Alfalfa

Ghe Money Crop of the
West and Northwest

Its adaptation to the Agricultural conditions
of the territory reached by the North-
Western Line, and its influence upon
Cattle, Hog and Dairy Interests

Industrial Department
Chicago & North Western Railway
215 Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Ill.

Copyright N°

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT:

i@ ¥ &

Alfalfa

By a Practical Producer of
This Great Money Crop
of the West and
Northwest

Its adaptation to the Agricultural conditions
of the territory reached by the North-
Western Line, and its influence upon
Cattle, Hog and Dairy Interests

Industrial Department
Chicago & North Western Railway
215 Jackson Boulevard

Chicago, Ill. _ m

Coryricut, 1910
BY
Cuicaco & NortH WesTeRN Ramway

_ CHICAGO

*

OUR OBJECT

With the advent of new settlers in the fertile, but less thickly settled
portions of our western agricultural country, smaller farms are the order.
This in turn demands changes that will in every way be beneficial to the
farmer and to the country at large. The writer is prompted, therefore, to
write this booklet having in view such changed conditions.

Until recently, the farmer has had the use of free and unoccupied land,
producing free pasture in abundance and hay at cost of harvest, but
present increased values have much restricted him in the use of unoccupied
land.

No one questions the value of nutritious, wild, prairie grass for hay
or pasture, and as a pasture product we will first consider it. On the
prairies in the west it is available about May Ist as a permanent pasture;
about August Ist it is preserved, and when reduced by pasture use it is not
again available until the following May. In other words, its use is for a
period of about three or four months in twelve. It then becomes necessary
to introduce a pasture that will furnish a longer period of use, or seed an
additional amount of fall and winter feed. It requires, ordinarily, more
acres of wild grasses than tame, to support a farm animal. A comparison
of the values of tame grasses is entirely favorable to the production of
ALFALFA.

We personally commenced the production of alfalfa several years ago
in South Dakota, and have been modestly successful, at least to the extent
that we know it can be profitably produced. We prophesy the next five
years will find it firmly established as a permanent product of South Dakota
and other western territory, and that whenever this is accomplished, land
now commanding a price of $20.00, $25.00, $30.00 and $40.00 per acre
will be in greater demand and at prices much advanced.

With this view, we have endeavored to present in this pamphlet the
practical view of a producer and the testimonials of other producers, together
with compilations from eminent gentlemen who have more technical
knowledge than the writer. The combination we trust will be useful,
especially to the settler on the western prairies.

In mentioning different methods of cultivation, many of them in the
same locality, criticism is not intended, but the different methods produce
different results, and a description of them demonstrates that proper
methods are the largest factor in the successful production of alfalfa. If
a method is in effect that will not produce a profitable result where a dif-
ferent method would produce an average crop, the wrong procedure is more
harmful than shown by the loss of the crop, as it serves also to demonstrate
that alfalfa cannot be successfully produced on the farm in question.

3

We have in view many failures, partial failures and unsatisfactory
results, and our own somewhat varied experiences. If by proper demon-
stration it develops that a crop cannot be profitably produced on your farm,
devote your land and energy to other lines, but do not condemn your
efforts to succeed unless you are satisfied your procedure was right. We
contend that some localities are not adapted to alfalfa production and we
only recommend its production where at least an average crop can be
secured.

The Breeders Gazette, which is recognized as an authority, classes
any land that will produce alfalfa as worth in value not less than one hun-
dred dollars per acre. Undoubtedly an average crop and a reasonable
location should qualify such statement as conservative. In the states of
Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, alfalfa production is not an
experiment; it can be demonstrated and is demonstrated as a successful
production in different localities, but the methods are so unsettled as to
add a certain element of uncertainty to the results, lowering and making
the average production much less than a proper standard would secure.
The method we have adopted and recommend is, we think, especially
adapted to South Dakota, particularly the western portion of the state,
where favorable results will add many times to the present values of land.

We advise care, work and patience, and the use of a small area of land,
with repeated efforts before you are convinced of failure.

In covering the proposition of procedure over an area represented by
state lines, we are not unmindful of the different conditions that exist in
different localities; yet our subject does not require exactly similar condi-
tions to admit of similar procedure.

We fix one fast rule: More efficient work to increase the average stand-
ard of production and quality, keeping step with progress and business
demands, preventing possible discouragement caused by misdirected
effort, and removing the production of alfalfa from the experimental stage
in the shortest possible time.

SELECTION OF GROUND

The importance of careful and proper selection of ground is apparent.
If the crop is an experiment, we advise a small area. The experiment will
thus be as complete, and we think, usually insures better work and care,
and the better crop thus secured insures better future conditions, seed,
etc. In a subdivision of essential conditions we class then in order:

Cultivated land or new breaking,
Condition of fertility,
Preparation of fertilized land,
Soil, sub-soil and top-soils,
Drainage,

High or !ow land.

a

Assuming that soil inoculation is not necessary, and irrigation is not
available, on a farm consisting of one hundred and sixty acres where it is
the desire of the owner to produce from ten to forty acres of alfalfa, the
owner should secure an average yield for the crop, of two and one- halt to
three and one-half tons per acre, on two or three cuttings.

