1912. 
TRANSPLANTING ALFALFA BY MACHINERY 
The following inquiry from a correspondent at 
Kingston, Ulster County, in southeastern New York, 
is a sample of many letters received recently from 
the Eastern States: 
Being greatly interested in farming, having charge of a 
200-acre farm, I am very anxious to get a good stand of 
Alfalfa. Some of my friends have tried the ordinary va¬ 
rieties without success, on account of the drought and 
severe Winters. Our country is a very rolling and hilly 
one. with a variety of soils, and recently rather neglected. 
The farm is located near Kingston, N. Y. 
Reports of failure have been received from other 
of the Atlantic coast States, so something seems to be 
the matter with successful Alfalfa raising over a 
wide area. After 100 years of imperfect success, or 
failure, with Alfalfa in the Northern Atlantic States 
it seems to be time to start work along new lines. 
Fig. 310 shows my new method of transplanting Al¬ 
falfa. The picture, Fig. 310, shows a demonstration 
at Ipswich, South Dakota, May 2, 1912. where plants 
were set at the rate of 100 per minute, or 6,000 per 
hour. Demonstrations of this machine planting were 
first made April 23, 1912, at Brookings, S. D., then 
afterwards at seven other places. Plants were set 
with plow, spade and hoe at a number of other points. 
Eleven different counties were visited in 
the course of a three-weeks tour, mainly 
in the northern and northwestern part 
of the State. 
I claim no originality for the method 
except that this is the first time where 
a machine has been used for transplant¬ 
ing Alfalfa. In other words, I have 
combined an old Oriental method with 
an American machine. I took one of 
the standard transplanting machines, the 
Bemis, used for tobacco, cabbage, to¬ 
matoes, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and 
many other plants, *using a nine-inch 
shoe slightly widened at the back to 
allow more space for the Alfalfa roots. 
This was done by a local blacksmith. 
As to who first transplanted Alfalfa 
would indeed be difficult to determine. 
It is reported for India, France, Eng¬ 
land and South America. Since Alfalfa 
is a very long-lived plant, under proper 
conditions, transplanting would come 
naturally in intensive agriculture. Per¬ 
sonally I have used the method since 
the Spring of 1907 with the new Alfalfas 
I brought from Russia and Siberia, as 
agricultural explorer sent by Hon. 
James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. 
From my horticultural training I knew 
it would be the best way to make the 
most out of a small quantity of seed. 
I have been pleased with the remark¬ 
able vigor displayed by these single 
plants when given plenty of room in a 
garden, and with the reports received 
from the circle of over 1200 farmers 
who are cooperating with me in testing 
these new Alfalfas. At present I give 
this simply as an item of agricultural 
news, and neither advise nor recommend 
the method to anyone until the value of 
the method has been determined by ac¬ 
tual demonstration. Some of my rea¬ 
sons are as follows: 
1. The present method of planting 20 
poifnds per acre means 100 seeds per square foot. In¬ 
stead of that every plant should have several square 
feet. In the present tests the rows are three feet 
eight inches apart, with the plants two feet apart in 
the row. This will permit cultivation one way like 
fodder corn. Alfalfa plants would be given full op¬ 
portunity for maximum development. From plants 
set in garden 2x4 feet we get over 500 shoots to the 
crown, and bearing as high as three ounces of seed 
per plant the third year, on plants transplanted the 
first year from seed. This means 1.029 pounds per 
acre. The variety was one secured in Russia, which I 
named the Cossack. From present prospects they will 
yield much more the present season. 
2. Transplanting will make it an easy matter to 
keep the field free from the parasitic vine known as 
“dodder,'’ a great menace to the Alfalfa industry. 
3. The present method of over-crowding plants 
dwarfs them so they cannot form the long tap root 
necessary to endure drought. 
4. Where raised on thoroughly inoculated soil every 
plant will be perfectly inoculated before setting. 
5. The present methods of disking and harrowing 
are extremely injurious. Such plants quickly become 
black-hearted, due to the entrance of soil fungi caus¬ 
ing rot and early death of the plants. I am fully 
aware that all this is contrary to the present teach¬ 
THI3 RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ings of experiment stations, farm papers and farmers’ 
institute lecturers, but why should we mutilate and 
maim plants that should last several centuries? Al¬ 
falfa fields in the Orient are shown 400 years old. but 
the Orientals do not mutilate the plants the way we 
do. The heart of an Alfalfa plant should be held as 
sacred as the heart of an oak tree. 
6. Alfalfa is a very poor fighter the first year, 
since the main strength goes to root formation. Hence 
weeds which make more top than root often choke 
out Alfalfa, or seriously hinder its growth. But a 
good sized Alfalfa plant, often as big as your middle 
finger when set out. can hold its own much better 
against the weeds. Some farmers report raising 7.000 
to 8,000 seeds per plant the first year. One North 
Dakota farmer reports raising one pound of seed in 
1911 from eight Alfalfa plants set Spring of 1910, 
which means 25,000 seeds per plant. 
7. The plants are raised the first year in garden 
drills much like carrots or beets, and dug with a tree 
digger and the roots shortened with a meat cleaver 
on a block of wood. One of the standard tobacco 
transplanters is used, slightly adapted by a local black 
smith, the nine-inch shoe being slightly widened at 
the back to allow more space for the Alfalfa roots. 
