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Show I LENTILS GROWN IN UTAH PRODUCE GOOD CROPS J. C. Abraham of 16S Twenty-third street, who for some time past has been engaged in dry farming at Grants-ville, Grants-ville, has discovered that Utah Is cap-1 able of raising with profit the food product known as lentils, imported in , large quantities into this country by the Chinese, Japanese, and other for- olgners with a tasto for the product. Mr. Abraham sowed a few pounds of lentil seed among his wheat for test purposes this year, with excellent results. re-sults. While much of his wheat was burned burn-ed out by the extremely hot weather of the last few weeks, the lentils flourished flour-ished and matured- with no special care being given them. The findings led Mr. Abraham to believe that this product could be successfully and profitably cultivated throughout the state, either on dry farms or under irrigation. ir-rigation. Under the former process he found, however, that It is necessary to plant the seed deeper, to some four or five Inches. The lentil plant looks something like alfalfa and grows about the same height when ready for harvesting. To each sprig, there are perhaps 50 pods which contain the bean-like seed of the lentil. This product is grown extensively in southern Europe and is to the people peo-ple of Spain, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Greece and the Balkan countries what rice is to Japan. It Is used in making of soups and other food products. The number of immigrants In this country make the commodity eagerly sought and large quantities were imported before be-fore the war. Now it is scarcer and higher in price. The wholesalers here in the west handle lentils as a staple product having them on hand whenever when-ever possible. At present this food product will fetch 20 cents a pound wholesale, said Mr. Abraham, and eastern food dealers deal-ers will eagerly buy up the commodity in almost any available quantity. It is therefore the opinion of Mr. Abraham and others that this product would bo a good one to put In their spare land next year if not in place of some of the crops now planted. By communicating through the Standard, Mr. Abraham will give farmers far-mers who desire to plant lentil seed what Information ho has as to cultivating culti-vating and marketing. |