THE VALUE OF NEW OR OLD LAND

The results of seeding alfalfa on the first breaking of new ground is not
generally favorable. The absence of weeds the first year on sod usually
makes a good showing, but the root does not usually penetrate below the
plow line. On the contrary, it divetges along under the sod and sub-plow
line, and the root does not develop vitality or strength to support per-
manently a healthy, strong plant. The usual result is half as much stand,
or less, the second year, and a poor, weak, straggling plant at spare inter-
vals the third year. On the other hand a well cultivated, deep plowed
field, with equally favorable conditions, will produce a penetrating, strong,
healthy root that in turn will support a healthy, permanent plant. After
the first year sub-soil is the important factor and on sod seeding sub-soil
is never reached. Select old cultivated land with proper regard for other
necessary essentials and secure a good root and permanent growth. We do
not mean land that is not fertile by reason of excessive poor farming, but
well cultivated land that is above the average in fertility.

FERTILITY AND PREPARATION

Condition of fertility and preparation to produce suitable and proper
fertility must be observed, and on account of prior use of such land is
wholly necessary. Alfalfa requires a fertile soil. While it is admitted that
soil that produces very little vegetation, without irrigation, will produce a
crop of alfalfa, the cause of no vegetation without irrigation is not that the
soil is not fertile, but arises from other causes, usually climatic conditions.
If the soil is not fertile it should be made so, and the application of farm
manure fertilizer usually supplies other elements necessary to produce and
support the plant. The method of preparation varies, but on account of
the harmful effect of weeds following common farm-produced fertilizer we
advocate its application the year prior to alfalfa seeding and the exter-
mination of resultant weeds that have germinated, not allowing them to
reseed. Common farm-produced fertilizer will produce weeds, but if treated
a year in advance, fertility is secured and weeds eliminated to a certain
extent. Application of fertilizer can be followed by millet, or the weeds
mowed or plowed under before maturity of seed, and after alfalfa is seeded
do not hesitate to sacrifice the first year’s crop of alfalfa by cutting in time,
so that weeds will not germinate and get the start of the plant. Results

5

cannot be expected anyhow, the first season, and the third season the crop
and stand should be better than the second year, as it requires about three
seasons to secure the best crop.

SOILS AND DRAINAGE

We think top soil of a light variety, not sandy, with a light clay sub-
soil, and not too close to water is preferable. This soil, if fertile, and
not sandy, quickens the growth, and the plant is protected by the moisture
retaining clay sub-soil later. Do not select land that is not thoroughly
surface drained, and the drainage will settle a high or low land selection.
Water standing one day on alfalfa in a depression will affect it seriously;
and if it freezes you can depend on a field with spots where the depressions
filled up and water froze, and later such depressions will be filled up with
a growth of weeds. The drainage question is the first to consider; and
as to high or low land, the extremes are to be avoided. A gumbo element
in soil properly cultivated is not undesirable, but it should be thoroughly
cultivated and well drained. Farm manure is of great value on gumbo
soil; it serves to loosen the soil, and to admit air and water. It should
be cultivated with the soil and thoroughly worked together until it is well
mixed, fine and uniform. We do not desire to fix a standard including
particular soils to the exclusion of others; we simply state our preference
after experience on both high and valley land and on slightly different soils.

Our views on drainage are such that we do not think it possible to
secure a satisfactory crop from any soil without proper and adequate drain-
age. In the territory described our reference is particularly to surface
drainage and selection to secure natural surface drainage.

CULTIVATION AND PROPER AMOUNT OF SEED

We express ourselves forcibly in favor of thorough cultivation. We
laid the foundation for this when we advised a small area or acreage. When
we say good cultivation, we mean much better than the average. The
object is to secure a good, even stand. This cannot be done without each
step in procedure being right. It is not intended to re-seed like clover or
coarse grains; and this emphasizes the necessity for a uniform, even stand,
as the advantages are multiplied by the years of its growth and cannot be
successfully remedied in the same field by re-seeding. Cultivation should
be made to a garden condition. After deep plowing the cultivation follow-
ing plowing does not require the depth to the extent of the plowing; such
cultivation depth is not advisable. But it should extend below the depth of
the seed.

The amount of seed necessary depends to quite an extent on the con-
dition of cultivation. With a cultivation to a garden condition, an even
distribution of seed and a fair cover, fifteen pounds of seed to the acre

6

is sufficient without a nurse crop, and twenty pounds is perhaps better
under average conditions. If good work is performed in preparing the
seed bed it is as cheap as additional seed and very much better.

We recommend twenty pounds of seed per acre with a germinating
percentage of 90 per cent.

