Chapter XI: Part 11

_Prof. Andrew M. Soule, Director Virginia experiment station._--In Bulletin No. 154 from this station we summarize as follows: Alfalfa is being grown with success in various parts of Virginia and the indications are that it will do well in humid climates, providing the soil is brought into suitable condition for its growth. Alfalfa has many useful qualities. It yields from three to five tons of cured hay in a year, and remains on the land for a long period of time when once well established. It grows best on deep, open, porous soils well supplied with vegetable matter. The roots of alfalfa are from five to 15 feet in length, enabling it to draw much of its food from the subsoil. It thus enriches the land for succeeding crops and opens it up to the action of air and water. Land intended for alfalfa should be made very rich by plowing under legumes or applying farmyard manure. In addition, from 200 to 400 pounds of acid phosphate, Thomas slag or bone meal, with 100 pounds of muriate of potash, should be applied per acre. If the land is acid, which may be determined by testing with blue litmus paper, an application of 25 bushels of lime should be made. It is generally best to use the unslaked lime, which may be applied with a manure spreader, a grain drill or broadcasted over the land and covered with a harrow. Land intended for alfalfa should be carefully cultivated in hoed crops or summer fallowed so as to destroy weeds, the worst enemy of alfalfa during the early stages of its growth. Alfalfa may be seeded either fall or spring. When fall sown it can be cut for hay the next summer, whereas, the spring sown crop should be clipped several times during the first season and left to mulch the ground. Alfalfa seed is sometimes infested with dodder, which grows as a parasite on the plant. The orange-yellow threadlike appearance of dodder gives warning of its presence, and it can be easily destroyed by cutting and burning if taken at the outset. Alfalfa is frequently attacked by leaf spot in the eastern states. The disease is easily recognized as its name indicates, and persistent clipping will generally eradicate it. The amount of seed to sow varies, but 20 pounds will answer as a rule. Alfalfa should be cut for hay when coming into bloom, as it yields more nutrients per acre at that time, and succeeding crops yield better. Alfalfa is not more difficult to make into hay than is Red clover. It may also be pastured to advantage, though there is some danger of bloat, and, owing to the high feeding value of the hay, it is doubtful whether it would be good practice to graze it in the East, except with hogs. Alfalfa being a legume has the power of assimilating atmospheric nitrogen under certain conditions. It is thus a soil improver. Farmers cannot afford to purchase nitrogen when they can gather it from the air through the action of leguminous plants. Alfalfa often fails, even though all the physical conditions seem favorable, because the bacteria which live in the nodules on its roots are not present in the soil. This deficiency may be supplied by getting soil from an old alfalfa field or from fields where Sweet clover or Bur clover previously grew with success, or by means of artificial cultures. The Virginia experiment station, realizing the importance of alfalfa to Virginia farmers and the difficulty of securing inoculated soil at a reasonable cost, has undertaken the preparation of pure cultures which it is distributing at a cost of 25 cents per acre. Soil inoculation through artificial cultures is still in its experimental stages, but it seems wise that Virginia farmers should be given an opportunity to test these cultures at a moderate cost and determine once for all their real value under field conditions. The high feeding value of alfalfa has long been recognized. It is admirably adapted to the needs of all classes of live stock. It has been fed with profit to horses, cattle, sheep and swine. It can be so utilized as to largely take the place of wheat bran and other expensive concentrates. The plats of alfalfa seeded in the spring of 1904, both on the station farm and on Brush mountain, show the importance of soil inoculation and the advantages of using lime and phosphates on land intended for this crop. From a general review of the situation it appears that there is no reason why alfalfa, under good management, should not succeed in many parts of Virginia.

