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Newspaper Page Text
Care of Alfalfa. A7.ntultur.ll College Expert Telli How It Should Be Done. Alfalfa lend* the list of forngp crop* in New Mexico. It forms one of Uie principal loureoi of revonuo to the fnrnur of thin tettlon. ThouH.inds of fun are HhlpptM] nnnunlly nnd It form* the bulk of the food for »*»«•< k tbroiiKli out thin rißion. Other crops nrc giv ing place to It slowly hut Hurt- ly The ncrengc In some sections In itlmply < iii»rmoiis. Ho long as present prices rul«\ alfalfa will continue to be the dominant crop and the acreage may be expected to Increase. The profit in growing (ilfalfa at present prICCS, reckoning cost of production and IntercHt upon the Investment, Is such ns to draw even the nmateur Into somewhat ex tensive operations. These substantial profllH, which have been realized for a number of years, hns. It Ih believed led to considerable c&relessness and lack of dllgenco on the part of the fanner In the care of alfalfa fields. Alfalfa Is grown with the greatest of ease and even in care !• kh hands a field not too old returns a fair profit Hut the time may be vx prcted to come when there will be a ftomewhat sharper competition than is frit nt the present time. The writer does not wish to give the impression that th<* farmer nnd ranchman will be driven out of the business, but believes tbnt more study and care will be de manded If the present rate of profit Is to continue. One can hardly pass through a field without noticing the hare spots nnd noddy patches. The alfalfa hns r-t»»«u drowned out or otherwise mishandled, nnd the aggressive native grasses hnve taken Its place. No one will contend for n moment that these grasses are cjunl to alfalfa; They sap the soil and encroach upon the alfalfa plants. The bar<» spots are objectionable, pop ular opinion to the contrary. Very coarse, woody alfalfa does not bring so good a price nor find so ready a sale as fine alfalfa. As competition In ci eases greater discrimination may be expected in this line, and the mnt ter will be forced upon (he alfalfa grower In a way thnt will command his attention. It is not an extremely difficult mat ter to prevent the bare spots and the encroachment of wild grasses. Pre ventive measures will largely do away with this difficulty and prompt atten tion may be expected to eradicate the Gvlla entirely. Among the preventive means the following may be mentioned: First, thorough preparation of the land before seeding. The land should he perfectly level nnd properly bor dered, so that the water can be easily controlled. Second, a perfect seed bed should be fcrmed, so that the maximum germin ation may be reached. Third, enough seed should be sown per acre to Insure a perfect stand. e\en under somownnt adverse circum stances, should fchey appear; also the nurse crop. If one Is used, should h° chosen with discrimination. Fourth, the time of Heeding should br that which has proven to be best throughout a long period of time. Fifth, the Irrigation should be car ried on with car«» as to season and fre quency on the particular soil to be | handled and the wny the water Is ap plied to all portions of the field. Al falfa is very susceptible to Injury from standing water during hot weather, and. therefore, the greatest can* hhould be exercised to prevent water from standing too long on low-lying portions of the field. Sixth, never pasture short, espe cially In the winter. Alfalfa has won derful recuperative powers, but con tinuous nipping off of the crowns v i 11 (Jamnßo the plants and eventually dt» rrense the yield not a little. Horses nre particularly hard nn nlfnlfn fields nurd as winter postures because they nre nble to crop close nnd not Infre quently paw loose dirt away from the plants and bite off crowns one-fourth nnd even one-half Inch below the sur fnce of the ground. It Ih not hard to understand thnt the loss of the hud or growing point may be detrimental to the growth nnd usefulness of the plants, causing ninny to die nnd re rultlng In bare spots later to bo over prown by obnoxious gnißaes. After the dnmngo Is dono there re mains no remedy but to plow up the field nnd reaeed. or to disc