KIND OF SEED AND HOW SEEDED

Mild climatic seeds will germinate in a more severe climate but do not
stand the necessary after tests. Climatization of seeds is a pronounced
necessity. The permanency of an alfalfa crop is a large element in its
value and the severe test of permanency, other conditions being favorable,
lies in the winter-resisting power of the plant, made possible by acclima-
tion of seed. Theorists inform us there is no complete remedy against
winter killing, on account of there being no seed yet sufficiently climatized to
wholly resist it. We agree with such theory, but the seed that has been
longest produced under same conditions will produce the highest per cent
of good results under similar conditions. If seed can be secured in a
locality where it is to be seeded and it has been successfully produced in
such locality for a period of time, it is the most desirakle seed to use, the
period of time it has been produced in such locality adding value to it as a
seed for such locality. If you cannot secure such desirable seed, secure
seed that has been produced in a more remote locality but where conditions
are similar to your locality.

Good seed is determined not only by the value of the first crop, but by
its permanency:

SEED VARIETIES

The Turkestan varieties have been recommended for use in South
Dakota and as far south as the south Nebraska line. ‘‘Grimm’s”’ alfalfa,
a history of which is given in this booklet, is also recommended, as it seems
to have the longest location pedigree in a location desirable for use in the
district we have described; and we recommend this class of seed. The
merits of ‘““Grimm’s” alfalfa are dependent entirely on its unbroken period
of location production, producing a seed so climatized as to withstand the
winters peculiar to the northwest, where the temperature in winter is low
and dry, and where a small amount of snow falls frequently and is retained
on the fields.

Secure seed as we have recommended and perpetuate it by reproduction
until you have added to its value by acclimation. It is conceded acclima-
tion is the most important essential of a new alfalfa seed. If your field
is winter-killed, it is largely a question of seed acclimation and you should
remedy it by another attempt.

Do not mix alfalfa and other grass seeds.

ti

MANNER AND PROCEDURE IN SEEDING

Regarding the question of how to seed, it is highly important to secure
an even, sufficient distribution of the top soil from one to one and one-half
inches in depth, according to moisture conditions. The seed should be
sufficiently deep in the ground to be brought in contact with moisture
sufficient to insure germination.

Assuming the plot of ground is to be small (from one to ten acres),
we prefer the small hand crank seeder. It requires more time than the
drill or large seeder, but if a large acreage is seeded and the press drill
used, we recommend seeding the field both ways and without a nurse crop.
We prefer to recommend seeding without a nurse crop, as the alfalfa can
then be harvested without regard to any specific time—any time considered
best—either for the alfalfa or to exterminate weeds; while if a nurse crop
existed, the alfalfa might in some way be injured by waiting a proper time
to harvest the nurse crop. A nurse crop is not necessary during the growing
season and affords little aid at other times. As a weed exterminator it has
advantages, but its disadvantages are many and the weeds can be killed
more effectively in a different manner. A nurse crop has to be removed
to treat weeds. The nurse crop also absorbs a part of the moisture
from the ground and it is often best to cut alfalfa after the seeding
the first season to destroy weeds which could not be done if there was a
nurse crop.

THE TIME TO SEED ALFALFA

The proper time to seed, we think, is as soon after the fifteenth of May
as possible, not later than June 10th, and never seed unless ground is
moist at a depth where seed will lodge deep enough to insure germination.
The object in spring seeding is to secure as strong and healthy a plant
as possible to resist winter climatic conditions. It must be reasonable
to assume such strong, well rooted plant would have advantages over
one offyounger growth and less developed root. We have never been
successful in treating spots that did not have a stand from first seeding, by
re-seeding such spots. The causes that produced the first result always
existed, and yet if it was a result of soil conditions it would have been dis-
covered and successfully treated by application of the different elements
necessary. In our re-seeding, the cause was usually a depression not
drained, which could with time and work have been remedied, but the
remedy should be applied before seeding the first time. Drainage will
usually add to uniformity if there is a growth in other parts of the field.
Late seeding gives time for necessary previous cultivation and weed extermi-
nation.

TREATMENT OF UNIFORM THIN GROWTH

The disk is resorted to by many to thicken and even a stand of alfalfa.
We think it proper after the first year, provided conditions are favorable,
but care should be exercised to prevent harm. It is necessary to, have
a reasonably uniform stand to avoid weeds where a stand is thin, for if
weeds are not eradicated they will soon destroy a thin alfalfa stand. You
will succeed better than to re-seed and you may have to sacrifice one or two
crops to secure a satisfactory stand; if so do it, as the good stand is neces-
sary. If necessary to eradicate weeds, make other sacrifices by cutting
the alfalfa high above the ground a few times. We have recommended
other preventatives for weeds which we consider more desirable. You
have noted we have not advocated re-seeding; we have not been successful
along such lines. We recommend proper and thorough cultivation and
proper seed bed, and results will come without other assistance. If neces-
sary to use the disk, set the blades straight and do not tear the ground, but
cut it, and the crowns will not be injured.