FILLING A SILO IN FEBRUARY. Fig. 309. 
775 
of February, 1911; then we drew them and shocked 
them up again near the silo, and then on February 14, 
1911. we filled the silo with them. There was plenty 
of snow on them we thought, but I think we ought to 
have wetted it a little more, for they were a little 
drier than the first filling. We raised in the season 
of 1911 corn and sunflower the same, but in the Fall 
we had a severe frost that hurt the corn. We filled 
the same silos in the Fall and had plenty to fill one 
the second time, which was in January, 1912, and we 
wetted that one more and found it was nearer like the 
one in the early Fall. There is no trouble in these 
shocks standing if they are properly put up. One 
wants a horse to draw them up tight. We only had 
two of the 100 fall down, and that was because they 
were not evenly divided when they were set up. 
M. H. WILCOX. 
PLOWING UNDER WHEAT. 
The effect of plowing under a crop of wheat is ex¬ 
cellent on the mechanical condition of the soil. Last 
Fall we plowed under, to a depth of about eight 
inches, a thin clover sod on gravelly loam soil. This 
land has had no manure for many years, and was 
considered quite deficient in humus. Wheat was sown 
late in September, though earlier would 
have been better. On account of the 
bare ground during early Winter the 
growth was somewhat limited and the 
stand thin, but in the Spring it came 
on and grew fairly well. About May 
20 this wheat was plowed about five 
inches deep, and thoroughly fitted with 
pulverizer and smoothing harrow. You 
ought to have seen this soil then. It 
was light, and so mellow that one could 
easily run his fingers to the bottom of 
the furrows. But while it was fine and 
light it was also sufficiently moist. The 
three inches of old, rotten sod left un¬ 
disturbed by the Spring plowing makes 
a good spongy reservoir that will both 
hold the rains which fall now and keep 
drawing moisture by a capillarity from 
below for the dry spell that usually 
comes sometime during the Summer. 
The mistake, however, should not be 
made of letting the wheat grow too 
large, nor of plowing the land too wet. 
On a little piece plowed a trifle wet, and 
on which harrowing was neglected a 
few days, there were a good many 
lumps, and the soil was dried down 
quite deeply. Had the roller not been 
applied after planting the potatoes, and 
then a good rain had come, I fear we 
should have had a poor stand. As it 
is, the bad effects of improper handling 
on this piece seems to be partly cor¬ 
rected, and we are looking for an ex¬ 
cellent crop of potatoes from all of it. 
R. L. G. 
R. N.-\.—We think rye would have 
given even better results. There would 
have been more to plow under and the 
soil would have contained more roots. 
,TRANSPLANTING ALFALFA BY MACHINERY. Fig. 310. 
The roots should not be bent, but go straight down. 
8. I have devised this method to hasten the spread 
of the hardy Russian and Siberian Alfalfas in the 
prairie Northwest, in the endeavor to work out a 
quick method of raising seed. But I believe it will 
work out from the forage standpoint also, especially 
on the high dry uplands, where each plant should have 
more room than given at present. No doubt the 
method is susceptible to great improvement, but a 
start must be made. Finally, I wish to express my 
belief that only extra hardy varieties will stand trans¬ 
planting. N. E. HANSEN. 
South Dakota. 
CORN AND SUNFLOWERS IN THE SILO. 
At Fig. .309 is a picture showing how M. II. Wilcox, of 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y.. filled his silo on February 14. 
Why talk about Winter silo filling in July? Because un¬ 
less work is done during July in providing fodder there 
would be nothing to put in the silo at any time. Last 
year we gave a picture of a field of corn and sunflowers 
—the crop standing 12 feet tall. Mr. Wilcox now says: 
We had corn and sunflowers enough left to make 
100 shocks of cornstalks, with 40 to 50 bundles of 
stalks such as the corn harvester would bind; they are 
not always the same size. These we set up in round 
shocks and put a rope around them and draw them as 
tight as we can, then bind or tie them up with binding 
twine. These remained in the field until the forepart 
Every reform—every attempt to help 
the world by fighting evils and abuses— 
needs a Moses. Some leaders must 
come forward—wise, brave and patient, ready to 
endure, practice self-denial, stand up against rid¬ 
icule, loss and danger. The truth of this state¬ 
ment will be admitted—there have been such 
leaders in all new political or social movements. 
Why, then, have so many of them come to a 
standstill and failed or become absorbed? Large¬ 
ly because the leaders failed to realize the most 
effective part of leadership. The “promised land” is 
that better and freer condition for which good men 
hope and pray. The original Moses toiled and fought, 
endured privation and gave of his life, but only ob¬ 
tained a glimpse of this promised land. He was 
denied entrance. It was largely because of this denial 
that he became one of the world’s great historical 
characters—far greater than if he had entered with 
the rest. 
The trouble with most new parties and new move¬ 
ments is that the leaders are not satisfied with a 
vision of their promised land. They want to enter in 
and receive a double share of the honey and the milk. 
Thus the new movement loses its Moses, for when 
the leaders quarrel and “hustle” for the spoils the 
spirit of the movement dies. No reform can endure in 
this country unless it can appeal to the imagination 
with true and enduring sentiment. That sentiment 
will die whenever the Moses who starts the journey 
comes down off the mountain to scramble for the 
spoils. 
