Show LUCERN I 1 A RESPONDENT correspondent con writing from the south some days since made inquiry as to the raising of lucern seed we were in hopes some sonic of our agricultural readers who have had experience in the business wo would uld ulo forward fonward us a reply to the quer quor queries lete letz but as none of them have done so 0 we will give the result of our experience upon the subject and the information gained irom from conversing I 1 13 9 with i I 1 quite til ill e a number of practical W farmers in regard to it to commence with we may remark that alfalfa or lucern as it is more cOll commonly called may now be considered the principal forage crop of this territory it la is not very dilli cuil cull lu tu remember liber tiber when there was a strong 1 brej prejudice udice against it lu ili tuis region 1 du due to me the statement generally circulated that when once started lii iii land it could not bo be subdued or killed out eur fur a few years after il was first wilh with it gained but liitle lil ill tie lukor nui bui au lub luh culture in the tin disie ule pun pan ol 01 our soon boun rendered u popular were there anu and tuc tue way its popularity spread after that was simply people soon found mat tiie tile dry bench iana land formerly considered worthless worth lehs lubs could by the planting of lucern seed upon it be made to yield an abundant crop of excellent fodder and instead ot depending 1 upon tiie the bottom lands which in many luh lub instances would produce but little more than one ton or the native grasses to the acre for the hay supply people began to turn their attention to utie tile up IZ laud on which tro iro tromia mix bix to nine tons ions per acre of lucern could be raised As a result this territory is now capable of supporting fully double tile lne number of stock mat that it used wed to notwithstanding the deterioration in the ranges fanges resul resulting tin g from the pasturing of immense sheep herds so important has tile the crop become that the people would scarcely know how hov to get along without it and if the lucern lucera crop were destroyed as it is said worms of a new variety for this country are threatening the destruction of some holds fields ign in bountiful it would be the tae next thing to a failure of the grain crop we are unable to say what extent of area i in n this territory ory orv ia Is devoted to this crop nor estimate the quantity raised but from information received we are of ot the opinion that nearly if not quite ibs IDS of ot lucern seed from last years crop has been shipped out of the territory during the past few months most of this has been sent eastward a considerable quantity to california and S some 0 in e to t the 11 e so southeast U th C ast in which latter lauer direction in colorado new now mexico and texas there is likely to be a good market for seed next year indeed notwithstanding the great quan quaint city of seed raised here for year years past the market markel for it seems to be grow growing ilig 1119 beder better and it Is commanding a hieber hitcher price this spring here in utah than it has lias ili in many years it is now selling at from 17 to 20 acts per ib now us as to the raising of seed if lucern b be planted with a view to this object not more than ten or twelve pounds to the acre should be sown as it is not well tap U have it too thick the most successful cultivators of lucern in this region leave tile the second crop for seed as the hist filst natu naturally raly grows too rank to yield much in some places however where there ia Is not sufficient suni clent moisture moist nrc in the land to bring brini a second crop without irrigation it lias has been found best to leave the first crop of the season for seed la ift any case ease the crop intended for seed should never be irrigated rl ri abed as the watering of it ca causes it i to lun iun run too much to top and not blossom freely in favorable seasons the second crop even on bench land produces a goodfield good yield of seed tho g gh ti it may not grow more than a foot in is however a good deal of uncertainty about raising kaisim it as in moisture caise calse s the blossoms to droboff dro drop poff onn off without dev developing eloping into seed the quantity of seed produced per acre varies all the way from nothing up to twenty bushels tho though ugh the latter is an extraordinary yield about WO lbs ibs per acre may be considered a good yield and the average is probably ably not more inure than ibs lbs in conclusion we will say that in our opinion the capabilities of our country in tte walter watter of producing lucern and supporting animal life have hardly been heen dreamed ot of yet we think time will develop tile the fact that many of our low hills and gentle mountain slopes will produce at least one c crop in n the season eason of this butr nutritious roi tio us fodder and by utilizing our mountain streams in the autumn autumn after the irrigation of other crops have ceased teased in thoroughly soaking the lucern patches not only will the average a bare yield per acre be greatly Inere increased pase jase 1 but ut many of our dry barren benches which have heretofore been consider considered c worthless because of lack of water waier to irrigate them will yet become green with verdure and yield bountiful crops of lucern to the industrious husbandman possibly too after the soil has been enriched bv by the raising of this crop for fora a number of years which of itself is an excellent fertilizer and filled with water through autumn irrigation atlon aaion it will be found that the formerly vy worthless worthless land will be capable of producing other crops also |