(PROCEDURE AND TIME OF HARVEST

We have now covered the preliminary work of alfalfa production from
selection of ground to completion of seeding, and the next in order is harvest
and care of crop. There is no experiment necessary for this purpose.
Harvesting at the proper time and in the proper manner is important, in
order not to injure succeeding crops and to preserve and secure the crop
harvested. The time to harvest is when the crop is in early bloom and the
manner is to cut the crop from two to three inches above the ground. We
have secured the best results by such procedure and there will be very little
exception taken to this procedure by those who have finally adopted this
method. Too close cutting, too early or too late harvest has a detrimental
effect which can be prevented by the two propositions regarding time and
method of harvest. When it first begins to bloom the new shoot is just
starting for the succeeding crop, and we do not advocate too close cutting
and never too late in the season.

PRESERVATION OF QUALITY AND QUANTITY

The method of preservation is not a simple one; it involves preservation
of quality and of quantity and is more slow and requires more care and
work than ordinary hay harvest. The less handling the better; additional
handling carries loss in quantity. The dropping of leaves from a cured
plant means serious loss and is easily accomplished; as a consequence
the procedure should be slow enough to insure care and preservation.
This can be done, the method being to only harvest, if possible, what can
be cared for in one day; and placing in barn, shed or stack only in such

9

quantities that it will finish the curing or preservation process without
injury and not be so fully cured when handled as to lose in quantity by
the breaking and loss of leaves. This requires judgment and care, yet
can be done without loss of time. The hay racks should be covered with
old cloth or sacks to prevent loss in transit. It will be observed that the
curing of alfalfa that is to be stored in barns, sheds or stacked, should
be done on a bright day with no dew or moisture on the hay.

PRESERVATION AND HANDLING IN STACKS

If alfalfa is to be stacked, practically the same method can be used.
In starting, do not load on the stack more than three or four feet of partly
preserved alfalfa until that amount has cured; then proceed to construct
the stack in sections at intervals, allowing sufficient intermediate time
to cure the preceding sections in the stack. If necessary, several stacks
can be in course of construction simultaneously, to make the work contin-
uous. The same care should be used in taking the stack down for use.
The stack should always be cut with a hay knife and not removed in a
promiscuous way, like other hay. We recommend moderate sized stacks
and we advise a complete covering with a good quality of cured prairie
hay, after alfalfa preservation is assured. It must be remembered that
alfalfa hay is more susceptible to injury by weather conditions than the
wild prairie grasses. ‘i!

HARVESTING AND SECURING SEED

When the ball is matured, examination will develop a mature inside
seed, usually about ten days after disappearance of the blossom. If the
crop is harvested in the usual way and threshed before stacking it saves
additional handling and loss. Hullers and other properly improved ma-
chinery are best, of course, but we anticipate such improved machinery will
not always be available. The threshing machine has performed our work,
with the sieves set much the same as for flax threshing. Many balls were
not broken in this process, and it required an extra amount of cleaning,
which was undesirable. After the necessary cleaning, the seed should be
kept dry and not be exposed to extreme temperatures.

Testing alfalfa seeds can be accomplished in the same manner as with
other seeds. For this purpose take two flannel pads with a tin plate, the
pads evenly moistened and kept at an even room temperature. Between
these moistened pads place one hundred seeds, those germinating being
the percentage demonstrating the test. Either the first or the second crop
will produce seed, but we have preferred to use the second, as it gave
us the first early hay and we were more liable to secure three cuttings during
the season by the first early harvest.

10

LONGEVITY OF ALFALFA FIELDS

This is dependent on conditions; we have seen fields twenty-four years
old in Meade County, South Dakota, without irrigation, that were in a
healthy condition, producing a profitable crop. The water line, conditions
of soil and the opportunities given by eradication of weeds, and an oc-
casional light manure top dressing and necessary attention, will add ma-
terially to longevity. We know South Dakota, and especially the western
section, is specially adapted to a profitable alfalfa growth, and with proper
procedure, unusual longevity is assured for the plants.

ALFALFA A SOIL MAKER

As alfalfa is one of the legume or clover family, it possesses inherent
soil-making qualities. Its extraction of nitrogen from the air assists in
building plant tissue, and as the foundation for a crop rotation it has merit
equal to clover. There is no intelligent person who does not advocate crop
rotation as a necessity, and intelligent rotation begins with a legume crop;
and if a foundation for crop rotation can be produced at a profit and main-
tained by unusual longevity, it is apparent that it has no equal, either for
profitable production or as a soil maker. Its use, therefore, is as much
to be encouraged for the one purpose as the other; we will demonstrate
more particularly regarding its commercial value, BAWaye for its value as
a soil maker is not challenged.

VALUE OF ALFALFA FOR HAY AND PASTURE

Alfalfa has more varied uses as hay than for pasturage. It is more
valuable for hog pasture than for other farm animals, yet such use is
detrimental to a permanent stand of alfalfa. Other animals can be pas-
tured on alfalfa fields with care and profit, but its comparative value,
everything considered, is more as a hay crop. Pasture has a tendency to
introduce other grasses and jweeds, and, while it is exceedingly profitable
for hog pasture, it must be expected that its permanency will not be se-
cured by such use.

