Crowing Alfalfa Without Irrigation.
Although alfalfa gives its largest
returns under irrigation, oftenyield
ing six and seven tons per acre in
one season, it has been quite
thoroughly demonstraetd that it
is the largest yielding and best
paying hay plant that can be
grown on dry upland in eastern
Washington and Oregon. On such
land it does not reach its highest
development until about the third
year, as it requires some time for
the root system to develop suffi
ciently to take up the required
moisture for the plant. Therefore,
little must be expected the first
year and only light returns the
second. Preparation of the .Soil:
The ground selected should be as
free as possible from weeds, as
these are the great enemy of the
young alfalfa plant. Land plowed
deep early in the spring and
thoroughly cultivated during the
summer makes the best seed bed
for alfalfa. With land prepared
in this way and with early fall
rains, early fall seeding would
probably give very satisfactory
residts. At the present time, how
ever. we have very little data re
garding fall seeding. If the land
selected for the alfalfa field grew
a crop the previous year, plow it
deep in the fall or early winter
as soon as it is wet enough. Let
it lie in this rough state until in
good working condition in the
early spring, when it should be
thoroughly pulverized and packed
bv harrowing, discing, rolling,
etc., according to circumstances.
As soon as danger of killing frosts
is over, cultivate again to kill any
weeds that may have appeared and
to break up the crust that may
have formed on the surface of
the ground. Then sow the seed.
Inoculation : If it is thought that
the alfalfa bacteria is not already
in the soil, material for inoculat
ing the seed may be obtained from
Dr. Geo. T. Moore, Bureau of
Plant Industry, Washington, D.
C., by simply writing|him, stating
the amount of seed to be sown and
approximately the date of seeding.
It is necessary to give Mr. Moore
a little time to enable him to send
the inoculating material in due
season. Inoculation may also lie
made by hauling surface soil from
an old alfalfa field and scattering
from 300_to 500 pounds per acre
on the surface of the new field just
before seeding.
Sowing the Seed : If sown broad
cast 12 to 15 pounds should be
sown per acre. Cover lightly by
harrowing. If drilled 10 pounds
of seed per acre will be sufficient.
I know of some who use only 15
pounds of seed per acre when sown
broadcast and they claim it ample
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011 dry upland. 1 he common grain :
drill with
may he used in sowing alfalfa seed.
Take the spouts of the seeder off
and put them on again so that they
point backward instead of forward.
Then loosen the rubber tubes
from the main drill, pull them for
ward and attach to the spouts of the
settler by wire or otherwise,Jso that
seed will drop in the holes or
beside the discs of the drill and
covered in the usual way. In
he dryer localities where the soi
'light or no danger of crusts form- 1
mg on the surface, the seed can be j
vend as deep as two inches. In
®°>st localities, however, the seed
htntld be covered lightly.
Treatment the First Year : If
teds are troublesome, the fields
boulcl be mown with sufficient
equenev to keep them from
lathering the alfalfa. Mow low
10 "gh to keep the weeds down
d vet cut off as little alfalfa as
ssible. If a good stand is secur
and the field is not weedy, or
°re cuttings of hay may be taken
°ni the field the first year. Al
lia should not be pastured the
s t season.
treatment the Second Year:
hen the alfalfa is one year old,
rrow with a drag harrow in the
r 'y spring as soon as the ground
in good working condition.
lve it the same treatment after
moving each crop.
Treatment the Third Year: At
1 beginning of the third year or |
grass-seeder attachment |
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m the early spring, as soon as the
ground is in good working condi
tion, setting the harrow about as
straight as possible. This splits
the crown of the root of the alfalfa
plant and, it is said, causes it to
send up more young shoots than it
would. After loosening up the
ground with disk harrow, use the
drag harrow freely to form a dust
mulch on the surface of the soil
that all (he soil
hie may be
the same
moisture possi
consumed. Treat
way after remov
moving each crop. This cultiva
tiou of the surface to form mulch
and thereby conserve the soil
mois
ture is an ahsqtute necessity where
the rainfall is scant.
W hen the field becomes older
and the roots larger, the disk har
i row may be set to run deeper. It
I can then be disked two or three
Although
I t ' ,lles at each cultivation,
j ® r< ^ er to put the soil in proper con
it is necessary to go
to some trouble and expense in
dition for alfalfa, yet paying re
turns will be obtained so much
quicker and the meadow is so valu
able and lasting so many years,
that the extra time and expense
are amply repaid.
