| Show making money on the farm IX clover and alfalfa 61 by C V GREGORY GRIMY author cf of ielome course in modern agriculture 0 1909 1905 by american pr ft L III 1113 H no crop brown rown on the till farm bach is 1 more necessary or inor profitable nil all than things s con considered eldered thin some legume such n crop Is 1 from the standpoint of the returns frrtz fr ini an n acre anil anol doubly printable when the fertility of if the soil soll 14 1 on the farm when much stock Is iq kept legumes irvn another purpose that of furril furnishing shing cheap protein clover versus alfalfa throughout th corn belt clover ii 1 the most important Import legume in west ern united ata cs es alfalfa i la is largely grown while in the auth adouth cowpea i soy beans and vetch retch are tho the principal princ pil legumes rhe legume best adapted to your onn a locality la Is tho the best beat one to grow ow at least until careful expert ment menti i have thai that me her ii 1 more profitable pron tahle in the west where here tho the soil la is loose and dry alfalfa down its tong ion roots to a source of pr manent water supply ani yield dant crops farther cost enst where here the nater lable 1 Is so near the surfnee of tho around that the plant plants have wet feet during a portion of the year it due does not di 10 US well in statis awit of thu the missouri river cler er la Is enuch more desirable A small patch of alfalfa may be grown but it doea doe not ut fit into the system of farming well nouh to bo be adopted on a lar laru e scale it cannot be sown with the tile small grain in the spring with any surety of getting a n stand tho the sled 1 Is expensive and aud the hay is more cull cult to cure than clover alfalfa does not come to its prime for about three years so that it is not profitable to plow it up the year as IA done with clover this reason it does not work well in the standard rotation of corn oats and clover that meets with so 0 o much favor in the corn carti belt it doea does not dt tit in to with wit the rest of the work as well as clover elt eithur br ail as the first crop croll must be cut ut just when the orn la Is being laid by T btu atu a good cow stand of alfalfa ham been secured it yields twice as much aa an clover but thia this extra yield Is counter balanced bala in most instances by its die adv getting a stand of clover the question of getting a island of clover la Is a troublesome one on many farma farms this la Is due largely to improper methods the first point to consider ll 11 the soil laud land that has been farmed a number of years ie Is likely to bo be add acid a condition which makes it III fittra to grow gr w clover tola this acidity can be overcome by adding ground limestone aa as cu in article no 2 A ced seed bed in rood good and tree free from weed seeds la is also an important consideration lettla clover plant plants arc are very tender and cannot well compete with wd or force their way through clods lund land that has been kept rea free from front wed the previous seaon Is 14 beat best for clover such ian luul I 1 prepared aa as for onta aa as described in it article no so 4 maites an ideal eed bed for clover clover seid seti ebl ld be tested for germination min mi nation stion before sowing if it doea does not very well a larger amount 40 A 14 as 1 iam 10 IO aril 1 04 BID CLOT to the acre will have to bo be flown sown the beed seed should iw be cleaned carefully with a clover seed grader to remove all weed eed if purchased aed it should be examined very carefully to see trat it contains contal no weed Ps nd if of the teed seed Is badly shriveled it should be entirely this matter of 0 test ing 1 the of teed seed before the rhular owing sowing Is 13 roid does not receive the attention v hicie iti importance dero deni ands it need i no argument to tc ebon that it ithe pan part of prudence to twile tu ibe certain that this fitial factor in the au laign 14 1 proved to be crip capable ible of ful its requirement I 1 be he eye is I 1 1 ha no means an infallible judge of gnit offend offer iLd for eced seed and a more searching IDl inquiry ulrY should be ninde lier ber cloter clover la is eown sown with timote timothy y about eight 1 pound 4 of the tile clorer clover t to 0 four of per acre Is the he proter amount in a short rot hoi however ever it la 14 better to leave out the timothy a rd uc use ten or twelve pound pounds of doter not of all fill of this aa seed will grow the arst fir amr vc nr the outer cot coit of a clover clorer deed heed Is very bard hard and a considerable tro proportion trop portion of it does not soften enough to sprout the be first season I 1 it t will coma up the neit nest spring and t thicken the that stand with small grain on light xoi P especially it if tb tit spring la Is dry the clover may be mixed with the cats directly awl and covered at the be same depth where there Is 1 much clay in 10 the soil oil or when the soil oil Is rather wet at time of 0 sowing the cli ances ar that much of the closer seed sped will rail fall to come up at till 11 if it put in so deep dp A better way Is to go over the ground with a wheelbarrow seeder afar the oats bare beba disked in and cov r the clover cov 10 er seed xyth ith the harrow mont drills have a grai gra