UNIRRIGATED ALFALFA ON UPLAND. 33 
thorough preparation of the ground before planting. After 
leaving the drought out of consideration, the next enemy of im¬ 
portance is the grasshopper. These, working in conjunction with 
the drought, make the planting of alfalfa a very discouraging 
proposition. Grasshoppers are fond of almost all kinds of green 
food, and alfalfa being green in summer when the native grasses 
are dry, the grass hoppers come to the alfalfa patches in countless 
millions when other food becomes dry. When the soil is left un¬ 
disturbed, they breed in the fields and in such cases keep the 
plants eaten down throughout the season. Thoroughly stirring 
the soil with a disc harrow prevents the grasshoppers breeding in 
the field and it has to contend with only the hoppers which grow 
on the prairie. By using hopper dozers the number of grass¬ 
hoppers may be kept down without damaging the crop. These 
machines can be used only in fields where the plants are but a 
few inches high. Poisoning by using arsenic in bran or other 
substance which is relished by the hoppers is often successfully 
used. But the most profitable method I have ever seen employed 
is the poultry remedy. Some people keep so many chickens and 
turkeys that the grasshoppers are held in check by them. In 
August 1901, I visited the orchard of A. E. Tabor who lives ten 
miles southeast of Wray, and found many trees entirely stripped 
of bark and leaves by the grasshoppers. I visited the same place 
in 1903 and found the trees and garden in a good condition. He 
told me that the presence of about 400 chickens and turkeys 
were responsible for the good condition of the trees, and also for 
the scarcity of grasshoppers which I noted. 
Mr. B. D. Prentice and Mr. Rufus Roberts, both living near 
Raird P. O., both gave testimony which coincided with what I ob¬ 
served at the home of Mr. Tabor. Dozens of other cases of the 
same kind could be cited showing the same results. The main 
difficulty in working the poultry remedy, is that the coyotes must 
be kept away or they destroy the poultry. 
Location. There are many locations which catch water in 
considerable quantities from surrounding land. These, if occu¬ 
pied by moderately light clay or sandy loam soils, are ideal places 
for sowing alfalfa to be grown without irrigation. I have seen 
places where from 40 to 80 acres could be found in such alocation. 
Conclusion. Alfalfa growing without irrigation deserves a 
trial upon a larger scale than I have yet seen, and when grasshop¬ 
pers are held in check sufficiently it will certainly pay. As it is, 
it is the only perennial forage plant which I have seen that I 
would plow up buffalo grass to test upon a large scale. And when 
large fields of it are planted, the grasshoppers will not cut such a 
figure as they do now when the grasshoppers from several square 
miles concentrate upon a few acres. 