WASHINGTON

_F. M. Lowden, Walla Walla county._--In 22 years I have had experience with from 1 to 400 acres of alfalfa, on bottom, second bottom, and upland, with clay, sand and loam soils, with subsoil of hardpan and strong alkali from 18 to 20 inches below the surface, and water at depth of 18 to 20 feet. The soil is seldom moist all the way down, the dry soil beginning five to eight feet below the surface and ending within two or three feet of the water. After plowing deep and harrowing well, I sow in the spring, late enough to miss frost, 25 to 30 pounds to the acre; then cover, in light soil from one to two inches, and in clay soil less. During the first season it should be mowed so that the weeds cannot choke it out, and then there will be about a ton of hay to the acre to be cut in August. I irrigate with water from streams thoroughly in the spring and after each cutting, using enough water to soak the ground for a few days. New land requires more water than old, but the quantity needed is about the same every year. At three years the plant attains its best yields, and with proper care will not need reseeding. There are usually three cuttings each season, with an average of 1¹⁄₂ tons to the acre, and I have known five cuttings. It is mowed for hay when it commences to bloom, and for seed any time before the frost comes, the second crop being best for the latter use. The seed is mowed, threshed and dried as any other clover is. The hay should lie before raking until it is thoroughly wilted, then cure in cock two or three days. We stack in ricks 16 to 18 feet wide and any desired height or length. The hay will not heat if well cured before stacking. On land valued at $40 an acre, the cost of hay in the stack is about $1.50, and to bale this costs $2 a ton. The yield of seed is 5 to 10 bushels to the acre, and it sells for $4.50 to $7.50 a bushel, while hay brings $4, formerly $8. For threshing, a clover huller is better than the common machine. The alfalfa straw is of double the value of any other straw for feeding. The hay grown without irrigation is not so rank as that which is watered, and is consequently more valuable as a feed; any is better than timothy, and equal to clover for cattle, but the seed must form in it to make it valuable for working horses. After cutting three crops in a season, I usually use the field in the fall for pasturing cattle, and it furnishes nearly double the feed that Red clover will, acre for acre. For hogs the pasturage is much better than clover, and I sow with blue grass and clover, on rich ground. For horses and sheep the pasturage is better than clover, but causes bloat in the same way. It is difficult to plow up alfalfa, but continued cultivation will rid land of it when desired.

_Oscar Drumheller, Walla Walla county._--Have grown alfalfa for six years, and now have 150 acres, part on bottom, some on clay, and a part on slightly sandy soil; subsoil is a thin layer of hardpan; below that a sort of gumbo, and underneath that a white clay. Abundant water is found at 10 to 18 feet, moist soil reaching to the water. Our land requires no special preparation for alfalfa; manure is spread on weak spots; we sow 20 pounds of seed broadcast, about May 1st, and harrow once to cover. Some cut it the first year; some years the crop is not worth touching for either hay or seed; there is no trouble here from winterkilling. We never irrigate. The first cutting yields about three tons, the second, about two and one-half tons, the third, about two tons, and the fourth, one ton. For hay, cutting should begin when in full bloom; we never cut for seed, but the first crop is best. The season must govern the time for curing, whether two days or 10; it will heat and mold if not dry before stacking; no choice in size of stacks. On land worth $40 per acre, it costs about $1.50 per ton to grow and put alfalfa in the stack; baling costs $1.50 to $2 per ton, the bales weighing 150 pounds. Alfalfa hay sold for $12 per ton in 1890, and is now selling for $2.50; seed sells for 10 to 12 cents per pound. For cattle, alfalfa hay leads all others; for work animals, it is a little “washy,” but we use nothing else; for pasturing hogs, one acre of alfalfa is worth two of clover, and it is found satisfactory for horses and sheep; alfalfa will pasture more cattle than clover, but is more productive of bloat, especially on windy days. The best remedy for bloat is to get the foreparts of the animal on high ground and splash cold water on its back; when all else fails, apply the knife to the left side. We prefer unirrigated hay, which seems firmer and less “washy.” Alfalfa reaches its best yields about the third year, and will last 20 years; it is not difficult to kill; it is similar to Red clover for turning under for green manure. All cattle here are fed on alfalfa hay alone. I have fed cattle in open yards in December, January, and February, and made them gain 160 pounds per steer in three months. If beef on the Pacific coast would bring 3 cents, there would be no better investment than alfalfa. In 1892, we sold hay for $60 per acre; to-day it will not sell for a third of that.

WEST VIRGINIA

_Prof. J. H. Stewart, Director West Virginia experiment station._--Very little alfalfa is grown in West Virginia. Within the past four or five years some stimulus has been given it by current publications, etc., but extensive growth has not obtained as yet. The attempts to grow it on our small farm at the experiment station have in fact been failures. However, there are a few small tracts that have done well in portions of the state. Hon. T. B. Davis of Mineral county and E. W. McNeil of Hardy county are persons who have been successful. I am frank to say, however, that the experiences and practice thus far in this state have not proven it to be a dependable crop.