Byron Hunter,
Ass't, Agrostologist, U. S. Dept,
of Agriculture.
Have you seen our assortment of
waist sets? Aschraft Jewelry Co.
20 lbs. California prunes for $1
at Thompson's.
M or mo ix go to Illinois.
Bloomington. 111., March 25.—
The Mormons have decided to
come back to Illinois. At the Illi
nois conference of the Mormon
church, just closed in Warren
county, it was decided to invade
the land of their fathers and three
churches will be built, one at
Monmouth, where Joseph, the first
prophet was tried in 1841, on an
old Missouri warrant charging
him with arson, murder and other
crimes. The trial, which ended
in acquittal, was presided over by
Stephen A. Douglas, then judge
of the circuit court.
ASSESSMENT NOTICE.
Teton Irrigation and M'f'g Com
pany Canal.
Principal place business Teton Ida.
Notice is hereby given that at a
meeting of the Board of Direc
tors of the aforesaid company held
on Saturday, March 25, a cash
assessment of 5 per cent, was lev
ied upon the capital stock of said
company. Said assessment is
now due and payable to the secre
tary, and unless paid on or before
the 25th day of April, 1905, will
be delinquent, and advertised for
sale according to law. U. C.
Pogge, Secy.
OUR NATIVE APPLE.
Almost every section of the United
States has some peculiar flowering
tree or shrub that is its especial pride
and glory. Throughout the upper Mis
: Blss j 1)pi valley there is nothing that
generation of ammonia.
| cal1 compare in exquisite beauty and
fragrance with our common wild crab.
This tree, botanically known as Pyrus
coronal ia, lias its eastern limits on the
i western boundary of New York, but
grows in greatest numbers and roaches
, greatest perfection in the states along
the Father of Waters, from Minnesota
to Arkansas.
Naturally it is of spreading habit,
and when growing in the open seldom
attains a height of more than twenty
five feet, but, surrounded by other for
est growth, ofien towers up for more
light, to a height of thirty or forty
feet. The liate, s rrated on the mar
ginF. is of a dark, glossy green on the
upper surface and in spring when the
free is covered with Us loose corymas
of large, ro e cniored blossoms, from
whicli the most enticing but delicate
pc rtume is wafted, it is im]tossible to
imagim anything more perfectly love
ly.
/s an "nnment for the lawn or
shri'koer the crab apple has not been
fully appreciated, and as the country
is becoming more closely settled and
wood lots cleared for cultivation and
the mowing and cutting of the road
sides committed to ignorant men, who
do not make any distinction between
valuable and pernicious growths, there
is much danger that this beautiful
aborigine icu.v be utterly exterminated,
it is easily transplanted and will grow
on hill or in dale, singly or in groups,
and some varieties do not send up
troublesome suckers at all.
Landscape gardeners and florists, as
well as others who are interested in
the preservation of our native flora,
should give this matter consideration
and do their part toward preserving
end multiplying this tree tor the bene
fit of future generations.
If Portland cement can be bought
at $3 per barrel it is as cheap as
plank and timbers for stable floors, I
and far more durable and economical
of manure. Besides it permits greater j
cleanliness and leaves no place for
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Conducted by
tM. Wragg invites contributions of
an> new ideas that readers of this de
!; art . I 5 e S t ™ ay wish to present and
ould be pleaspd to answer correspond
desiiing informs lion on subjects
V J W'ragK, 300 Good
Iowa]
nts _____ o
discussed. Addre. JO
Hlook, Des Moines
..... ......__
j ™ aa a familiar plant to the Egyptian
A BIT OF HISTORY.
It seems remarkable that a forage
Plant that nas been cultivated since
the first twilight of civilization should
•)e so little known in the South. It
Medes, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks
and Romans and no doubt grew on
the plains of Mesopotamia and sup
plied herbage to the flocks of Nebu
chadnezzar. It has been long known
in France anil Italy under the name of
lucerne. The Moors intr luced it into
Spain in the eighth century, and called
H by its Arabian name, alfalfa (best
kind of fodder). The Si aniards took
it to South America; from Chile it was
carried to California in 1853. and from
thence eastward to the Mississippi
river and to the regionsr beyond. It
was brought from Europe to New York
as early as 1825, but it did not give
satisfaction, and its cultivation was
practically abandoned.
Allalfa is a leguminous plant akin,
botanically, to clover and cowpeas, and
it has the power of assimilating ni
trogen from the atmosphere throgh
tubercles on its roots, and so improves
the soil upon which it grows. Unlike
clover and cowpeas, it is a perennial
plant, and will grow for many years
upon the same land without reseeding.