We think as a general proposition it should be harvested and fed green
or harvested and preserved and the stand more fully protected. As a
pasture, care must be taken that it is not fed too close, so that the’ crown
end of the root may be protected.

ayal

TABLE 1

From the special bulletin issued by Wisconsin State University covering
experiments made at the Experimental Station Farm, we have compiled a
comparative value table based on value per ton of timothy hay on the farm
at $2.50 per ton.

wie 4 Comparative

KIND petance! iwelgut gta /! “keygen etdipereon icin per core Qe

on protein

Alfalfa........5.4 tons 100 18.17% 363.4 1962.3 51.75
Red Clover.....2.5 “ 50 13.28% 265.6 664 17.51
Timothy ...... a OY 33.3 4.74% 94.8 218 5.75
Brome-grass..1.3 “ 20 6.07% 121.4 157.8 4.16

Against the accurate comparative value as demonstrated by the above
table is the comparative cost of work, seed and harvest, but charging such
difference in the table would leave an exceedingly favorable comparison in
alfalfa production. The table above consists of essentials that vary but
little making the result dependent only on variation in yield per acre. The
yield per acre shown in the table is above the average, but it is accurate
for the place and time it was produced.

TABLE 2

The following table shows a comparison of cost incident to production
of grasses, with other information covering costs up to the harvest and for
the first year only. It does not include net results, which will be set forth
in a succeeding table. This is intended as applicable to South Dakota.
Yqu will note in addition to plowing, we have added $3.50 per acre for
seeding and extra cultivation, and this money (or labor representing so
much money) is well invested.

Pounds Povnds Cost of Cost of Plowing Extra Total
KIND seed seed seed seed land cultivation cost
per per per per per per per
bushel acre acre pound acre gcre. |. Sacre
Alfalfa: i....60 20 $3 .20 $.16 $1.00 $3.50 $7.70
Red Clover... .60 10 1.20 12 1.00 3.00 5.20
Timothy...... 45 16 .56 .035 1.00 2.00 3.56
Brome-grass... 20 25 1.75 07 1.00: )- 2500 4.75
Upland. (hace 0 .00 .00 00 .00 .00

The above table shows in detail the visible cost of perfecting a seed
bed, necessary labor and expense the first year. We do not include any
harvest expense the first year, as it is not anticipated that the first crop
will more than pay such expense of harvest, consisting chiefly of necessary
expense in cutting at an opportune time to eliminate weeds. The item
of “extra cultivation” will ordinarily cover other expenses.

12

TABLE 3

An. estimated South Dakota table of comparative values of hay pro-
duced without other than procedure outlined by us, and based on such
estimated yields per acre as will appeal to the reader as natural and reason-
able, is as follows. It is based on a value of $2.50 per ton of timothy\and
an average of 24 tons per acre. The production is considered conservative.

Comparative

Yield Per cent Pounds Pounds value

KIND per. protein, protein protein per acre,

acre hay per ton per acre based on

protein
Alfolias....))....2.0 ton 18.17% 363 .4 908 $23 .98
Reg Clover.....-.13 “ 13.28% 265.6 464 12.25
Miomauiy. j..:...14. “ 4.74% 94.8 142 3.00
2G es | . 6.25% 125. 125 3.30
Brome-Grass.....1 “ 6.09% 121.4 12% 3.19

The above is an estimated yield per acre, with the actual test of protein
in each kind of plant and its comparative value per ton.» This is done by
taking timothy at $2.50 per ton on the farm as a basis, based also on per-
centage of protein each item contains. We have included upland prairie
hay to make the table valuable as a South Dakota comparison, and against
above values per acre should be charged the difference in cost of seed, work
and harvesting of each crop, shown in another table. For feeding pur-
poses the relative amount of protein would produce a more conservative
estimate for alfalfa than the others, as it is a more equally balanced ration.

TABLE 4

The following table shows in detail the second year’s expense in har-
vesting and securing the crop, the total expense and gross value per acre
and the net results. The preliminary expenses in table 2 are not included
for the reason that in the alfalfa crop such expense would,.be absorbed
through the years of future growth,

These figures are based on an average yield of 24 tons per acre.

Net profit

per acre,

KIND erate ik SOREL Wierace ie ae ee

hens EeMmnng ota tc. SECOND) MIBAR | yo Uji vata
Atialia ee oe a 6 Sl 00 $3 .25 $4.25 $23 .98 $19.73
Red Clover 2ncn jus | oe 2.00 200 12.25 9.70
Pamothiy. de atop an ctaker, | 40 1455 1.95 ako 1.80
Brome-Grass.k odes oe .30 Toles 1.45 |) 1.85
Dt coed a eS ak bs Ae 1.40 3.19 1.79

The“above table is applicable to South Dakota conditions. It is in-
tended to be conservative, but is subject of course to varying conditions.
We insist that the cost of preparation for the alfalfa seed bed is absolutely
necessary in order to secure adequate results.

