Show some surprising ALFALFA figures on this product without making any particular fuss the propos lion the or noise about common everyday crop alfalfa orlu utah from carne brought ato much 0 seed alone last year almost as beets to growers or cash as was paid by the sugar factories seed there was round numbers in ot exported to europe 0 the value these exports went to russia germany and france principally that had sprung and followed a demand up within a brief period of time in 1896 a few german firms enquired when freed could be obtained in utah and a few carloads were sent across the water in 1897 then the railroads information as to the widespread gave firms dealing in alfalfa seed and a deluge of enquiries came in in 1898 and there were more people exporting seed from utah alone in that year than there had been in the entire united states at any time previous prices of seed started in last jail at between 4 and 5 cents per pound and advanced until the price reached 8 w aa rents for the export trade with the result that the state has been cleaned out ot seed and many local men desiring to plant alfalfa have been compelled to pay as high as 10 cents per pound for their seed and in many cases go without entirely it would be sate to say that 90 or 93 per cent of the seed shipped out of utah from last seasons crop went across the water and brought european gold into our cotters in year there were large quantities of alfalfa hay shipped from utah to supply the deficiency caused by the drouth in california and considerable money came to us from that source the crop of hay however was largely consumed at home the heavy snows of the past winter making it compulsory tor cattle and sheep rals ers to teed for a longer period of time than usual it would be utterly impossible to make an estimate of the total value of the alfalfa crop tor utah but its importance to our industrial development can hardly be overestimated from the early days when the sloughs and natural meadows were gleaned for bay to the present when king lucerne holds sway in almost every field and on every farm the transformation is certainly most complete and the development of our livestock industry is largely indebted to the lucky stroke that gave to us alfalfa the plant is specially well adapted to our soil and climate and is more and more becoming a standard crop on our dry lands it frequently happens ithac a crop of hay and one of seed may be raised without water tor irrigation but the most careful tanners who value seed usually save the first cutting for that purpose when they do not have water to insure a rapid growth of the second crop although where conditions favor tt is considered ithe second cutting produces the best seed the seed raised from an acre of alfalfa varies from five or six to twenty bushels ithe average being about ten or twelve take the lowest average of ten bushels to the acre and we have six hundred pounds at say 5 cents per pound or 30 per acre for seed the hay or chaff while not as good as lucerne hay makes a most excellent feed especially it mixed with grain and will pay for the cutting figure the product from almost any point of view and alfalfa seed Is a profitable crop when you count the value and cost one that is frequently made in seeding ground to alfalfa la to use too much seed this Is specially true for alry land of course the different soils require different treatment but for the average loam the proper quantity of seed to the acre is anywhere from five to eight pounds when aron erly drilled in there is not always a demand for alfalfa seed but some of our shrewdest dealers are certain enough of the demand to be willing to contract to take all the seed produced by utah farmers then again we must consider the brewing tendency of the owners ot our highest priced irrigated land to plant it to the high priced products fruits berries beets tomatoes etc which tendency will gradually but certainly result in the breaking up of many ot the older lucerne fields and the reduction of acreage and the deduction Is plain that we cannot raise too much alfalfa on our lands there are men in cache county in juab county in sevier county and in other parts of the state who arc getting rich on alfalfa seed A mode of harvesting has been to use an old self rake reaper or to drop from the binder without but recent experiments and experience in the southern counties suggests the binding just like wheat or other grain |