Clover is a biennial, and must be re
sown after two crops have been pro
duced. The cowpea is an annual. The
great advantages which alfalfa pos
sesses over any other forage plant is
the number of cuttings that it will
bear every year and also its perma
nency.
Generally the most de-Mrabie situs*
tion for the growing of alfalfa is a
well-drained river or creek bottom,
high enough to escape overflows.
Standing water Is fatal t- the alfalfa
plant, and it will prove fatal if the
water table under the plant rises to
within a few inches of the surface.
Any soil that will produce a good crop
of corn will grow alfalfa, provided al
ways that it Js not subject to inunda
tions
After all, if it can be shown that the
thinner soils of the s^uth may be
made to grow successfully this valu- !
able plant, it will be a gain worth
millions of dollars to our Southern
States.
There would no doubt be much more
corn fodder saved were '* not for the
trouble in loading and , 'loading the
heavy stalks. To avoid this, have a
long frame built for your wagon, with
a solid floor. Then p-;t the front
wheels on front axles. This will cause
the rear end of the frame to reach
nearly to the ground, and the loaders
can step on it and walk forward with
their arms full
and load backward.
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Begin loading in front
TO MAKE HENS LAY IN WINTER.
In planning the winter campaign
with the hens, the first consideration
is the poultrv house. E: '-.ine it care
fully; give it a thorough cleaning and
whitewashing and carefully batten all
cracks to keep out the cold. In some
cases it is a good plan to bank up the
building with eartli for a height of two
or three feet.
Cover the floor with straw or chaff
which should be renewed at least once
a week. This covering is for two pur
poses—to keep the hens' feet warm
and to furnish exercise by making
them scratch for their grain, which
hould be scattered in the straw.
For the morning feed give the hens
a mash made of a mixture of bran,
shorts and corn meal, chopped clover
hay and a little condition powder in
the form of red pepper. This should
all be stirred up with enough hot
water to make a thick, crumbly mass.
It Is a good plan to put in a handful
of broken plaster for every ten hens.
If you have no broken plaster make
mortar the same as for mason work
and let it harden, then break it up.
Give the hens only as much of this
mash as they will eat up clean in a
short time.
At noon give them seme cabbage,
beets or tu; jis or any kind of green
food to ke them busy. Feed them
their grain , heat or oats) toward
evening and let them scratch in the
straw t<^ it. Vary their feed once in
a while by cleaning out the horses'
manger and giving the chaff to the
hens to scratch over.
A high-bred hen scored 97 points at
a western poultry show not long since.
Scrub hens could have scored 100 had
they just gone to laying.
AVERAGE.
"I was passing through a class room
in one of the big down town schools
the other day," said a certain super
intendent during a lull in a board
meeting, "when I heard a remarkable
definition of 'average.' In answer to
the teacher's request to define the
word, a little black-haired beauty cried
out: 'The thing that hens lay eggs
on.'
"When the teacher told her she was
wrong she produced a book in which
she pointed out the phrase, 'A hert
lays on an average five eggs a week.' "
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We know a man who says his boys
are not worth shucks, and there is
nobody to blame hut the old man him
self.
I that cannot 1)6 burned should be carted
into some draw or water course on the
! farm ' where it will make a dam and
improving the farm.
Eveij thoughtful farmer wishes to
improve his farm, just as the business
man wishes to improve his business so
that it shall become more valuable
each year.
Some farmers seek to increase the
value of their farms by adding acres,
others by building new barns or new
fences.
Theie are larmers who become poor
er with every quarter section they add
to their farm. They have more acres,
but tlie original homestead is more in
differently cultivated, and the little
details in keeping things up are neg
lected. The children and wife, as well
as the farmer, are enslaved to pay for
the last quaiter section bought, and
the home farm is not worth as much
as an investment as it was before, be
ing mortgaged to secure the payment
on the latter purchase.
New barns and new fences are not
the only things that improve farms.
Sometimes their addition to a farm
makes the lack oi oilier improvements
more apparent. Again, not every
farmer is able to build a new barn
when lie thinks he needs it, but this
should not prevent him from making
impi ■ements each year—should not
prevent him from keeping up the im
provements, so that each year his
farm would sell better than the year
before should he wish to dispose of it.
