1913. 
WHEQ HURAb NEW-YORKER 
791 
AN ALFALFA STORY. 
How It Is Cured In Michigan. 
The picture shown at Fig. 279 was taken on the 
farm of Mr. O. F. Marvin, of Muskegon County, 
Mich. At this time of the year we are more par¬ 
ticularly interested in methods of curing and hand¬ 
ling hay of Alfalfa, and in sending us the picture 
Mr. Marvin gives the following statement concerning 
his method of handling the hay: 
“Alfalfa should not be cut for hay until the buds 
for next crop are about one inch in length, for if 
we do it will injure the next cutting. For hay we 
cut the Alfalfa late in the afternoon and rake up 
with side delivery rake next forenoon soon as dew 
is off, and if weather is favorable leave in windrows 
until properly cured and haul from windrows with 
double cylinder loader, which does not break up the 
hay much more than handling by hand. It should 
not be handled more than necessary as 
the leaves will drop off. If weather 
looks rainy we bunch up by placing 
what would make about 75 pounds 
cured hay in a bunch, making bunches 
rather small in diameter but high, 
pressing down thoroughly as we place 
each forkful on the bunch. If put up 
when just slightly wilted it will shed 
water as well as Timothy hay. We 
use hay caps for a portion of it when 
we leave it out any length of time. 
Soon as weather is fair we spread out 
the bunches, haul in soon as cured, for 
if bunches lie on the ground long it 
will injure the next cutting. We find 
Alfalfa hay very fine feed for the dairy 
cow and young growing animals, also 
for horses and sheep if fed in njoderate 
quantities. We do not favor pasturing it with 
horses, cattle or sheep, it is liable to injure the 
Alfalfa and will cause bloat or lioven in cattle and 
sheep.” 
We have heard of various methods of learning 
whether certain soils are suitable to Alfalfa or not. 
Mr. Marvin has a method which is new to us, and is 
described in his own words below. This plan of 
scattering a small quantity of the Alfalfa seed to 
see whether it sprouts properly or not, seems like a 
very sensible way of finding out about it. A little 
later, in time for Alfalfa seeding, we shall tell how 
Mr. Marvin handles the crop at the beginning. 
"It is such a valuable crop we should give it the 
best of care. In the Spring of 1909 we sowed three 
pints of Alfalfa seed per acre with the seeding of 
medium clover with 20 acres of oats to 
ascertain if the land was adapted to 
the growing of Alfalfa. It grew well 
in stools, one crown produced 61 stalks, 
another 51 stalks and another 37. In 
the Fall of 1911 this sod was plowed 
six inches deep. In Spring of 1912 was 
thoroughly fitted by disking and drag¬ 
ging. On June 20 we sowed six acres, 
two acres with 15 pounds Alfalfa seed 
and eight pounds of Orchard grass per 
acre, two acres 15 pounds Alfalfa seed 
alone, two acres with 20 pounds Alfalfa 
seed alone. This was an experiment to 
determine how Alfalfa and Orchard 
grass will do together, and also to find 
which amount of Alfalfa seed to sow 
per acre. This piece was clipped three 
times during the season except one- 
half acre was left unclipped at the 
third clipping. , The piece that was 
clipped twice looked best at beginning 
ot Winter. This seed was sown with 
hand seeders and covered with spike- 
tooth drag. I wanted to show what 
crops had been grown on this soil and the condition 
of soil before sowing Alfalfa and during its growth.” 
should be also set forth in no ambiguous terms. 
This waiver should be expressed as a reward for 
good business management and otherwise satisfac¬ 
tory conduct on the part of the son toward the 
father. There should be no risk taken by the father 
in this further than to show his willingness to offer 
some special inducement to encourage the son to 
put his best efforts into the work. Let him have 
fullest control and let the father keep out of the 
whole business further than the agreement brings 
him into it. Under this arrangement I see no rea¬ 
son why there should not grow up a great strength¬ 
ening confidence between the two. If the boy is 
worthy I feel sure he will be proud of the career 
thus offered to him, and he should grow stronger 
in the principles of a noble manhood, and finally 
become the owner of a home full of the mem¬ 
ories of his youth and of a business represent¬ 
ing the combined labor of at least two lives. 
the land to the use of the public for travel, the title 
to the soil, and all the profits thereof consistent 
with the existence of the easement, remain in the 
original owner. The title of the owner, subject only 
to the easement, remains perfect, not only to the 
land covered by the highway but to all the material 
within its boundary, except such as may be needed 
to build or maintain the road. He, therefore, has 
title to any superfluous earth, gravel or rock, not 
necessary or useful to the construction or repair of 
the highway, and to all mines or quarries, trees, 
grass, springs of water, growing crops and pasturage 
upon and above the surface of the soil covered by 
the highway.” 
In the *State of New York under Section 333 of the 
Highway Law it is provided that all trees standing 
or lying on land within the bounds of any highway, 
shall be for the proper use of the owner or occupant 
of such land, except that they may be required to 
repair the highway or bridges of the 
town, and it is also provided under 
Section 125 that the division engineer 
may provide within his jurisdiction for 
the removal or planting of trees within 
the boundary of the highway, when 
necessary for the preservation thereof. 
M. D. 
IN A MICHIGAN ALFALFA FIELD. Fig. 279. 
There is no question to-day so full of the forces 
for the betterment of country life as the one in¬ 
volved in the discussion in which I have endeavored 
above to take a part Individual action is sorely 
needed, and with such action wisely planned there 
will come a widening and deepening of the meaning 
of the country home in our national life, and this 
meaning will be found in the fact that there is no 
place or condition wherein is to be found so much 
real human joy and true happiness in living as that 
afforded on a well-regulated farm, dan m. m’rae. 
