls, causing them to lay. It may be 

 sown either broadcast or drilled, but the 

 former is preferred. The seeds are large, 

 and require to be covered deeper than 

 those of clover or almost any other agri- 

 cultural seed. If sown broadcast, it will 

 require five to six bushels per acre ; if 

 drilled, four to five bushels. In dry 



ALFALFA OR LUCERNE. 



State Farm seed of it was sown April '28th, in drills and the plants 

 cultivated, and it had grown 40 inches tall, and when cut on July 

 7th, 70 days from sowing, yielded (green) 7 A tons per acre ; the 

 second cutting, made on August 18th, yielded (green) 8^ tons per 

 acre; the third cutting was made September 27th, and yielded 

 (green - ) 4j% tons per acre ; a total of 20 tons of green fodder per 

 acre the first year sown, which would equal at least 5 tons of cured 

 hay. If sown on light, diy soils during a dry spell, or if sown 

 broadcast, not much, if any, crop can be expected the first year, as 

 the roots have to get a vigorous hold of the soil ; the second year 

 it can (if sown under such conditions) be cut two or three times, 

 but it is not until the third year that it develops into full vigor, 

 and after that it yields magnificent crops for 10 or 15 years. 



Alfalfa will not flourish on land where water stand* a short 

 distance below the surface, nor in heavy, sticky clays. It attains 

 its highest perfection on mellow, well-drained or rolling land 

 where water readily passes away. 



Sow (in drills) 12 lbs. per acre. Price per lb., 20c; S10.50 per 

 bushel ; $16.00 per 100 lbs. 



sections, it should be sown with half crop of barley or other grain 

 to shade it from the hot sun for the first summer. It will crop 

 from seven to ten years, according to the nature of the soil. Its 

 duration, however, may be greatly increased by judicious top- 

 dressing. Price, 15 cts. per lb. ; S2.00 per bushel of 20 lbs. ; S8.00 

 per 100 lbs. 



JAPAN CLOVER. 



(Lespedeza striata.) 



A low spreading perennial, allied to 

 the clovers, much like white clover 

 in habit, and lasting for years. It 

 flourishes on the poorest soils, and 

 Is also excellent for preventing it 

 from washing by heavy rains ; it 

 withstands extreme drought, furnish- 

 ing good grazing, even in dry, hot 

 weather. For a sheep pasture it is ex- 

 cellent and very nutritious. Valuable 

 in the South for sowing on poor, worn-* 

 out fields where other grass will not 

 thrive, growing from 4 to 12 inches high 

 according to the fertility of the land. 

 It fertilizes the soil by the decay of its 

 stubble, as clover does, or by turning 

 under as green manure. Japan Clover 

 is not hardy north of Virginia. Sow 

 (if alone) 14 lbs. per acre ; weight, 20 

 lbs. per bushel. 



Price, $6.50 per bushel ; 35 cents per 

 lb.; $30.po per 100 lbs. 



