1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
535 
EXPERIENCE WITH ALFALFA. 
IN CENT RAL NEW YORK.—The articles on Al¬ 
falfa for Eastern farmers are worth many thousands 
of dollars to farmers in the Empire State, if they will 
study them well and practice their teachings all the 
way through, and especially in preparing a seed bed. 
One-half of the farms of 100 acres or more in this 
great State have 10 or 20 acres or more suitable for 
raising Alfalfa when well fitted and will grow from 
three to five tons per acre of the best feed in this 
country for horses, cattle, sheep, swine and hens. When 
cut green and well cured it should bring three-quarters 
as much in market as a ton of bran worth $20, say $15. 
Our best lands should produce four tons, say $60, from 
many acres that now bring us about $20. This is not 
cheap talk, but a matter of fact. I have been raising 
Alfalfa on a small scale in the extreme south end of 
Onondaga County away from the limestone region, 
where they can do still better than we. I have raised 
good crops on creek bottom land, soil black muck, and 
have now four acres on a gravelly loam with a 
gravel subsoil that has a fine, thick stand, from which 
I expect to cut about June 10 \/ ton per acre of cured 
hay; that is, six tons from the four acres, about what 
we cut from good land of common grass in one sea¬ 
son. I think there is a good prospect of cutting two 
crops more this season of V/ 2 ton the second cut¬ 
ting and one ton the third, making four tons to the 
acre. Could I have had Alfalfa 40 years ago, and 
known its worth as I do now, it would have made me 
many thousands of dollars. Having several years ago 
sold the black muck land, I raised no Alfalfa for about 
four years; but now am raising it again, profiting from 
past experience, and find it does equally well on grav¬ 
elly soil when it has been in clover and manured and 
tilled for a term of years without commercial fertilizers. 
I think there is much land in Cortland County 
just south of us suitable for growing Alfalfa. 
Our soil here has, the most of it, a natural 
drainage, and many farmers can select a few 
acres that with proper tillage will produce for 
them yearly double the money they now get 
from it. Weeds will crowd out Alfalfa. A 
few years since I sowed a small patch of rich 
garden soil to Alfalfa for hens. It did well 
for two years; the third year was not a half 
crop. The dozen different kinds of weeds 
choked it out. I plowed it up. We can well 
afford to manure a spot heavily and Summer 
fallow it, plowing it four times, cultivate and 
drag it a dozen times till Fall, plow it again 
the next Spring, cultivate and drag well till 
the last of May or the first of June in New 
York State, get the soil down in as fine tilth 
as possible, sow 25 or 30 pounds of good Al¬ 
falfa seed to the acre, cover lightly with light 
drag, then roll it, or go over with a smooth¬ 
ing plank. If you sow oats or barley with it, 
sow but one-half bushel to acre. It is gener¬ 
ally better sown alone, and being so late in 
the season there is no danger from frost. I 
am fitting two acres for Alfalfa next year. 
Last year I turned over sod, hoed and tilled it for cab¬ 
bage. This year it is planted to potatoes; no weeds 
will go to seed. Next Spring I shall plow, cultivate 
and drag till the last of May, then sow 30 pounds Al¬ 
falfa seed alone; that means two years of tilling and 
hoeing to kill out the weeds. r. c. Trowbridge. 
IN MARYLAND.—I have been very much interested 
in your articles on Alfalfa, although I began last May, 
1905, with three-quarters of an acre. I have a grand 
catch, and cut May 17. We had a severe drought 
through May, which cut the crop some, but I got two 
loads of hay, two horse. Just after cutting it began 
raining, and it has come on wonderfully, 8 to 10 inches 
high. At this time of cutting you could only see a 
few blooms about in it. My horses do not seem to 
relish this bay as much as other kinds. 1 would like 
to hear more about the proper time for cutting to 
make the best nutritious hay. Perhaps the stock has to 
cultivate a taste for this new feed, as they do for pea 
hay. I live about five miles south of Denton, Mary¬ 
land. The soil where I have Alfalfa is high clay land 
that will grow about 50 bushels corn per acre. Never 
had any Alfalfa on land before and no nitro culture, 
and am growing it successfully, if I can learn best time 
for cutting. s. G. N. 
Hobbs, Maryland. 
R. N.-Y.—The stock will learn to prefer the hay in 
time. You will not appreciate the full value of Alfalfa 
until two or three seasons have gone and you can 
realize how the increased value of the manure has 
helped all crops. We try to cut when the first blue 
blossoms appear. 
