| Show 1 Alfalfa The Life Lifeblood blood of Sanpete Agriculture f Leland Hargrave Creer in his The uThe Founding of an Empire tells us that because of the In Intense Intense intense in- in tense cold and the resulting necessity of planned winter feeding and the very difficulty of providing for satisfactory winter range resulted In heavy stock loses in Utah George A A. A Smith writing in 1856 said that the livestock mortality during the winter of 56 1855 throughout through through- out the territory had been terrible According to Professor Andrew Andrew Andrew An An- drew Love Neff Orson Hyde In his conference remarks Oct 7 7 1865 said The longer we live in these valleys the more destitute the grass Be Between Between Between Be- Be tween here and the mouth of Emigration Canyon when our the pioneers first landed here in 47 there was an abundance of grass over all those benches They were covered with it like a meadow There is now nothing but the I desert weeds the rabbit-brush rabbit and such like plants that make very poor feed for stock Being cut short as we have been l there Is nothing to feed them with in the winter and they perish U Presumably most of the livestock livestock livestock live live- stock in 1850 were fed or herded herded herded herd herd- ed in the valleys adjacent to the settlements By 1860 the utilization of the nearer ranges was in process and by 1870 due to the cessation of Indian menace there was a marked expansion of the range area Subsistence of so many head otherwise would have been im impossible impossible impossible im- im possible as haying had made madeno no large gains Two prerequisites were necessary necessary necessary essary before Utah could hope to realize reaUze its destiny as a livestock livestock live Uve- stock region The grass lands of the public domain must be relieved of the Indian menace and the king of tame feed crops alfalfa must come to the rescue rescue rescue res res- cue off the domestic animals in the barnyards of the farmers Whereas the function of the theof theof theof of the Indian had been to menace and to destroy little plant lucerne had a marvelous mission mission mission mis mis- sion to perform in the arid west Annie C C. C Kinball tells us that thata a number of pioneers have claimed to be the first to bring the seed of this valuable forage plant to this country There seems much evidence that lu lucerne lucerne lucerne lu- lu cerne seed was Wa brought from the British Isles in the early and then began the conquest conquest conquest con con- quest of the west Lorenzo Clark tells us that his father Benjamin Clark of Cambridge England who Cameto came cameto cameto to Salt Lake City in the autumn of 1853 brought with him the seed of this valuable food for domestic animals He planted a portion of lot 15 of Plat A of the Big Field Survey They did good work although slow The crops grew well We sold the seed Lorenzo Clark re remembered remembered re- re well A A. A 0 O. O Smoot buying a pint cup full of the seed pods and paying a tiny one dollar gold coin for the same San Bernardino claims the first successful culture of the plant in the United States The oldest known alfalfa was re reported reported reported re- re ported to have been brought from Media to Greece about B B. B C. C It was called lucerne in Europe Alfalfa reportedly was Introduced in the United States in 1835 In the winter of 53 1852 a party of Mormons arrived in San Bernardino Bernardin from Austra Austra- lia One of the party John Metcalf brought with him some alfalfa seed It was sown Irrigated ir irrigated irrigated Ir- Ir and cultivated and it did so well that others soon cultivated it Ultimately it was taken from San Bernardino to Salt Lake City Gardners Gardner's History of Lehi Lehl tells us that Issac Goodwin came to Lehi Lehl from the coast coastin in February of 1860 bringing with him a little alfalfa seed whIch he planted In the spring of 1860 It was the first alfalfa seed that Utah soil had ever known Only seven plants sprouted but were nourished to maturity and the precious seed replanted The seed were secured by running the pods through a coffee corree grinder He sold some for a dollar a pound The first stack of lucerne hay was put up In Lehi Lehl in 1867 However Christopher Layton's autobiography says I planted the first alfalfa seed in Utah and some of it still grows on the old farm Brigham Young in conference October 9 1865 gave widespread widespread widespread wide wide- spread publicity to the idea of using alfalfa locally He ad admonished admonished admonished ad- ad the saints to feed cows better and to get eight quarts of milk rather than two per milking Let them who have cows in the city sow a little lucerne seed In their gardens say three or four yards square and see that it is well cultivated However interesting to note in the addresses at the conference conference conference con con- ference there was much more emphasis on silk culture rice growing etc than to alfalfa and as Professor Neff re remarked remarked remarked re- re marked H How liow w unfortunate and lamentable that the high churchmen churchmen churchmen church church- men could not grasp the basic importance of the future of King Alfalfa An editorial in the Deseret News of March on feed for cows advocated the growing of lucerne on city lots Those who have had experience In raising lucerne speak in highest terms of the excellent qualities qualities qualities ties as summer feed for animals animals animals ani ani- mals for cows In another article on the same page entitled Improvement in Dairy Produce recommends that those who do not have pasture pasture pasture pas pas- ture adjacent to the city should raise lucerne for the dairy herd From Milestones in Millard it Is said that one of the earliest records of alfalfa being grown In West Millard County In Old Deseret was by byL L L. L R. R Cropper Sr Mr Cropper was justice of the peace in Deseret He received word from Iowa to hold a man travelling on his way to C California for fora a bill owed In Iowa The man was stopped by Mr Cropper and asked to pay the bill The man did not have any money but he had 70 pounds of alfalfa seed with him which Mr Cropper bought to pay the bill The seed was planted on the Cropper farm and produced some of the finest alfalfa seed grown in Millard County From that time on until 1890 small amounts of alfalfa seed were produced for use among the farmers of that area In 1890 production had in increased increased increased in- in creased to make quite a surplus over the amount consumed lo 10 cally tally The surplus found a market market market mar mar- ket and sold for two and one- one half cents per pound This was the beginning of alfalfa seed production on a commercial basis in the west Millard area In the year 1925 third one-third of the alfalfa seed raised in the United States was raised in Millard County From the Gunnison Valley Centennial Memory it is claimed that the first alfalfa planted in Sanpete County was by Charles Brossart in 1874 He r received two and one- one half pounds of alfalfa seed from froma a missionary who returned from Switzerland Th The seed was planted at Axtell and the yield was excellent However alfalfa did come to Utah and no matter who first planted it here the fact re remains remains remains re- re mains that it is the most im important important important im- im agricultural product grown in Utah Without it our livestock industry could hardly exist The Utah Centennial History History History His His- tory makes little or no mention of alfalfa while glorying in ex excess excess excess ex- ex cess rapture over the fruit and vegetable production Alfalfa Alfalfa Alfalfa Alf Alf- alfa is to Utah as potatoes are areto areto areto to Ireland and as cotton is to the deep south In Utah alfalfa alfalla is king S. S C. C Ross Abstracted from my toy Supplementary Supplementary supplementary Supple Ephraim History |
