34 
BULLETIN 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
to the presence 01 the alfalfa, for a field of cotton following alfalfa 
is rarely found. There is no question that alfalfa would increase the 
yield of cotton for seyeral years after an alfalfa sod is plowed up. 
At present alfalfa on these Ellis County farms is largely confined 
to small areas on exceptionally good land. Whether it would be 
generally profitable to the farmers of this region is not known, 
but the presumption is in its fayor. It is certainly a crop that 
would be highly useful as a source of feed for the farm animals, and 
that would greatly increase the fertility of the soil. It should be 
tried more generally, but yet conseryatiyely. It would hardly be 
wise to sow a large acreage of it until the farmer has learned with 
certainty how to grow it, and how it will fit into his system of 
farming. A small acreage of alfalfa is desirable on almost any farm 
where it will grow readily. To handle a large acreage of alfalfa suc- 
cessfully requires considerable experience, and is not desirable unless 
there is either a good market for the hay or plenty of liye stock on 
the farm to consume it. 
In sowing any legume new to a locality it is usually adyisable to 
inoculate either the seed or the soil with the particular kind of bac- 
teria that crop requires. Inoculating material for this purpose, with 
directions for its use, may be obtained from the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. After the crop is once successfully grown, soil 
from where it grew can be used to inoculate the soil of other parts of 
the farm. Many farmers have failed with legumes because they neg- 
lected this matter of inoculation. Failure is certain unless the soil 
is already inoculated. 
It is essential to the continuation of -cotton farming in Ellis County, 
as well as in other parts of Texas, that the yield be maintained at a 
point as high as or higher than at present. Table XIV shows the rela- 
tion of yield of cotton to income. The 115 farms are grouped according 
to yield per acre of cotton with 31, 33, 25. and 26 farms in the respec- 
tive groups. The average yield per acre of these groups varies from 
184 pounds of lint in the first to 323 pounds in the last. 
Table XIV. — Relation of yield of cotton per acre to income per farm (115 
farms, Ellis County. Tex.). 
Viold of lint per acre. 
Number A ^ r f/ e 
°" arms - peYaSe. 
Crop 
acres per 
farm. 
Income 
above 
rent per 
farm. 
Per cent 
return on 
invest- 
ment. 
136 to 208 pounds . 
209 to 240 pounds . 
241 to 277 pounds. 
278 to 402 pounds. 
All farms 
Pound?. ! 
184 
225 
260 
323 
120 
133 
127 
$600 
846 
1,155 
1.366 
115 
a 245 
962 
4.9 
5.6 
6.5 
8.6 
6.3 
a Unweighted average. 