IN EASTERN IOWA.—After reading the very ex. 
eellent articles on Alfalfa growing, I have been urging 
friends here to try an acre or two after taking off the 
oats, but the $5 per bushel for seed seems a great ex¬ 
travagance to some. In my talks I have learned of one 
farmer who is steadily trying to get Alfalfa established 
on his clay hills. 1 his year he has sown a very small 
quantity of speltz with the Alfalfa, intend'ng to let it 
all stand. I learned of a feature of his sowing last 
year, which, by the way, was almost a failure, that I am 
tempted to believe will solve the question here. In sow¬ 
ing his trial patch, quite a good sized one, some seeds 
were scattered over his meadow adjoining; also in his 
cornfield. That in the meadow ‘‘took’’ at once and shot 
up; after the first cutting of clover and Timothy was 
away above the second crop of clover, which was mown 
as usual, and the Alfalfa was ready for the third cut¬ 
ting. Now, this Summer, I am told, the Alfalfa is a 
foot higher than the clover and Timothy and was in 
bloom June 10. I am going to see that field, and my 
theory is that one can cultivate the meadow ground 
with a disk harrow after the hay crop has been taken 
off, sow the Alfalfa seed and get a stand this Fall, as 
along the lines of Mr. Cottrell’s articles. What do you 
think of it? Will not ground well seeded to Red clover, 
and that produces good crops of Red clover, be in con¬ 
dition to furnish the nitrogen and bacteria necessary 
for Alfalfa? May not there be some relation between 
the two families? “But the expense?” Well. 1 remem¬ 
ber that I got a few pounds of “Turkestan Alfalfa” a 
few years ago for the dry hills of central Washington, 
and that seed cost me $1 per pound. I sowed it, and 
while not a success I learned why, and this is much- I 
had sown it too thick for that dry section. Around 
the edges of the tract that Alfalfa throve as a green bay 
tree. M. P. WILSON. 
Iowa. 
IN SOUTHEAST CONNECTICUT.—I enclose a 
sample of Alfalfa which was grown upon “worn-out” 
soil. The ground is full of large nodules. Also enclose 
a sample of clover. A few years ago the spot where 
this grew was a dense alder swamp. A shallow stone 
drain laid by the former owner helped conditions some¬ 
what; we tore out the stone drain and laid tile three 
feet deep, seeded to clover, and you see the result, 
clover nearly waist high, while the Timothy comes to 
a person’s hips. I want to thank you for the inspira¬ 
tion which you have given me. I would not be with¬ 
out The R. N.-Y. for anything. We also laid 3,500 
to 3,800 feet of tile in orchards with fine results. 
A. T. HENRY. 
R. N.-Y.—The Alfalfa measured 36 inches in length— 
the clover 37. Let a person think for a moment what 
this crop means on such a farm. The land is cheap 
to begin with. With a fair acreage in Alfalfa to feed 
to cattle, swine or sheep with proper grain, the farm 
fertility question is settled. That settled, with fruit or 
vegetables for the New England market we get about 
as near as we can to profitable agriculture. Compare 
such a chance with Alfalfa growing in the West with 
markets 1,000 miles or more away! It means $30 New 
England land paying larger profit than $100 land in the 
West. We have stated several times that a farmer will 
not be able to realize what Alfalfa really means until 
he goes through his rotation with it! People ask us 
what we mean by that—for we do not rotate Alfalfa 
as we do clover. It is supposed to be a permanent crop. 
So it is, but its influence extends all over the farm. 
It means more and richer manure, and this in time 
makes its mark on every field. We have been on farms 
where a field of Alfalfa has been cutting heavy crops 
for 10 years. It has caused new barns to be built, and 
euery other crop on that farm—corn, potatoes, grass 
and cabbage—has gained since the Alfalfa has been fed. 
FROM MISSOURI.—A vast deal of utter rot and 
nonsense is being published nowadays about Alfalfa. 
It is as easy to get a stand of it as of any crop grown. 
No one has yet complained on that score. Given good 
fertile soil and it will thrive. It has two enemies, how¬ 
ever, that it must be guarded against— weeds and the 
mowing machine. If sown after Soy bears or cow 
peas in the Autumn the danger from weeds is min¬ 
imized. If sown in the Spring, a light seeding, say three 
pecks of beardless barley may be used if thought neces¬ 
sary, but don't try to save your nurse crop at the ex¬ 
pense of the Alfalfa. Weeds or no weeds, don’t clip 
with the mower. If you do you will injure your Al¬ 
falfa and not hurt the weeds. Let it take its chances. 