Williamson Co., Texas. 
TREES ON LINE FENCES AND ROADSIDES. 
The following is taken from Washburn's work on 
Real Property and is a proper statement of the laws 
HUMAN LIFE SKETCHES—THE TRAVELING STORE. F 
THE PROBLEM OF FATHER AND SON. 
li there is really a wish on the part of the father 
to turn over the farm to the management of the 
sou > the son wishes to assume the management, 
!l ai >d equitable lease for a definite time with 
a provision for its termination at the option of either 
party on a fair and just basis suggests itself to me 
as the best means of promising the greatest satis¬ 
faction to both parties. In my opinion, it should 
not be forgotten that this is a business proposition, 
and should be so considered regardless of the rela¬ 
tionship of the two parties. 
^ hatever advantage the father might wish to as- 
sm ' e t° his son and which he would not think of 
''"iag in the case of dealing with an outside party, 
' 'aild a] s0 ^ incorporated in the agreement in the 
' vay 01 a waiver of his rights under conditions which 
in regard to the rights of adjacent land owners: 
Trees which stand wholly within the boundary line of 
one s land belong to him, although their roots and 
branches may extend into the adjacent owner’s land. 
And such would be the case in respect to the ownership 
of the fruit of such trees, though grown upon the 
branches which extend beyond the line of the owner’s 
land. And trespass for assault and battery would lie 
by the owner of the tree against the owner of the land 
over which its- branches extended, if he prevented the 
owner of the tree, by personal violence, from reaching 
over and picking the fruit growing upon these branches, 
while standing upon the fence which divided the parcels. 
Rut the adjacent owner may lop off the branches or 
roots of such trees up to the line of his land. If the 
tree stands so nearly upon the dividing line between the 
lands that portions of its body extended into each, the 
same is the property in common of the landowners. 
And neither of them is at liberty to cut the tree with¬ 
out the consent of the other, nor to cut away the part 
that extends into his land, if he thereby injures the 
common property in the tree. 
In regard to the rights of property owners to the 
trees growing along the roadside adjacent to their 
property, the general rule is that “notwithstanding 
the laying out of highways and the condemnation of 
CITY MAN AND FARM JOB. 
I would like you to advise me how to 
get employment on a farm, preferably a 
fruit farm, in New York, New England 
or New Jersey. I am employed as 
draughtsman, single, age 28 years and in 
good health; city bred, having no experi- 
. ence except some work in a small berry 
patch. Having read various books and 
periodicals on farm subjects I write this 
as the most direct way of getting in 
touch with my object. f. e. a. 
New Jersey. 
The most direct way would be to advertise, stating 
briefly just what you can do and what you want. It 
will not be easy for you to find a good job on a farm. 
You would not be of much use when you started, 
and in this busy season few farmers could afford to 
take the time to train you. Many city men think 
they can step right away from a desk onto a farm 
and do regular farm work acceptably. No greater 
mistake was ever made, for farm work at this season 
requires skill and great perseverance. We find many 
good farmers who say emphatically that they do not 
want untrained city help. The city man cannot un¬ 
derstand why this is so, for he thinks his services 
ought to be appreciated, but the fact is that there is 
considerable prejudice among practical farmers 
against untrained city men. We are not arguing 
one way or the other about the justice 
of this—we are just stating the facts 
as they are. When it comes to the 
"baek-to-the-lander” we are sometimes 
criticized because we do not fall in 
readily with the scheme of the city 
man who thinks he can safely give up 
a good job and go to the country for 
his living. Just to show we are not 
alone in our opinion read the following: 
I also wish to express my approbation 
of some of the articles you are publish¬ 
ing regarding the baek-to-the-laiuler, for 
I believe that it is time for us to display 
the red flag and prevent the breaking up 
of many families where the husband 
thinks that any fool can be a farmer, and 
the wife knows the hardships such a 
move would entail upon her. Let such a 
man study agriculture in his own back 
yard, or if he is living in the city let him 
move into the suburbs somewhere where 
he can have a back yard; then let him 
get up at half-past four or five o’clock, 
every morning and milk an imaginary 
cow, and dig in the garden, and then let 
him go out and work after supper doing 
the chores until eight o’clock, and see if 
he can really raise crops on a small piece 
of land before he jeopardizes the money 
he may have laid up, and finds himself 
stranded and hopelessly in debt on some of the much- 
advertised abandoned farms. 
You know that I am a firm believer in the develop¬ 
ment of our waste land, and I do not believe that there 
is a foot of ground that cannot be made to produce 
something, but I have seen too many wrecked homes 
where men have made a part payment on a piece of 
land, and with high hopes built a little shanty, and 
lived there through the Summer in privation, only to 
return to the city in the Fall disheartened and cursing 
the day they ever saw the farm. l. p. haight. 
Michigan. 
We often wish there could be some way of making 
the average “back-to-the-lander” understand just 
what he is doing when he starts for a farm, but it 
requires more wisdom than we possess to make the 
meaning clear. 
There are a lot of robbers in business who have 
robbed the people so long that they think long practice 
has legalized their form of robbery. They are robbers 
still in spite of their “legality.” 
A great vein of high-grade anthracite coal has been 
discovered near Colon Panama. The coal is on the 
Rio Indio, which flows into the Caribbean Sea not far 
from the mouth of the canal. 
ig. 280. 
