1910. 
THE RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
486 
ALFALFA IN ONONDAGA CO., N. Y. 
How Syracuse Farmers Handle It. 
In Onondaga County Alfalfa finds a 
congenial home and is grown to a con¬ 
siderable extent. It has passed through 
many seasons of widely varying tem¬ 
perature and rainfall, and has demon¬ 
strated its permanent value beyond all 
possible question. For the purpose of 
obtaining first-hand and accurate infor¬ 
mation on important points relating to 
this crop, the writer visited last Fall a 
number of large growers of Alfalfa, 
looked over their crops, and also care¬ 
fully noticed the appearance of a great 
many fields belonging to others. The 
Alfalfa fields referred to in this article 
lie in an annexed part of the city of 
Syracuse, and in the towns of Onon¬ 
daga, Geddes, DeWitt and Jamcsville. 
In all of these localities Alfalfa thrives. 
In many things relating to its culture all 
the growers interviewed agree, but on 
some points there is, as will be noted, 
considerable difference of opinion and 
practice. 
Seeding. —Practically all seeding to 
Alfalfa is done in the Spring. Sowing- 
in the Fall has been tried, but not al¬ 
ways with success. The majority of the 
growers referred to seed with either 
oats or wheat. Some, however, much 
prefer oats. In most cases Timothy is 
sown with the Alfalfa, but on the Candce 
farm in DeWitt, and many other farms 
in that vicinity, Alfalfa is sown alone, 
though Orchard grass has been tried 
and discarded. The quantity of seed 
used by different growers varies from 
six quarts each of Alfalfa and Timo¬ 
thy to K) quarts of Alfalfa and four 
quarts of Timothy. It is a curious 
fact that of seven growers who sow 
Timothy with Alfalfa the one who uses 
the smallest quantity of Alfalfa seed is 
using less than he did at first, while the 
one using the largest quantity now sows 
just twice as much as he did when he 
commenced growing the crop. They 
have been growing Alfalfa for about 15 
years, and both get good returns. Mr. 
II. Worker, of Geddes, who has been 
growing Alfalfa for about 28 years, and 
whose success has been remarkable, 
sows 14 pounds (about 7V& quarts) of 
Alfalfa and four pounds (nearly three 
quarts) of Timothy per acre. With the 
exception of Mr. Worker, only one of 
the seven who sow both kinds of seed 
uses less than eight quarts of Alfalfa; 
and none uses less than three quarts, 
and only one uses more than four quarts 
of Timothy. The grower in DeWitt 
who sows Alfalfa seed only, uses 1C> 
quarts per acre. The addition of Tim¬ 
othy is generally favored because it fills 
the spaces between the Alfalfa plants, 
and thus insures a larger crop; greatly 
improves the quality of the first cutting 
of each year, especially for feeding to 
horses; and the mixed hay is much 
more easily cured than Alfalfa alone. 
In the year following seeding, and each 
year thereafter, two crops, and some¬ 
times three, are taken from the land. 
The yield varies greatly. A fair quantity 
is obtained from many light soils, but 
the best crops are grown on the best 
land. From three to five tons per acre 
appears to be a conservative estimate of 
the annual yield in this vicinity. 
Endurance. —If all goes well, and it 
usually docs, the plants become firmly 
established in two or three years. Then, 
if conditions are favorable, good crops 
can be expected for from eight to 12, or 
perhaps 15 years. If manure is used 
the crop will hold out indefinitely. It is, 
however, considered good practice to 
turn under the sod in from five to 10 
years, and some growers are obliged to 
do this in order to carry out their plan 
of rotation of crops. In fact, it seems 
desirable to plow every four or five 
years, because the inverted sod is a 
valuable fertilizer, and, as they decay, 
the large and long roots add a great 
quantity of plant food to the soil. 