Many dollars could be added to the
selling value of the majority of farms
by a single day's work with man and
team. On many farms this addition to
the selling value could be made for
several days in succession in the same
way—simply cleaning «ip an outhouse
and barn, making firewood and scrap
iron of all wornout wagons and im
plements and all other trash that can
be used that way. All other rubbish
save tons of valuable soil. If the farm
er is so fortunate as not to have such
a soil depleter, let him take a plow
and scraper and make a trench deep
enough to bury the trash below the
reach of the plow when plowing the
field—dump the unsightly things,
scrape the soil back and let them rest.
So much doue, the improvement of
the farm win be so great that more
will be apt to follow. A few trees
doubtless will be planted or the old
ones trimmed, perhaps steps made so
the front door may be entered—and is
11 to ° much t0 suggest that a coat or
I tWO ot paint would add five times the
' cost to the sellln K valu e of the house?
And if money value doubled, how much
greater will he increased those values
which are measured by the sense of
P leasure and of pride in the home, the
esthetic enjoyment and moral uplift
and all the other comforts and joys
which troop with beauty and a culti
vated taste! Then the front fence
would have to be straightened up or
taken down—let the improvements
once begin and keep going on and it
will not be long before old passers-by i
will have to look the second time to j
locate themselves, and newcomers will
say, "What a pretty place; wonder if
It could be bought?"
A colt which persists in carrying its
head to one side whil e being broken
must be put into the bit-rig and al
lowed to wander from one to three
hours in the yard, and if necessary be
driven in such a rig until broken of
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'** * ' '-** *** wv ' v '" " ' 'ft ''iwncii ui I
the habit of carrying to one side. This
rig consists of lines from the bit to
rings at turrets and stirrups, which
force him to carry his head straight
forward.
THE SMALL FARMER.
The small farmer who is not loo
high-toned to cultivate the land him- I
seif will succeed where a gentleman !
farmer, who employs hired help and 1
sends his children to* college, will fail, ;
even though the latter may control
ten times rs much land as the former I
and possess u few thousand dollars. ;
Give .he former a chance, select him i
with care and hack him $500 cash for
a start, and he will succeed better ;
than the latter every time. What our
arid West needs is not non-resident ;
gentlemen farmers, with staffs of cow
boys. but resident, twenty-acre, horny- I
handed sons of the soil, who do-not
consider it beneath their own, or their
children's dignity, to drive the plow,
milk the cow and earn an honest liv
ing by the su t at of brain and bl ow.
AVe have not heard of a single case
of cornstalk disease this season, the
stock having had the run of the fields
without loss. Just why this should be
so it would be interesting to know.
There was apparently just about as
much smut in the cornfields as usual.
WARM WATER FOR COWS.
It has long been known that the
more water a cow drinks the more
milk she will give, but it is not gener
ally known that the cow will give
much more milk if she drinks water
at 75 degrees than at 32 to 33 degrees.
This is the only legitimate way to
water milk, and milk sellers should
remember it pays to warm water for
milk cows in winter.
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can get its share
timid calf where it
DAIRY AND STOCK.
Remember the pedigree speaks only
for the offspring; the animal must
speak for itself It is what you are,
and not what your grandfather was,
that counts.
New line of crockery at Thomp
son's.
OASTOHX A.
Be*ra the 11,0 * inl1 You Hat e Always Bought
Signet me
of
if
If You Want
Picnic Hams * for lO cts. per lb.
IO lb. Pail Lard " $1.00
All Kinds Pickles " 15 cts. per qt.
Home Cured Dry Salt Bacon IO c. per lb.
Home Cured Hams & Bacon
Dried Beel and everything carried in a
First-class Market
Call at the old
METROPOLITAN MARKET.
A. STONE, F
r opr.
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4 A RTL
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-loi
Manage
JS]
EC
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Jtali
ma Stoc
15 PEOPIJ
k Cor
npai
iy
OFFERS THAT FAMOUS BRAMA
'THE SILVER KING
Thursday Evening, April 6th
And that beautiful realistic story of Norwegian life
THELMA«—
Friday Evening, April 7th
2 Complete Scenic Productions 2
General Admission 50 cts. Children 2
—Seats on sale Tuesday.—
2 Nights 2
5 <Ts.
The reports of the condition of win
tre wheat are not very favorable.
There has been some damage from
the Hessian fly in some sections, but
this damage is less than is usually re
" The averase «>n d "i°n of the
ported
winter wheat crop is now about
av'—ige. The germination was good
last fall and a good stand was se
cured. The weather has been very
favorable this winter. More than the
i average amount of moisture has fall
j en and in many parts of the country
I the wheat has been covered with
snow. Unless something unforeseen
! occurs, the coming crop of winter
wheat will be above the average In
: volume.
