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plowed deep, and if not to be irrigated should
be subsoiled. With sandy land over very por
ous subsoil, where irrigation is not practiced,
good success often results from seeding on sod.
On land of this nature thorough surface prep
aration without subsoiling will probably give
the most satisfactory results. In starting alfal
fa the first point claiming consideration is the
selection and preparation of the soil. The
plowing should, if possible, be done in the fall,
and in the arid regions the use of the subsoil
plow is almost an imperative necessity.
Without a dense and uniform stand of plants
it is not possible to make a high quality of al
falfa hay. If the stand is thin on the ground
the stalks will 'be coarse, woody and indigesti
ble, and in curing, the leaves will dry and fall
off before the stems are sufficiently cured. But
if the stand is thick, the stems will be fine, and
the foliage will be so abundant that the curing
process can be effected evenly and without per
ceptible loss of leaves. Consequently, the one
great desideratum in the sowing operation is to
have the seed scattered evenly, and in obtaining
this result we here in Colorado prefer to use the
press-drill.
Of the different modes of seeding with alfalfa
the most common method, however, when the
conditions are favorable, is to scatter the seed
over a surface which has been finely pulverized
and not crusted,-the sowing being done very
early in rue spring. The crumbling of the soil
after a night's freezing partly or wholly covers
the seed, none of which is buried so deep as to
prevent germination. The seed is protected
with an oily covering or sac, and is not injured
by freezing. With enough spring rain to keep
the surface moist nearly all will grow; but in
most cases all the required conditions for suc
cess with this mode of seeding cannot be de
pended on. The soil, well fitted the previous
autumn, may have become so crusted by an
open winter as to prevent the seed from becom
ing covered by the crumbling soil, or an early
drought may be fatal to the young alfalfa.
Farmers who are familiar with the seasons will
decide whether to adopt this mode of seeding
or to use a later mode by harrowing. Covering
the seed by harrowing, prevents a part from
growing by burying too deep, but the loss of
seed in this way is less than many suppose. It
is true that alfalfa seed will not grow if buried
over an inch in a heavy soil, or an inch and a
half in a light one. With a light harrow not
more than half the seed will be buried too deep,
and often not more than a third, and if the soil
surface has been well pulverized all the rest will
grow. The writer has seen old-fashioned farm
ers "brushing in" broadcasted seed, and the
plan worked all right. In his own experience
the writer has always used the modern press
drill, with the tubes set at various distances
apart, according to the purpose of the crop,
whether for pasture, hay or seed. The variance
is from four to nineteen inches. Oats or wheat
are often put in as a nurse crop practice for
which many contend, although condemned by
others. The oats are mixed with alfalfa seed
and all sown together. The quick growth of
the grain serves to shade the tender young al
falfa shoots from the blistering effects of the
noonday sun. In any event care must be taken
that the seed is not planted too deep, thus pre
venting free germination. Hence shallow seed
ing with the drill is advised.
The amount of seed to be sown to an acre
will be governed largely by circumstances. The
range is from twelve to thirty pounds to the
acre. More is required in broadcasting than in
drilling, and for fine hay the stand should be
RANCH AND RANGE.
Mr. Farmer!
Are you bothered with Scabby Sheep? Mangy hogs? ticks, lice or other stock troubles? If so yon should write us
for circulars and full description of the greaest disinfectant ever discovered
"Chloro=Naptholeum"
We are state agents and If your grocer does not keep It, we will send it direct to you on receipt of price. We have just received * stock
of same and shall be pleased to hear from all farmers with Inquiries. Also we would like to correspond with you and handle your
produce. No drayage, No storage, Hail road tracks at our door. Largest store In the city. Only Produce brokers. We have a big
demand for produce for Alaska trade.
...Cash Buyer's Association...
A.so mmm street, San Francisco, c. * 9-5 0-7 Western avenue.
The Fleckenstein Evaporator.
Can be built for the largest or the smallest orchard.