13

TABLE 5

A farmer operating a farm of 160 acres and desiring to engage in mixed
farming and to maintain soil fertility must engage in live stock production
and produce legume crops for feed and as an additional soil maker, and
assuming that twenty-five acres of one crop would be the maximum, we
have compiled the following table showing comparative results from
twenty-five acre plots yielding an average of 24 tons per acre.

KIND Ae if agphee “hone pen.
ATSaii os eos ae a ee $493 .25
Bee OVER i ish icc ee die Sie ae 5 oe ee 242.50
RORY s'g. sl otstpibatintes silat a Rar bue cig 1.80 45.00
POM GTASS. eso ke es he oe ee Cees 46.25
Rene Hay. ees es woceuds os bis 1.79 44.75

The above represents the net value, all cost of production and harvest
deducted, based on comparative value and production, and is of course
subject to variation. The estimates are intended to be conservative and
are based on procedure we have outlined, which would without doubt
produce results not much at variance with these figures.

The question of the number of acres of alfalfa to produce on a farm’ of
one hundred and sixty acres is dependent on many considerations. From
tables submitted the question that is raised at once is, ‘‘Why not produce
more alfalfa by devoting more acres to alfalfa?” The answer is found
in former statements—few farms have in one plot more than twenty-five
acres out of a total of one hundred and sixty acres that is in every way
adapted to such use when all conditions of soil are favorable, as the right
location, perfect drainage and other favorable considerations are usually
found in plots of less than twenty-five acres. A gentle slope is preferable,
not too much, but void of even slight depressions where water will remain
for several hours and thus destroy the growth. We advise smaller plots, a
few acres in favored localities and the aggregate acreage confined to a
small area. Thus the results will be equal to a much larger area, if all
necessary conditions are carefully observed, and the acreage can at a future
time be increased to meet further demands.

While it is a fact that results displayed in the tables published herein
are based on average conditions, yet these results are largely dependent
on the amount of work put in on the seed bed and the crop. If ample
preparation, care and cultivation are not given the result is not only cor-
respondingly less, but the parity of the figures in these tables is entirely
destroyed.

Seed is expensive and if the work is to an extent experimental, reduce
the acreage until such time as you produce your own seed, then seed in plots
in a dozen different favored localities in preference to selecting one field of
varied conditions. One acre will produce a reasonable test; one hundred
acres might bea problem. In any event it will not be so much of a problem
if the one acre has proved a success. Our advice is directed to the small
farmer who is beginning an experiment which, if reasonably successful,
will prove a decided success in every way.

14

TABLE 6

From the experimental station bulletin No. 105, University of Nebraska,
we compile some comparative values in feeding experiments, the test in
the following table being made with 100 grade calves, winter feed, December
15th to April 11th, and in addition to the hay with which comparison is.
made, each calf received a daily grain ration of two pounds, consisting of
two-thirds corn and one-third oats.

2 Ee Ol ae ad ee
KIND Se SE 35 af 3 B14) N/a
oe dg seed 50 a4 Pod Bod
2 Nal a al A = 2 ee A
UO 20 116 1.231bs. 143 lbs. 12.31bs. 10001bs. 162 lbs.
TIE AY EA. 6 o/b, 2s once ss 20) VIG) VieGane a6.) 1098s TORE area OO tes
CHIT es 20% LG wiiesoE 46 “ 14130") S6GGi.4)) B02)"
4 each alfalfa and prairie

Reo oes tra sl c'o. 043 20 LEG ae beter ir LO ine LO LOM ae bali
4 each alfalfa and cane....20 116 1.20 “ 140 “ DT I Ee NU I Ba ce

This table is complete to an extent that shows the relative value of alfalfa
with other forage and a light grain ration, and especially as a winter feed.
All of the calves while on feed were subjected to similar treatment, the
only exception being the kind and quantity of hay above mentioned. The
table shows the favorable results from alfalfa hay and the production per
acre would add greatly to this favorable comparison.

TABLE 7

This table shows the same calves as included in table 6. The second
winter, ten of the original steers withdrew, leaving eighteen in each lot and
five lots. The feed had been revised, those fed alfalfa the first winter
were fed cane in this table; those fed prairie hay the previous winter were
fed one-half each of alfalfa and cane; those fed cane the first winter were fed
alfalfa in this table; those fed one-half each alfalfa and prairie hay the first
winter, received the same in this table; those fed one-half each alfalfa and
cane the first winter were fed prairie hay in this table. No grain was fed
with this test and the experiment covered a period of four months.