WISCONSIN

_Prof. R. A. More, Agronomist Wisconsin experiment station._--Alfalfa is receiving great attention in Wisconsin and dairymen have been quick to perceive its value. Through the efforts of the experiment station, alfalfa seed has been disseminated in every county in the state and crops have been grown which were highly satisfactory. Experiments at the station show that as much protein can be secured from one acre of alfalfa as from three acres of clover, nine acres of timothy or 12 of Brome grass. In this experiment four cuttings of alfalfa were secured, two cuttings of clover and one cutting each of timothy and Brome grass. Alfalfa seed should have its viability tested before the seed is purchased. Seed that does not give a germination test of 90 per cent or above should be rejected. We advise selecting high, well-drained land inclined to be rolling. A clay loam on a gravelly subsoil is best suited for growths of alfalfa. Sow in spring as soon as ground works well, putting on about twice the cultivation necessary for cereal crops. Where land is inclined to be weedy, sow three pecks of barley per acre as a nurse crop. If ground is free from weeds, sow alfalfa seed without nurse crop, using at least 20 pounds of seed per acre. Several hundred members of the Wisconsin experiment association have been carrying on tests with alfalfa since 1903, and practically all have succeeded in getting good fields started. Bacteria-laden soil has been shipped to members of the experiment association, who are making tests, with directions for scattering on a small plot, in order to get the proper bacteria established in the soil. The sowing of some alfalfa seed with clover for the purpose of getting a few alfalfa plants established as bacteria distributers has been followed with good success. These lands when later sown to alfalfa result in good catches. Alfalfa should be cut when one-tenth is in blossom, and not later than the first week in September. We look for greatly increased acreage from year to year as our farmers learn the value of this great forage plant.

_W. D. Hoard, Editor Hoard’s Dairyman._--It is now twelve years since the editor of the Dairyman commenced the practical study of alfalfa. A good deal of experience as well as observation of the practices of others has come to him in that time. He does not feel that he has exhausted the subject by any means, but there are a few things which he believes to be well settled principles. They may be enumerated as follows:

1. The richer the soil the better.

2. A carefully prepared seed bed. Too much pains cannot be had here.

3. Good seed; every farmer should test the seed he expects to sow. A great amount of failure has come from weak, infertile seed.

4. Side hills where the rain or melted snow in March will readily run off and thus prevent an ice cap from sudden freezing is much the preferable location.

5. Cutting it each time as soon as the first blossoms appear will always bring a stronger succeeding growth for the next crop.

6. Never pasture it unless you wish to weaken it so it will break up more easily the next spring.

7. Always cure it in the cock with hay caps if possible. The quality of the hay is greatly superior to that which is cured in the sun or windrow.

The nutritive quality and value of alfalfa as well as clover may be greatly lessened and the owner not be aware of it, by allowing too much sunshine on the hay. To throw away the feeding value of any food by unwise methods of handling or curing is very poor economy. For this reason farmers should make a closer study than they do as to the right time of cutting alfalfa and clover and the right way of curing it. Too many farmers look only at the labor involved. They want to do it quick. Hence they wait before cutting till the stalks are overripe so they will dry quickly and then they use hay loaders that will take up the hay in the swath overdried and the goodness evaporated out of it by the action of the sun. All this time they are never giving a moment’s thought to the great question: “What kind of food is this going to make for my cows next winter?” The best of study and care should be given to this matter of curing alfalfa and clover. Nicely cured clover is worth half as much as bran as a milk producing food, and alfalfa is worth fully as much. We have demonstrated in our own stables that with 35 pounds of corn ensilage and 10 pounds of nice alfalfa hay a day, we can save half of the grain ration that would be necessary if we fed other hay.

8. As a renewer and renovator of fertility we know of nothing that will equal alfalfa. The present year is proving that in Wisconsin most convincingly. Nearly all of the old alfalfa, as well as clover seeding, was killed by an ice storm in March. That compelled the farmers to plow up these old fields and plant them to corn, potatoes or some sowed crop. The greater growth of crops on these old alfalfa fields is universally noticed. The farmers of the country have not half begun to know the wonderful value of the alfalfa plant. For just this reason they should not be discouraged in trying to grow it.

_Dr. A. S. Alexander, Wisconsin experiment station._--After all that has been written and said in favor of the more general cultivation of alfalfa, it seems strange to find much prejudice and ignorance still existing among farmers relative to the merits of this magnificent forage plant. When we ask a farmer why he has not seeded an area of land to alfalfa he almost invariably answers by another question; viz., “Do you think I can make it catch?” And it is this doubt so generally existent that keeps down the area of alfalfa, and hence the profits of many a man who could make it a wonderful success.

To our mind there has been too much alleged scientific talk relative to “nitrification,” “root nodules” and “soil inoculation” for alfalfa; so much of it, in fact, as a fad, that the average farmer has become possessed of the erroneous idea that it requires a deeply scientific knowledge of the subject and much trouble of various sorts to secure a stand of alfalfa. For this reason many a man has dismissed the subject from his mind and deemed it best to think most of the simple things within his ken, but in so doing he has missed some of the greatest boons and blessings possible in his business. Alfalfa will grow on most any good land that will produce clover and that is in no way waterlogged. There is little mystery in its successful cultivation, and the “tricks” of the business are easily learned from the literature mentioned. We believe it to be one of the very finest of forage plants and a grand adjunct in the feeding of hogs; a crop in fact that is bound to become common and that should at once be given far more general attention than is now the case. It is neither difficult to obtain a catch nor make the crop a success if the farmer will but try and in starting follow the simple instructions now published by many of the agricultural experiment stations.