W. T. Jacobson, Mf r
430 Washington Street, ... ... Portland, Oregon.
Cheapest, simplest, easiest to operate, no shifting of trays, dries at lowest cost, no waste of air, perfect circulation of air, no bursting or
dripping, . . - .f'.'!'•; 2'-
much thicker than when only a seed crop is
desired. The amount of grain put in when
sown with alfalfa is but a trifle less than the
usual demand. When seed alone is the desider
atum the drill should be employed and the tubes
set from fifteen to nineteen feet apart, and only
twelve to fifteen pounds should be placed on an
acre. A good "catch" is more desirable usual
ly than the actual number of pounds to the acre,
but a good rule for a common crop would be
from fifteen to twenty pounds; and one using
this quantity will not go astray in his expecta
tion. It is very difficult to re-seed thin patches,
as the older growth is so rank that it tends to
choke out the younger shoots. We have found
that whatever implements may be used for cov
ering the seed, the work should be followed by
a plank drag to smooth and compact the sur
face. Great care should be exercised in the
selection of seed to see that the grains are
plump and healthy, and that it is scrupulously
clean. If there are many shrunken seeds, reject
the whole lot, for if they sprout at all they will
produce only puny, worthless plants. By all
means avoid seed that may contain the dodder
seed, as this enemy is very fatal to alfalfa.
Puring the first season of its growth alfalfa
should be cut but once, leaving a rather high
stubble. This cutting should be done just in
time to prevent any weeds from maturing their
seed, if possible. The aftergrowth of the alfalfa
in the first season should be allowed to remain,
and servo ps a winter protection for the young
and somewhat tender plants. A winter mulch
of light manure is also advisable. All pastur
ing of stock on it in the first season should be
avoided. The second year it may be cut twice
without injury to the young plants, and in the
third year and thereafter, three and even four
cuttings are made here in Colorado with a total
yield averaging six tons to the acre. We aim
to cut the crop every thirty days or so, just be
fore tbe plant appears in bloom. Under our
present mode of harvesting we are putting al
falfa in the stack at a cost of less than one dollar
a ton.
In conclusion it might be well to note that
the advantages of alfalfa are: When well estab
lished it does not run out; it withstands drought
much better than any other clover; it grows rap-
uimrd your !M£nt .o^o^,' 4^\§s&,
*J C_s 11- (.'berry street Consultation free.
idly and may be cut early in the season; it gath
ers a large amount of nitrogen from the soil,
and is, therefore, very valuable as a fertilizing
crop, and it furnishes large crops of green fod
der each season. When properly cured it
makes an excellent hay; it is relished and digest
ed by all farm animals and is an excellent flesh
and milk producer; it makes muscle rather than
fat and is, therefore, valuable to use with corn
or other fat-producing crops to make a well
balanced ration for cattle.
TURNING DOWN THE HUMBUGS.
It is something of a compliment to our ex
periment stations that rascals try to steal their
reputation when selling bogus goods to farmers.
One Oliver llawn is now in Miami county sell
ing poultry foods, spraying materials, etc.,
which, he claims, have been tested at the Ohio
station. Another rougue named Essig is in
Stark county selling a recipe for preventing
pear blight. This man even claims that the
state, through the station, has given him a fine
gold watch. The station people come out
squarely and make the following statement:
These men are both frauds. The Ohio Ag
ricultural Experiment Station does not endorse
or recommend secret compounds or processes
of any description whatever, and prosecuting
attorneys throughout the state are urged to
arrest and prosecute for obtaining money under
false pretenses, any person who may claim to
have any such endorsement from the station.
That is the way to talk. These rascals are
advertising the station in a way they little ex
pected. The work of exposing such frauds is
legitimate work for an "agricultural watch
dog." A station director should be proud to
bear that name.
R. S. Thompson, of Catlin, Cowlitz county,
raised a fine crop of tobacco last year, and being
a cigar maker, has a large supply of home
made cigars of home-grown tobacco.
T. D. Thomas, who is well known to Kittitas
farmers, is conducting at (519 Pike street, Se
attle, under the name of the "Ellensburg Jersey
Butter Store," a retail depot for dairy products,
eggs and vegetables.
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