a i need seed attachment BOW the closer d t in im tween the rows of emall grain the harrow harros Ning aa which bleh follows drilling drill lne ini wilt will coter the closer coed seed drilled grilii espe dilly it if drilled north and bouth 1 a much better nurse nume crop than tint thit own sown the rile sun bet u in au bitteti the row rows tu to the little clutier planta plants and they grow much more rapidly than do in broaded ut arain rain late grain doea not riot a factory nurse rp crop it stools out too much and ii 11 ao 0 o dry and hard when it la Is th tint thit it the spindling diver cliver cannot it n ike ake much of a growth before winter vinter t luxuriant fall granth la Is the 1 let at gui guirantes rantee against winter winterkill kill ing birly oata or birley liike an ideal nurse crop they do not stool out ut much and are rile early in auly uly thin thu giving the clover month 4 in elih uk b it to grow before it ft la Is stopped 1 ahe uhe first falls fall a howth should not be cut or pastured if it it crop 14 wanted tho the following at hinr ar it lq 1 to hold the to pro the tender roots lu iti the spring 1 the clover field should be examined early to pee how it has come through tho the winter the stand may need thick A V arzo ening by scattering a little seed ovar soine some of the thin spots or tho the celd geld iray tray possibly be so badly daro dam aged that it will be necessary to plow it up curing clover hay clover should be cut as boon soon ns as it Is in full bloom and bt fore many of tt ft e heads fiends have turned brown if cut earlier it la Is sappy and hard to cure it left inter later it becomes woody As soon as the cut clover bas has wilted a little in the wath swath it should be thrown th er into light windrows wind rows preferably with a side delivery cured la in this way the leares uro are lead liable to become brittle and shake off well cured clover leaves are almost as valuable val for feed as bran so caro care should be taken to save as many of them as possible As soon as the bay has cured sufficiently in the windrow it should be gathered ea up with a loader if one LUD be hadadd put in the barn clover tae tas the reputation of being a troublesome crop to harvest and many farmers are ehy of it on that account it 13 1 true that clover growing for profit demands a rood good deal of intelligence but that Is also the very factor which brings success in all agricultural en terp rises with proper attention natt neloa to the habit of the plant and with the exer else of a modicum of judgment in its culture and harvesting there is 1 nothing to be feared for the outcome 11 here it Is 1 desired to a crop of piped the second crop should be used the fit fitt t crop seldom fills well and Is always more valuable for hay bay than then for seed most thrashing machines have a clover closer hulling attachment it should be carefully ted eo so as to get all the reed A bushul to a bushel and a half halt of seed per pre P re Is 13 a good yield the yield of hay ie is troia from one to two tons to the acre for the first crop and a little more than halt as much for the second crop N here the field fields i are fenced the second crop may often pastured to advantage alslee clover find finds a place on la land lad d that Is 14 too wet for tae the red variety it docs does not yield as well but it makes better posture by loosening up the eod god in the tho low bornem of the pasture with the disk and owing sowing four pounds of to the acre its value may be increased in seeding a field to red clover it Is well to waiter watter P little risuke in the low spots it will be sure to grow whether the other does or not handling alfalfa what hat has been aid said about alfalfa does not mean that it Is not to be grown at all except in the drier rf alons of the west but that ft Is to he be introduced into new eglons carefully y and on a email small scale the unrest n ny y to get a stand of alf alfalfa alfa id is to fallow the ind 1 during the spring and early inn mer about the middle of i july u I 1 y a sn d bed bod may be prep prepared ired and the alfilda pov sown u at the rate of ot twenty to twenty five pounds to the acre if the ground 14 1 4 not too ton dry a stand will usually be he aused in this way sine the lie inc vill ovive dis destroyed troyed most mot of he the the objection to ti this plin plit 14 1 alint nu arop N 1 obtained from the liml tint lint benr more economical nay ii 1 to IV with ith a crop of or early oats or barley eoon as thi alili i Is 1 harve alid the th land should 6 linked thoroughly and the alfalfa sped seed rown sown if the ground iii 1 so dry and hard that the mill will not hold it will have hare to be plotted the main thing filing I 1 to get the wed seed in as quickly an the chances of pe aring a st blind stina ina are much improved it a thin brelig of manure Is 1 given the land before sowing after the al ai falfa falta once get a start 14 1 very h birdy and n good gool yie liler elder girair jur aur to eli six tone tons of h my ty n year it should be cut when about one ont tenth of the plants are in bloom tc tle second spring a diak run over the field will split up the crowns and thicken the stand di scour ging aging the weeda weeds and loosening the soil oil as wall |
