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Show HAY AND HONEY HAND IN HAND DURING PAST YEAR The general hay crop in Utnh for 11)15, as estimated by tho statistician, is one million tons. 850,000 tons alfalfa and 150,000 tons timothy. As compared with 1,000,000 tons for 1014, the ratio between the two classes of hay remain the same. It Is estimated esti-mated the farmer received $8.50 per ton for alfalfa and ten dollars per ton for timothy. The average yield per acru Ib put at three tons. Thu output of alfalfa seed for this year is estimated by prominent handlers at seventy-five cars, or 2,250,000 pounds, netting net-ting the grower fourteen conK though more conservative dealers would reduce this estimate by five cars. According to reports, in some counties in tills state, the hay yield was 50 per cent less than 1014, one reason being because of unfavorable climatic conditions, the principal factor of which wan the prolonged dry spell some farmers Irrigating und some not. Hut in most other counties und in Idaho, tho hay crop cante, through in very fair shape. Another occasion of the dccrcuKVtTi production has been the eagerness of so many farmers to increase their wheat acreage, us well us the acreage devoted to the production produc-tion of pens, beans und sugar beets. Then a third factor has been the increase of motor trucks which consume neither hay nor grain. The weevil evil has been largely reduced by co-operation of the alfalfa grower with government and agricultural college experts making a scientific effort to cut down the pest. In fact it is estimated esti-mated that the weevil has been reduced 50 per cent within tho last two years. The farmers have gone to harrowing, discing and clearing up the soil generally, so as to give the pest ne place to lodge and procreate. The weevil damages alfalfa by devouring the bloom, nnd not so much the body of tho plant Itself. As there Is no bloom on timothy, the weevil has little usu for that kind of hay. Handlers say the weevil never touches alfalfa seed itself, so that the quarantine against Utah seed by California last fall had no justifiable basis, but was grounded on sentiment. The first crop of nlfalfa this year was damaged and considerably consider-ably spoiled by the late spring and wet weather. Hnwovcr, this did not hold as to the second nnd third crops which pulled through in good condition. Alfalfa is great for the honey bee. In years past tho Uintah Basin and Emery and Carbon counties, whore so much fine nlfalfa is grown, have turned out an article of honey that has mnde Utah famous for this delicious edible tho country over, nnd the output this year is estimated at twenty-five cars. But Idaho is coming rapidly to the front as a honey producer because be-cause of the rapid increase each year in acreage devoted to clover, largely of the red top variety. Tho bees revvl in this. Jobbing prices of the two brands of hay average in the ratio of $14.50 and $15.00 per ton to $17.00, the latter being for timothy. The weed question hiuunot troubled so much the past year, though in the spring, June grass nnd foxtail gave trouble. Juno grass appears for some reason to bo dying out. but thu fear Is that something else mav show up to make trouble. However. Juno grass is used a great deal for horses which seem to eat it both green nnd cured with considerable relish. Farmers aro reported as taking ' better enro of their hay. They aro using silos freely, stocking more carefully and using shed nnd barn covering more freely. The general opinion is that 1910 ought to be a gootl year for hay cultivation. The outlook is for increase of ncreage, partial- larly in Millard, Iron and Uintah counties, where so many new set- 1 tiers nre locating, and where so much virgin soil is being redeemed 1 from the sagebrush, and turned into cultivation, The yield for 1915 ougiit to lie increased for 191G by two hundred nnd fifty ' thousand to three hundred thousand tons ns a conservative esti- ! mate. |