Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 225, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1916 — MAKING WW [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MAKING WW

By PROF. P. G. HOLDEN,

Former Dean of the lowa Agricultural College.

GET A START WITH ALFALFA There are few farmers whose profits would not be increased greatly by raising alfalfa. There is no combination of feed so economical for production of beef, pork, milk, butter and eggs, and for growing animals, as corn and alfalfa. We need alfalfa, because it balances the corn ration and saves a large waste of starch which always takes place where com is fed alone. We need al-, salsa because we can, in this way, grow on our farms the protein more profitably than we can buy it in manufactured feedstuffs. We need alfalfabecause it enriches the soil and enables us to grow larger crops of corn, oats and other grain; because it produces on an average double the feed value per acre that red clover or any other forage crop will produce. Alfalfa is no harder to grow than any of the other forage crops. It adapts itself readily to all kinds of conditions of soil and climate and produces three and sometimes four crops a year in the corn belt; in the cotton belt states, sometimes seven and eight crops. When a good stand is once assured it lasts four or five years in humid regions, and much longer in states west of the Mississippi river. Alfalfa can be fed to all kinds of farm animals and has no superior as a hog pasture. It adds humus to • the soil and resists drought better than any other crop. No piece of ground on the farm will

bring greater profits than five or ten acres put into alfalfa, provided the work is done properly and a good stand is secured. Alfalfa a Poor Weed Fighter. Alfalfa, when small, grows slowly and is not a good weed fighter —that is. It cannot compete with weeds, and especially with crab grass and foxtail during the dry weather of July and August. The following methods of seeding alfalfa are among those that have been most successful in the United States: Late Summer Seeding. Probably no method will more certainly assure a good stand than to manure a piece of stubble ground and fall plow it, or manure the. ground in winter or spring, disk it thoroughly as soon as possible in the spring (first part of April), plow the latter part of April, and again disk. It should be summer fallowed, that Is, disked or harrowed, often enough during May, June, and the first part of July, to kilb the weeds and to prevent the ground from becoming hard. Sometime during the last part of July or the early part of August the ground should be disked and harrowed and the seed sown at once with a drill, or broadcast andharrowed in. Oat or wheat stubble ground manured and fall plowed is especially good for alfalfa. Disk the ground the following spring as soon as dry enough to work, summer fallow and seed as described above. This method has the advantage of T. Clearing the ground of weeds, the greatest enemy of alfalfa. 2. Seeding com®s at a slack time, when the work can be done without neglecting other crops. 3. It insures a firm, solid seedbed with sufficient moisture to germinate the seed.

Good Method for a Small Patch. For a small patch of two or three acres perhaps the second most satisfactory method is to manure a piece of ground near the barn where-it can be most conveniently used for hog pasture. The ground should be plowed, fitted and sowed to rape, early in the spring. This should be used for hog pasture during May and June. During the first week of July the rape stubble should be mowed down and the ground thoroughly disked, then plowed and again disked and harrowed. Any time during the last week of July or the first week of August, the ground should be thoroughly disked and 'worked down so that it is firm and solid. If there should come a rain during the latter part of July or the first of August, it is a good plan to prepare the ground and sow the seed at once while there is sufficient moisture in the ground to sprout the seed and give the young alfalfa a good start. Alfalfa After Barley or Early Oats. A third method, and one with some advantages over the others, where the season is not too dry, is to grow a crop of winter wheat, barley, early oats, or early potatoes, and follow that crop with alfalfa. As soon as the grain is ripe it should be cut and removed from the field. Apply ten or fifteen loads of manure to the acre. Disk the ground to mix the manure and stubble with the soil, and plow and again disk and harrow and work down to give a firm, solid seed-

bed. About the first week in August seed the alfalfa as described above. Spring Seeding With Nurse Crop. A fourth method is to seed in the spring with,a light nurse crop of early oats or barley. In case oats are used, it is best to sow not more than a bushel to the acre, cutting them when in bloom for hay. The advantages of this method and also of the second and third methods mentioned above are that we secure a crop and do not lose the use of the ground for one year. Some of our bes£ alfalfa growers have used the beardless barley as a nurse crop with good results in spring seeding. Good Results From June Seeding. Some of the best stands of alfalfa have been secured by seeding in the middle or last of June. For June seeding, the ground is manured and ( plowed

In the fall, and in the spring kept cultivated or disked through April, May and in the first part of June to kill the weeds; or in case the ground is not fall-plowed, It should be manured, disked, plowed and again disked as early in the spring as possible snd then

kept fallowed until the last of Juns when the seed is sown. This euables us to get a crop the first year either for hog pasture or for hay. Advantages of this method are: 1. We do not lose the use of the land for one year. 2. There Is less damagq from Injury by grasshoppers than liuXhe case of late summer seeding. 3. It insures a strong root system and less chance of winter killing. The only disadvantage of this method is that, if the ground is foul the alfalfa may be smothered by weeds. Spring Seeding Without Nurse Crop. In the West and Nerth it has been a common practice to Mw in the spring without a nurse crop, keeping the weeds mowed down during the summer to prevent smothering the alfalfa. Ground that is manured and fallplowed is best for spring seeding. The next best is corn stalk ground, either manured the year before or in the winter or early spring, thoroughly disked and harrowed and seeded about the middle of April. It is important that the weeds be mowed two or three times during the summer or they will choke out the alfalfa. The disadvantages of spring sowing are: v 1. The loss of one season’s crop where no nurse crop is used. 2. The extra labor required to keep dowm the weeds. 3. The danger of neglecting the weeds and the consequent loss of a stand or securing only a “patchy stand.” 4. It is the most crowded time of the year, and, we either fail to put in the alfalfa at all or slight the work. There is no one thing that will do more to Insure success in getting a

stand of alfalfa than lime and barnyard manure. Well Prepared Seed Bed Essential. A well prepared, firm, solid seed bed, plenty of good barnyard manure and summer fallow to kill the weeds, are most important. Alfalfa seed may be either drilled, or sowed, broadcast and harrowed in, or even disked in, especially if the surface of the ground is dry. Sow ten to twelve pounds of seed per acre. If evenly distributed this will give fifty to sixty seeds for every square foot, while one thrifty plant to the square foot is sufficient. Cut alfalfa before It is in full bloom or as soon as the young sprouts or shoots start to grow at the base of the plant. Cut late in the afternoon or evening. When alfalfa is left too long the leaves, which are the most valuable part of the plant, fall off and the stems become woody and the yield of the next crop is greatly reduced. Alfalfa can be placed in the barn or in stacks much greener than any other kind of hay. Twenty pounds of salt sprinkled over each load of hay will help to prevent heating and also add to the palatability of the hay. Where alfalfa is used for pasture, care should be taken to avoid pasturing it too closely. Don’t turn stock on it too early in the spring. Make a Beginning—Start Now. I would advise every farmer to try at least a small piece of alfalfa and if he does not succeed at fir.<t, try again and keep on trying until he does succeed. It is worth the while.

Inspecting Plants in Alfalfa Field.

Harvesting the Alfalfa Crop .

Four-Year-Old Alfalfa Plant.