WEST VIRGINIA
Prof. J. H. Stewart, Director West Virginia experiment station.—Very little alfalfa is grown in West Virginia. Within the past four or five years some stimulus has been given it by current publications, etc., but extensive growth has not obtained as yet. The attempts to grow it on our small farm at the experiment station have in fact been failures. However, there are a few small tracts that have done well in portions of the state. Hon. T. B. Davis of Mineral county and E. W. McNeil of Hardy county are persons who have been successful. I am frank to say, however, that the experiences and practice thus far in this state have not proven it to be a dependable crop.
WISCONSIN
Prof. R. A. More, Agronomist Wisconsin experiment station.—Alfalfa is receiving great attention in Wisconsin and dairymen have been quick to perceive its value. Through the efforts of the experiment station, alfalfa seed has been disseminated in every county in the state and crops have been grown which were highly satisfactory. Experiments at the station show that as much protein can be secured from one acre of alfalfa as from three acres of clover, nine acres of timothy or 12 of Brome grass. In this experiment four cuttings of alfalfa were secured, two cuttings of clover and one cutting each of timothy and Brome grass. Alfalfa seed should have its viability tested before the seed is purchased. Seed that does not give a germination test of 90 per cent or above should be rejected. We advise selecting high, well-drained land inclined to be rolling. A clay loam on a gravelly subsoil is best suited for growths of alfalfa. Sow in spring as soon as ground works well, putting on about twice the cultivation necessary for cereal crops. Where land is inclined to be weedy, sow three pecks of barley per acre as a nurse crop. If ground is free from weeds, sow alfalfa seed without nurse crop, using at least 20 pounds of seed per acre. Several hundred members of the Wisconsin experiment association have been carrying on tests with alfalfa since 1903, and practically all have succeeded in getting good fields started. Bacteria-laden soil has been shipped to members of the experiment association, who are making tests, with directions for scattering on a small plot, in order to get the proper bacteria established in the soil. The sowing of some alfalfa seed with clover for the purpose of getting a few alfalfa plants established as bacteria distributers has been followed with good success. These lands when later sown to alfalfa result in good catches. Alfalfa should be cut when one-tenth is in blossom, and not later than the first week in September. We look for greatly increased acreage from year to year as our farmers learn the value of this great forage plant.
W. D. Hoard, Editor Hoard’s Dairyman.—It is now twelve years since the editor of the Dairyman commenced the practical study of alfalfa. A good deal of experience as well as observation of the practices of others has come to him in that time. He does not feel that he has exhausted the subject by any means, but there are a few things which he believes to be well settled principles. They may be enumerated as follows:
1. The richer the soil the better.
2. A carefully prepared seed bed. Too much pains cannot be had here.
3. Good seed; every farmer should test the seed he expects to sow. A great amount of failure has come from weak, infertile seed.
4. Side hills where the rain or melted snow in March will readily run off and thus prevent an ice cap from sudden freezing is much the preferable location.
5. Cutting it each time as soon as the first blossoms appear will always bring a stronger succeeding growth for the next crop.
6. Never pasture it unless you wish to weaken it so it will break up more easily the next spring.
7. Always cure it in the cock with hay caps if possible. The quality of the hay is greatly superior to that which is cured in the sun or windrow.
The nutritive quality and value of alfalfa as well as clover may be greatly lessened and the owner not be aware of it, by allowing too much sunshine on the hay. To throw away the feeding value of any food by unwise methods of handling or curing is very poor economy. For this reason farmers should make a closer study than they do as to the right time of cutting alfalfa and clover and the right way of curing it. Too many farmers look only at the labor involved. They want to do it quick. Hence they wait before cutting till the stalks are overripe so they will dry quickly and then they use hay loaders that will take up the hay in the swath overdried and the goodness evaporated out of it by the action of the sun. All this time they are never giving a moment’s thought to the great question: “What kind of food is this going to make for my cows next winter?” The best of study and care should be given to this matter of curing alfalfa and clover. Nicely cured clover is worth half as much as bran as a milk producing food, and alfalfa is worth fully as much. We have demonstrated in our own stables that with 35 pounds of corn ensilage and 10 pounds of nice alfalfa hay a day, we can save half of the grain ration that would be necessary if we fed other hay.
8. As a renewer and renovator of fertility we know of nothing that will equal alfalfa. The present year is proving that in Wisconsin most convincingly. Nearly all of the old alfalfa, as well as clover seeding, was killed by an ice storm in March. That compelled the farmers to plow up these old fields and plant them to corn, potatoes or some sowed crop. The greater growth of crops on these old alfalfa fields is universally noticed. The farmers of the country have not half begun to know the wonderful value of the alfalfa plant. For just this reason they should not be discouraged in trying to grow it.
Dr. A. S. Alexander, Wisconsin experiment station.—After all that has been written and said in favor of the more general cultivation of alfalfa, it seems strange to find much prejudice and ignorance still existing among farmers relative to the merits of this magnificent forage plant. When we ask a farmer why he has not seeded an area of land to alfalfa he almost invariably answers by another question; viz., “Do you think I can make it catch?” And it is this doubt so generally existent that keeps down the area of alfalfa, and hence the profits of many a man who could make it a wonderful success.