> ga 22 EI i g Rg
n ae >= a Raat
KIND zy, 83 283 Ssh BE a Ess
6g 6% i og chee sys so-4 3
Za Ao <i 8 & &a 2 <a & mS &a
Alfalfa..........18 120 .67Ibs.Gain 81lbs.Gain 2424 20.2Ibs. 2990 lbs.
Prairie hay...... 18 120 .15lbs.Loss 18lbs. Loss 2242 18.7 Loss
Canes jes 5 Ony 18 120 .53lbs. Loss 641bs. Loss 2881 24 Loss
4 each alfalfa and
prairie hay....18 120 .51lbs.Gain 62lbs.Gain 2471 20.5 2950
4 each alfalfa and
cane. / 2... 4.18120) ).76)lbs, Gain, /92lbs. Gain) 2721 22/77 3980

There being no grain used in this experiment and the groups being
revised from the previous winter, makes the result a most interesting
one—showing the comparison favorable to alfalfa. The result in this
table should be carefully considered in connection with the change in
feed from previous winter.

15

TABLE 8

Comparative value of hay and corn fodder, fed with an equal amount
of snapped corn at Agricultural Experimental Station (Bulletin No. 93),
University of Nebraska. The experiment was made with six lots of ten
steers each, practically even weight and conditions, which were fed twelve
weeks. The amount of snapped corn being equal in each lot with the
exception of the last two.

be rm -i3 a) wa A] :

z Ho ED g2 S8, FE 2 EE

@ a8 $3 "k, FES fe. ge ge

KIND BS Saw 284 286 on & S8% 28 fs
ff BCS Foe Go8 £88 582 BP. ge.
ge 23 £23 ke 223 See 383 See
PAI DAT is yo sho bein piatsnla oa We 975) 101 “120° (S.A aes 22 7087 15.16 °28.038
iste and alialfascw: .. sete ot ve ite oe Bion Be ee 4 yh wae 15.17

IEC cre ein ele RMR See iy : 3 4. 10575" “1b;
Gorn stover..is 3s wantaee aoe 976 86 -1.02; 9147 522)86 9.25 22:44 “4 : 4
Corn stover and alfalfa.........974 165 1.96 9.61 22.45 4.90 11.44 16.34
Corn fodder and alfalfa........ 972° 152: “1.81 9 GI 45 ba) 12 a ae

This table is interesting from the fact that it shows relative gains on
this class of steers, two years old, fed grain and alfalfa, and grain and
other hay and fodder. The distinction between corn fodder and corn
stover is as follows: corn stover is the stalk when the ears and husks have
been removed; fodder is the stalk with the husk attached. The above
experiment closed January 24th, which represents an early feeding.

TABLE 9

Comparative value of different rations, including alfalfa hay, as a
mixture with other grains and compared with other hay and other mixtures—
Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin No. 93, University of Nebraska.
The experiment was made with the same steers as in table 8, commenced
February 15th and was for a period of eight weeks. Three weeks inter-
vened between the two experiments and during that time the steers were
gradually changed from snapped to shelled corn.

a $4 z ; ao > ie z . av
Bes RP p= ohis 2 SANE RM: VR
Fee) ee ree, teen) YR a

KIND PS esse Neg * Sy of, 85 Sg 88
fee fo. (ee See ee. Bt gee
BORE £E 8 Be Bay ‘fy By S88
“hag <3 O8 ash 8 me EE

Shelled corn and prai-
FIG HOY. s0is.2> ss saeO, Ch L2e Ibs. 19.1 lbs. 5.5 lbs. 15.10 lbs. 3.94 lbs. 19.04 Ibs.

Shelled corn 75%,bran
25% and prairie hay1146 111 1.98 “ 25.5 “ 5.5 “ 12.97 “ 2.78 “ 15.75 “

Shelled corn 90%, oil-

meal 10% and prai-

Fie Hay... tees LIST Va 252% 24 6S 6.8"* 9.77 |) 270, ae
Shelled corn 90%, cot-

tonseed meal 10%

and prairie hay...1154 128 2.29 “ 246 “ 62“ 10.77 “ 2.72 “ 13.49 “
Shelled corn and one-

half each alfalfa and

prairie hay....... 1164 128'3'29).'* 23:2 -"*8.1'* 10.16) & ASibar eae
Cornand cob meal and

one-half each alfalfa

and prairie hay.. 1169 110 1.95 “ 192“ 7.5 “% 9.77 “ 3.85 “ 13.62 “

16

The object of table 9 is to show the relative results of protein con-
centrates (as in bran, oil meal and cottonseed meal) as compared with
protein in roughness (as in alfalfa). The results as noted are again favor-
able.

TABLE 10

Comparative value of a corn ration fed in different quantities to hogs on
alfalfa pasture, Agricultural Experimental Station, University of Nebraska
Bulletin No. 99. The experiment was made with three lots of 17 hogs
each, of an average equal weight, being of a light weight class, the experi-
ment being for 98 days.

Heli ho. Nog ayeo eye tin pounds’ (jo iAverage: « Grain ted
KIND of pigs No. days fed average daily gain per 100
in each lot gain in pounds Ibs. gain
1. Alfalfa pasture and 4
corn per 100 lbs ..... 17 98 27 28 124
2. Alfalfa pasture and 14
corn per 100 lbs..... 17 98 36 oF 222
3. Alfalfa pasture and 24
coraper LOO Ibs: 5"... UF 98 48 Ol O02

The “4 corn” means one-half pound per 100 pounds of hog daily, the
weight being taken and adjustment of corn to such weight made each two
weeks.