WYOMING

_Asil T. Wilson, Fremont county._--For six years I have been raising alfalfa on first-bench upland, a gravelly loam, with a cement subsoil of a lime nature. Water is found at 40 feet; moist soil is encountered at a depth of 12 feet from the surface, and continues until water is reached. A depth of one inch for seeding is best. Sow in early spring. If alfalfa and timothy are sown together, sow 20 pounds of the former to 6 of the latter; if alone, 20 pounds of alfalfa. No weeds will trouble; cut either crop for hay; the first crop for seed. Watering after the last cutting will cause alfalfa to winterkill. Irrigate as early as possible, if dry, and whenever getting dry, also about five days before cutting; the soil being moist after cutting, the next crop will start up quickly. The larger the quantity of water used the better if it runs off quickly. We obtain water from a stream. After the first year I cut twice, obtaining two tons each cutting. I cut for hay just as it comes into bloom, as it is not so woody and more leaves are saved. The first cutting is preferable for seed. When cutting for seed, wait until the curls get well filled and black; put it into cocks and thresh when dry. Alfalfa hay should be cut one day and raked the next; then cock, and let it stand two or three days before stacking; by so doing all the leaves are saved, and it cures in the cock so there is no danger of molding in the stack. My alfalfa in stack costs $1 per ton, from land valued at $5 per acre. Irrigation costs 20 cents per acre. Baling costs $3 per ton, 150 pounds in bale. Seed yields six bushels per acre; threshing costs $1 per bushel. Prices for hay have ranged from $5 to $10 per ton, and $7 per bushel for seed. Alfalfa hay is equal to clover or timothy for farm animals. For swine pasturage it is better than clover; one acre will pasture 10 head of swine, gaining one pound per head each day. For horses and sheep it is good, and as good for cattle as clover, but dangerous, as they bloat and die. The best yields on upland are from three to five years after seeding; and, if watered at proper intervals, it will last 20 years. There is no difficulty in ridding land of alfalfa; plow it late in the fall, level it down and mark it, then water, and let it freeze up in winter. Alfalfa for green manure is as good or better than Red clover. Without plenty of rain, I would not recommend growing alfalfa in any locality. Seed raised from alfalfa thin on the ground is best.

_John H. Gordon, Laramie county._--During the past 10 years, I have had from 10 to 200 acres of alfalfa on second bottom and upland, with sandy loam from two inches to six feet deep, and below this soft rock, water being found at depths of 20 to 200 feet. I plow or break the soil the first year, and raise a crop of wheat or oats; the second year plow deep, sow about half a crop of oats, and when this is well harrowed, sow 20 pounds of alfalfa seed and cover it about two inches deep. To get the best results, this seeding is done about April 1st, and there is no trouble here with weeds. In cutting the grain, the alfalfa is cut off too, but it does not grow tall enough for hay the first year. The plant does not winterkill, and reaches its full yields by the third or fourth year; I have found no necessity for reseeding any of my land. We irrigate from streams, the quantity of water used depending on the season. There are generally three applications of water, about six inches each time. After the first two or three years, only about half the quantity used at first will be needed. After the first year I cut twice, and obtain about 1¹⁄₂ tons to the acre each time. The first crop is best for seed, and is harvested when the top bolls are dead ripe, raked the day after cutting, bunched for two days and then stacked, to be threshed with the common threshing machinery, putting through twice. Five bushels to the acre is a common yield of seed, and the cleaning and threshing cost 50 to 75 cents a bushel. The hay is cut when the greater part is in bloom, allowed to lie about a day before raking, cured about three days, and then stacked, 14 to 16 feet wide, 60 feet long, and 20 feet high. It does not seem to heat or mold here. The total cost in the stack is about $1.50 a ton, and baling, in 100-pound bales, costs $2 a ton. Selling price of loose hay in this section is $5 a ton, and the seed, 10 to 12 cents per pound in the market. The straw is worth about as much as the hay for feed. I am well satisfied with the general results of growing alfalfa here, and am now preparing 200 acres for seeding. Where it will grow well, it is the best forage plant ever discovered, being good feed for cattle, hogs, sheep, fowls, and, in fact, all animals on the farm, while as a fertilizer it cannot be surpassed. But one cannot do anything with it if there is not sufficient moisture to raise wheat or oats.

INDEX.