Inoculation ; Lime; Manure. —On the 
farms that were visited inoculation is 
not required, but the owners consider 
it important in some localities. Lime, 
which is indispensable to the full de¬ 
velopment of the Alfalfa plant, abounds 
in the soil, and its application is un¬ 
necessary. Manure is used, but the 
method of using it varies with different 
growers. The majority use it on the 
preceding crops rather than directly on 
the Alfalfa. C. M. Keen, of Syracuse, 
follows this plan and gets good crops. 
C. I). Andrews, of Geddes, applies 
about eight loads of manure per acre, 
distributed with a spreader, soon after 
the oats with which the Alfalfa was 
sown are harvested, and is equally suc¬ 
cessful. On the Candee farm in De- { 
Witt, light top-dressing of the Alfalfa j 
fields is regularly practiced. 
I he Hay Crop.— In this vicinity Al¬ 
falfa is grown principally for hay. Most 
of the extensive growers are dairymen, j 
and they have found Alfalfa hay of such I 
value for milk production that they feed 
it largely for this purpose. Although 
Alfalfa has often been reported as in¬ 
jurious to horses, the first cutting is 
freely fed to them, and, while it stimu¬ 
lates the kidneys, it does not appear to 
be harmful. Horses fed upon it keep in 
good flesh and spirits, and in good con¬ 
dition for work or driving. Naturally, 
men who grow from 25 acres to more 
than 100 acres of Alfalfa produce a 
great deal more hay than they can feed, 
but the surplus always finds a ready 
market. A large part of the first cutting 
is sold in Syracuse. At this writing it 
commands $12 per ton. The second 
cutting is finer and sweeter than the 
first. It is largely baled and shipped to 
Eastern markets. Much of it is sent to 
Boston, from which point it is dis¬ 
tributed for use in high-class dairies in 
the outlying milk-producing districts. 
The demand for this hay is strong and 
is rapidly increasing. 
Alfalfa for Pasture. —The statement 
that a good Alfalfa field is an excellent 
pasture is likely to be challenged, but a 
visit in the Summer to certain farms in 
Geddes will convince the most skeptical 
reader that it is true. Pasturing, how¬ 
ever. is not universal. Some growers, 
as VV. A. Parsons, fear that cows will 
overeat and suffer from bloat;' and 
others, as P. D. Schuyler, believe that 
the tramping of animals, especially in a 
wet time, injures the plants and that 
close feeding is even more destructive. 
But Mr. Schuyler uses part of his crop 
as green feed, cutting it each day as it 
is needed, and it is worthy of note that 
he has kept 10 cows through an entire 
Summer on three acres of Alfalfa. The 
growers who pasture Alfalfa avoid turn¬ 
ing hungry cows into a rank field, and 
thus prevent injury to their stock. C. 
D. Andrews pastures, but not closely; 
D. G. Donahue has pastured 10 acres 
for seven years, and the plants still 
make a vigorous growth; and J. S. Je¬ 
rome pastures eight acres during the 
Summer and 12 acres after the hay crop 
has been gathered. Pasturing after 
mowing gradually weakens the plants, 
but, as plowing every 10 years is re¬ 
quired by the present system of crop 
rotation, the slight diminution of the 
yield during this period is not a serious 
matter. Referring to the prevalent 
opinion that the pasturing of Alfalfa 
fields is disastrous, Mr. Jerome face¬ 
tiously remarked that he began the 
practice before he learned ‘‘that Alfalfa 
would kill cattle, or cattle would kill 
Alfalfa.” 
Benefit to Farmers. —That the men 
who were interviewed have had more 
than sufficient experience to give weight 
to their opinions and authority to their 
statements is evidenced by the fact that 
they have been growing Alfalfa for from 
not less than 10 years to almost 30 
years. They all agree that the intro¬ 
duction of this crop has been of im¬ 
mense benefit to the farmers and to 
their farms. It seems certain that, where 
it is extensively grown, it has doubled 
the hay crop and that it has added from 
50 to 100 per cent to the value of the 
land. j. e. r. 
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30 
Wins 
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