The feeding of frozen swill and oth
er half frozen articles is the cause of
much indigestion and lack of thrift
with our swine during the winter
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m onths. This should never be done
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It chills the stomach and the whole
animal system, çauses a temporary
standstill in assimilation and growth
and requires unnecessary expendi
ture of food and energy to bring the
animal back to its normal working
order.
HAVE THE NESTS NICE.
To keep hens cheerful and have
them lay well in winter, clean, soft
nests of warm hay or straw, placed
where they will be protected from
cold winds, snow and rain, should be
provided lor them. They should be
cleaned out occasionally and fresh
hay put in. and when an egg is found
broken it should be removed at once,
for. aside from the fact that the more
enterprising layers might out of curi
osity taste of it and thus acquire the
hateful egg-eating nabit, a single
broken egg in a nest will soon cause
millions of lice, which, once they have
secured a foothold, are not to be ex
pelled without more or less heroic
treatment, it is advisable to have
either tobacco dust or earth saturated
j with carbolic acid convenient for scat
tering in the nests when they are
cleaned.
It is a sat : ng of grain to grind it
for stock. If ground at home there is
a further saving of the toll, and this
is sometime.-- an unknown quantity,
: as different millers appear to have
I different rul for tolling. And then
! by grinding at home at frequent inter
I vais, the feed is always fresh and
j sweet. Most stock-keepers, nowadays,
j have their own power.
EARLY POULTRY.
The incubators must be started now
if early broilers are wanted.
The brooder jtnd its proper man
agement is more than half of artificial
rearing.
Have regular hours for feeding, and
you will always find the fowls ready
at the appointed time.
If you want eggs to hatch and to
sell from March to June, do not'push
your hens now; feed a maintenance
ration and let them rest for six weeks.
The droppings of poultry fed on
grain and meat at this season are too
valuable to be wasted. Carefully
store in barrels, mixing with dry earth
and plaster, and keep for the truck
Datch.
Swifts Hams, 12J< at Thompsons.
Idaho Plans for Exposition.
A meeting of the Idaho com
missioners to the Lewis and
| Clark fair to be held in Portland
j this vear have been in session in
the government's office
Those
at Boise,
present were Executive
Commissioner McBride and Com
missioners James R. Steele of Bing
ham county ; M. J. Wessels, of
Kendricks, and Fredrick Bradley
of Hailey ; Dr. Harold J. Reed and
Mrs. Mansfield of Nampa were
not present.
The commissioners went over
the plans of the building which
were drawn by Wayland & Fennel
and approved of them. Other
matters pertaining to the construc
tion of the building and the Idaho
exhibit were gone over and discuss
ed at considerable length.
Commissioner McBride and Mr.
Fennel, who drew the plans, will
leaves Sunday night for Portland
to let the contract for the con
struction of the building. It is
estimated that the building will
cost in the neighborhood of .f'.IOOO.
Commissioner McBride is rapidly
getting the Idaho exhibit in shape
to be shipped to Portland as soon
as the buiding has been complet
ed. Four carloads are already been
shipped, three of which were sent
direct from the exposition at St.
Louis and is ready to be installed
as soon as the building has been
completed.
The commissioners are desirous
of making the Idaho exhibit one of
the finest at the fair and to that
end every energy is to be lient.
While the appropriation is not as
large as the commissioners would
Hke it is believed that the loyal
people of the state will contribute
liberally of their products to make
the exhibit commensurate with the
importance of the state.
In the Probate Court of Fremont
County, State of Idaho.
In the matter of the Guardian
ship of Frank T. Antes, a minor.
Order to show Cause whv Peti
tion for Order of sale of Real Prop
erty should not he Granted.
It appearing from the petition
of Sara H. Warner, the Guardian
of the estate of Frank T. Antes, a
minor, that it would be greatly for
the benefit of her ward, that the
whole of said minor's real prop
erty in this County be sold:
It is therefore ordered that the
next of kin of said ward, and all
persons interested in said estate,
appear before this court on the 28th
day of April. A. D,. 1905, to
show cause, if any they can, why
such sale should not be ordered.
Dated this 25th dav of March.
A. A. ,1905.
John Donaldson.
4t. Probate Judge.
OASTOniA.
Beut the /f Tl* Hind Von Have Always Bought
Bignato-e
of . I