Don’t clip and don’t cut until you see the first bloom. 
When it appears you will find the plants beginning a 
new growth, and that buds and shoots are starting from 
their crowns. Then cut and cut quickly. 
1 hese men who have been wailing about inoculation 
will be ashamed of themselves within a year or two. 
There is nothing in it—at least, nothing practical. It 
is absolutely unnecessary in any event, because Alfalfa 
will grow anywhere that Red clover will; and, if kept 
ahead of the weeds, and not cut before maturity, there 
is absolutely nothing in the way of success. In the 
language of the street, Alfalfa is “dead easy,” and, as 
Joe Wing says of inoculation, “Just forget it.” If you 
must have inoculation, inoculate your fields with well 
rotted manure, assuring yourself that it is free from 
weeds and other grass seed. The above is the result of 
10 years’ experience. falicon. 
Clarksville, Mo. 
A FARMER’S SON ON FARM LABOR. 
I notice, on page 451, an article about farm help and 
the trouble. 'I here always will be a scarcity of help, 
both in the kitchen and out of doors, so long as the 
factories and workshops work six days a week and rest 
on Sunday. Again shops, stores, factories, work regular 
hours, and leave off in turn all the help they can spare 
on holidays, employees thus having a portion of the 
day and a portion of the month to themselves. When 
a farmer’s girl becomes of suitable age, she 
seeks employment in the city. Why? Because 
the work very many times is lighter and the 
pay is greater. Country people pay $1 to $2 
per week for a girl and board her, while the 
same girl can get her board and $2 to $5 per 
week working for a family in the city, and does 
not have to milk or feed calves either. Farm¬ 
ing people then wonder why children are not 
more grateful to their parents and stay home 
on the farm for less wages and work from 
sunrise to midnight so Father and Mother can 
keep a large flock of cows, calves, pigs and 
chickens, the proceeds of which goes into the 
farmer’s pocket for a larger stock and thus 
more work the year following. 
If the hours and privileges of a farm hand 
were as well regulated as a city workshop 
what a different view would be given to the 
hired help problem. I knew a girl who 
worked for a private family in the city for $3 
per week and had no washing, no ironing, and 
no housecleaning to do. A farmer’s wife took 
a liking to this girl for her appearance and 
neatness of work, offered her $3.50 if she 
would come out on her suburban farm. Look 
at her the next day, milking cows, feeding calves and 
pigs, working from 3 A. M. until 11 P. M., no rest, no 
evenings. She stayed just two days. The farmer won¬ 
ders why she left. It is not that feeding calves, pigs, 
chickens or milking is such terrible work, but why do 
they try to crowd the life out of their hired help by 
doing all of their chores before daylight and after 
dark, day in and day out. Sundays, holidays and 
weekdays? And if a hired man wants to go to the post 
office on Saturday evening after 6 P. M. he must come 
and beg on bended knees for a leave of absence for 
one-half hour. 
Farmers may think I am a crank. Well, maybe I am 
Nevertheless, I am a farmer’s son and enjoy a farmer’s 
life and prefer it greatly to that of a city life, for 
I have had both. Here is a farmer who has 50 cows 
that have to be taken care of, a limited amount of help, 
say the Fourth of July comes to-morrow and all want 
to get off. “Well, boys!” says Farmer Brown, “go when 
chores are done.” They are ready to go at 8 A. M., 
an early start, but they must be on hand at 4 P. M. 
to commence milking again and work till 11 P. M. 
before everything is ready for the next day. City peo¬ 
ple's work is done at 6 P. M. and they have their 
•evenings to themselves. The old adage is “A farmer 
works from sun to sun, but woman’s work is never 
done.” A city’s life is from seven to six, evenings and 
holidays for rest and fun. It has been said a farmer’s 
children are better off at home. This may be so, and 
very often so, yet the children see easy work and 
short hours in the city, so they go where life looks the 
most tempting. Farmers say they cannot afford to pay 
larger wages or give shorter hours. Why? Because 
milk sells for 47 cents for a 40-quart can, and hay 
$8.00 to $10 per ton. Why don’t they form a farmer’s 
union and all stick to it and regulate the prices of 
their produce instead of letting the middleman have 
such enormous profit, when it belongs to the farmers? 
Here is the whole trouble. Farm produce too low, 
farmers cannot afford to give big wages and short 
hour?; middle man gets the profit, a farmer’s son. 