To our mind there has been too much alleged scientific talk relative to “nitrification,” “root nodules” and “soil inoculation” for alfalfa; so much of it, in fact, as a fad, that the average farmer has become possessed of the erroneous idea that it requires a deeply scientific knowledge of the subject and much trouble of various sorts to secure a stand of alfalfa. For this reason many a man has dismissed the subject from his mind and deemed it best to think most of the simple things within his ken, but in so doing he has missed some of the greatest boons and blessings possible in his business. Alfalfa will grow on most any good land that will produce clover and that is in no way waterlogged. There is little mystery in its successful cultivation, and the “tricks” of the business are easily learned from the literature mentioned. We believe it to be one of the very finest of forage plants and a grand adjunct in the feeding of hogs; a crop in fact that is bound to become common and that should at once be given far more general attention than is now the case. It is neither difficult to obtain a catch nor make the crop a success if the farmer will but try and in starting follow the simple instructions now published by many of the agricultural experiment stations.
WYOMING
Asil T. Wilson, Fremont county.—For six years I have been raising alfalfa on first-bench upland, a gravelly loam, with a cement subsoil of a lime nature. Water is found at 40 feet; moist soil is encountered at a depth of 12 feet from the surface, and continues until water is reached. A depth of one inch for seeding is best. Sow in early spring. If alfalfa and timothy are sown together, sow 20 pounds of the former to 6 of the latter; if alone, 20 pounds of alfalfa. No weeds will trouble; cut either crop for hay; the first crop for seed. Watering after the last cutting will cause alfalfa to winterkill. Irrigate as early as possible, if dry, and whenever getting dry, also about five days before cutting; the soil being moist after cutting, the next crop will start up quickly. The larger the quantity of water used the better if it runs off quickly. We obtain water from a stream. After the first year I cut twice, obtaining two tons each cutting. I cut for hay just as it comes into bloom, as it is not so woody and more leaves are saved. The first cutting is preferable for seed. When cutting for seed, wait until the curls get well filled and black; put it into cocks and thresh when dry. Alfalfa hay should be cut one day and raked the next; then cock, and let it stand two or three days before stacking; by so doing all the leaves are saved, and it cures in the cock so there is no danger of molding in the stack. My alfalfa in stack costs $1 per ton, from land valued at $5 per acre. Irrigation costs 20 cents per acre. Baling costs $3 per ton, 150 pounds in bale. Seed yields six bushels per acre; threshing costs $1 per bushel. Prices for hay have ranged from $5 to $10 per ton, and $7 per bushel for seed. Alfalfa hay is equal to clover or timothy for farm animals. For swine pasturage it is better than clover; one acre will pasture 10 head of swine, gaining one pound per head each day. For horses and sheep it is good, and as good for cattle as clover, but dangerous, as they bloat and die. The best yields on upland are from three to five years after seeding; and, if watered at proper intervals, it will last 20 years. There is no difficulty in ridding land of alfalfa; plow it late in the fall, level it down and mark it, then water, and let it freeze up in winter. Alfalfa for green manure is as good or better than Red clover. Without plenty of rain, I would not recommend growing alfalfa in any locality. Seed raised from alfalfa thin on the ground is best.
John H. Gordon, Laramie county.—During the past 10 years, I have had from 10 to 200 acres of alfalfa on second bottom and upland, with sandy loam from two inches to six feet deep, and below this soft rock, water being found at depths of 20 to 200 feet. I plow or break the soil the first year, and raise a crop of wheat or oats; the second year plow deep, sow about half a crop of oats, and when this is well harrowed, sow 20 pounds of alfalfa seed and cover it about two inches deep. To get the best results, this seeding is done about April 1st, and there is no trouble here with weeds. In cutting the grain, the alfalfa is cut off too, but it does not grow tall enough for hay the first year. The plant does not winterkill, and reaches its full yields by the third or fourth year; I have found no necessity for reseeding any of my land. We irrigate from streams, the quantity of water used depending on the season. There are generally three applications of water, about six inches each time. After the first two or three years, only about half the quantity used at first will be needed. After the first year I cut twice, and obtain about 11⁄2 tons to the acre each time. The first crop is best for seed, and is harvested when the top bolls are dead ripe, raked the day after cutting, bunched for two days and then stacked, to be threshed with the common threshing machinery, putting through twice. Five bushels to the acre is a common yield of seed, and the cleaning and threshing cost 50 to 75 cents a bushel. The hay is cut when the greater part is in bloom, allowed to lie about a day before raking, cured about three days, and then stacked, 14 to 16 feet wide, 60 feet long, and 20 feet high. It does not seem to heat or mold here. The total cost in the stack is about $1.50 a ton, and baling, in 100-pound bales, costs $2 a ton. Selling price of loose hay in this section is $5 a ton, and the seed, 10 to 12 cents per pound in the market. The straw is worth about as much as the hay for feed. I am well satisfied with the general results of growing alfalfa here, and am now preparing 200 acres for seeding. Where it will grow well, it is the best forage plant ever discovered, being good feed for cattle, hogs, sheep, fowls, and, in fact, all animals on the farm, while as a fertilizer it cannot be surpassed. But one cannot do anything with it if there is not sufficient moisture to raise wheat or oats.