OCR Text |
Show EASY TO NEGLECT ALFALFA Crop Does So Well Naturally That Many Western Farmers Let It Go on by Itself. Alfalfa does so well naturally In this western country that our farmers neglect It and let It get on by Itself the best It may. This, however, Is not the way to make money out of the alfalfa crop, says the Denver Field and Farm. Every patch In the country coun-try needs a good winter dressing of flue manure put on by a spreador 11 possible. We are pleased to have the following testimony from one of our Weld county subscribers: "I have been raising alfalfa under Irrigation for twenty-five years. I have hauled vast quantities of manure and spread it on top of the alfalfa in the winter season and never saw any bad results from It, but much benefit. I have built movable corrals and yarded large bands of sheep on It during the winter months and no bad results followed. fol-lowed. Some folks recommend plowing plow-ing It up every five years for other crops, but I cannot do that The ni falfa would come up so thick in the plowing that hoed crops would not do much good. We manure It as much as we can and cultivate thoroughly every spring with a spike dlak and never plow It up. 1 have plowed II several times, but It Is difficult te kill out and not very easy to get a stand again. The young plants need much care to get through our long dry summers. Alfalfa does not get to Its best condition till the third year. After that with proper culti vatlon the crop la good for a man's lifetime and does not seem to grow poorer with time. We believe, however, how-ever, that It will be necessary to give all our alfalfa fields a good top dressing dress-ing In winter." |