thoroughly nnd to rr:<i»ed the |»ar»» spots. If the field hns not deteriorated too much the, latter In much to Im» preferred. My din«. ni and careful handling, or prompt a/tlon closely following nny encroach men tn upon t)ir> life of thn plnntn, the quality nnd yield of nlfnlfn nmy he maintain"! and the profit* iHuti\«-ly rnhamed. J. J. VKIINON. Fob. 18, 1902. [Vmn bulletin No. t/J, N. C. of A. & M. A-] The Cow Pea. ThO Tularn ftoglltor Ih pithcrlriß nil hn Information obtnlnnhln nliotit illf eront forago plnntH nnd liuh thin to ly about tin* Cow Pea! "Tbo ucglster UiroHfvn that the rcKHItJK nci'd of tli lh season nt leait, i ml probably other Hen«oiiH to comn, i th<- ability to prodUCO a lan; vmount of food for nnlmnlH with lit llo waii-r nnd on n Hrraill urea of I md. y\'o have talked HorKhurn nnd ndinn corn ami now broach the sub- BCt of th<* row poa. "Tbo cow pi*a furnlHhcs practically bo bay crop of the Houth nnd, from Mr. LaiiK. who li.ih recently come imong iih from Koutheastern Mis ourl, we learn tb<» following facts In regard to Ihw provender. "With wioiigh moisture to bring the ;xm up It will produce a crop with »ut a Brent <l»<il of water, drawing t» sustenance Breotly from the air. t will produce from a ton to 2V& tons I>cr acre, a crop can bo produced In *»0 days from seeding. If cut and Mired when half the pods are ripe it mak«« a well balnnced dairy ra lion, a little strong on the fat side, and so would feed splendidly with A DON'T GIVE UP A DOLLAR 'V^JSpisLi? \U\^ - Ollr mone >' unt il you are thoroughly convinced that what you are j&j^^^^^g^A^T^r^S® getting in exchange for it is the best value obtainable. MANUFACTURE Tents, Awnings, Wagon Covers, Ore Sacks And everything in the canvas goods line. Our name is sewed on every piece, which is equivalent to any guarantee; we are always a little ahead in quality and a little behind in price. WE CAN SAVE YOU MONEY ON BEDDING, CAMP FURNITURE, RUBBER AND LEATHER BOOTS AND OILED CLOTHING Or in fact anything in Sporting Goods. MAIL ORDERS PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. WM. H. HOEGEE CO. J 38-142 South Main St. LOS ANGELES, CAL. UNION HARDWARE METAL. CO. JOBBERS AND IMPORTERS OF TINWARE, GALVANIZED WARE, GRANITE WARE AND JAPANNED WARE MINING. AND RAILROAD SUPPLIES, BUILDERS' AND SHELF HARDWARE, WAGON AND CARRIAGE HARDWARE Union Hardware and Metal Co. LOS ANGELES, CAL IMPKKIAL PKKSS i falfn. It in nrr\it aturf for hogf, / IrriKnted after" * uttlng will doubt- 1 le/« furnlnh in tura;^ hero nnd In a fin#« rertlllter for t»«e land, fliiirw it with n matUtatA of little root* that ntore Dltrogefl in thn soil. "There In no *f*»d to l*» had In thl* country now, and It In high In the •ant. being quoted nt $1.00 prr bu.»hel In Mlmoiltl, but \ r a number wer«» to club togMher at once and send for a ton or two the. cost for a starter would not be excotslve. A bushel in n'fiu!r«'«l to ncot] on acr*\ nnd a bushel wHfctm CO pounds. The cow pna »hotil»l be iown wh'ti front * are out of tho wny, In thfl lattr-r part of March or first of April, anrl It Is poa nlhlo that Kprln ; rain* may be RiifH clent to make a crop without Irriga tion. 'The pcaa are threshed with a sep arator with the cylinder slowed down to 1*0 '» revolutions so as not to split the peas, It will be profitable for Borne yean to grow the peas nnd thn-wh them to supply the local de mand for seed. "It will pay farmers and dairymen; to look this matter up and do It at once. If you want to Join In {tending for feed come to The Res;i?ter office and say bo. Perhaps an order can \ he- made up at once." Growing Luxuriantly. Mr. T. P. Banta arrived from Im perial, Oil., yesterday for a few days' J vlalt In Mesa and the valley. Hej brought over some «amples of barley that Is growing under the Imperial j canal. The bunches are fine specimens j of gTaln and stand about three and a, half feet tall. The grain va.s planted ! the latter part of October of last year. iirui ho *ny» It h Rrowln* luxuriantly whfjrovrr planter).— |»hn*nlx, Artzonn, Itebubllcan. Dm penal Telephone Comnipamiy A. 0. WALIN, rUnmut I Offices at IMPERIAL CALEXIICO FLOWSNQWELL IRIS i neSSAOES SENT TO OR RECeiVED FROn ANY PART OP THE WORLD Telephones For Rent 3