With corn at 35 cents per bushel and hogs at $5.50 per cwt., the profit
would be represented as follows:

1 LA ML RTE ER RRS UT PO 4 OIRURD aa, nD RREGOP] Us 28 on each pig
Lot 2.. RMAC Ae Yun ire Org eee nime KO Wt a M2 See |
Lot 3.. aides Si dasha ale Ant WEIL Gh Nunc nd

The above would be ena a wake of alfalfa pasture.

TABLE 11

Comparison of value of alfalfa with other grain rations and with corn
and with barley; Agricultural Experiment Bulletin No. 99, University of
Nebraska. There were 60 hogs placed in six lots of ten hogs each.

Namher Average Grain

KIND Neuibet chars (Mee ema cane ea

pounds pounds

Corn . ; OAR ae 0 BB 131 104 1.14 528
Corn and alfalfa hay... HG) 91 131 116 Le 2i Nak
Corn 75%, alfalfa cut 257%. One woe 131 115 1.26 420
Barley .. . SPALL ALIN 126 102 1.12 573
Barley and alfalfa hay... - 10 91 127 110 1.21 562

Barley 75%, alfalfa cut 25% .. . 10 91 Le 98 1.07 492

This was an important test and represents an intermediate weight of
hog in the test.

17

TABLE 12

Comparative value of alfalfa pasture and no grain. This is compiled
from Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin No. 99, University of
Nebraska. These hogs were more mature than those in the preceding
table and were one year and over, showing light weight, mature hogs. The
three lots fed at different dates give fair average tests.

Number Number Average Average

of pigs days gain daily gain

in lot experiment pounds’ pounds
June 17th to August 26th, 1904........... 14 70 34 o
August 20th to October 22nd, 1904...... 10 63 27 43
July 27th to October 20th, 1904.......... 18 95 50 53

The first lot of 14 hogs were over one year old and thin; the second
lot dry brood sows and the third lot same as second lot. The entire lot
averaged 4.9 pounds gain per day; the average days fed 76

TABLE 13

We have compiled this table from the preceding tables, 10, 11 and 12,
showing hogs on light corn and alfalfa pasture; hogs on alfalfa and other
grains mixed, and on corn and barley without alfalfa, and hogs on alfalfa
pasture without other rations.

Average Average Grain fed
ae are ie eS ae Re re
hogs fed of hog
Table No. 10.... 17 98 52 37 .o9 229
Table No. 11.... 10 91 129 107.5 1.18 511
Table No. 12.... 14 76 173 37 .49

This table represents a summary comparison of tables 10, 11 and 12.
The details of each separate table should be studied to give desired results.

In the tables submitted we have secured those only where alfalfa was
the entire ration or a part of it; and while our combination tables represent
a summary, it is not of value compared with each separate experiment
made in tables preceding. We think on the whole the tests have covered
such periods of time, conditions and other range of essentials as to make
them a subject of interesting study.

18

HARDY ALFALFA
by
W. A. Wheeler, Secretary and Manager Dakota Improved Seed
Co., Mitchell, S. D.

Since the introduction of alfalfa into the northwest as a farm crop the
question of hardiness has been one of prime importance. It is only in recent
years that alfalfa has come to be considered as one of the important crops
of the northwest. It has been grown in the middle west and western states,
south of the 42nd or 48rd parallel in the United States for more than half
a century, and it has been under cultivation in the Old World according
to historic records since the 5th century B. C. In recent years it has
found its way into Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Michi-
gan and even into Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Since its advent into this
northern territory the question of hardiness has been given some attention
by experiment stations and alfalfa growers. The alfalfa plant as a forage
crop is so valuable that the subject is worthy of a great deal of attention, for
if alfalfa can be produced with safety and profit throughout the north-
western states, it will become the most general and profitable hay crop
grown.

In taking up the subject of hardy alfalfa it is not my intention to dis-
courage in the least the growth of alfalfa as a general crop in the northwest.
Instead of this I wish to do everything I can to extend the growth of this
valuable forage crop. However, if we are going to have stocks of alfalfa
that will live through our hardest winters, making it possible to have a
single field remain in good condition for from 25 to 50 years, we will have
to look to special hardy varieties. In spite of the fact that hardiness is
an attribute of so great importance, comparatively little attention has been
given to the producing, breeding or securing of hardy strains. It will be
of interest to all farmers in the northwest to know what has been done in
this line of work and what progress has been made toward the securing of
a strain of alfalfa that will be hardy under all conditions.

The alfalfas which were brought over to this country and which were
first introduced into cultivation were southern stocks which were brought
from the southern regions of Europe and Asia. These being brought
directly from the milder climate did not give the best of results in the north-
west because of their inability to withstand our severe winters. The yields
that they produced were very large and showed the possibilities of this
crop when we would be able to secure hardy strains. The Minnesota
Experiment Station was one of the first of the northern states to seriously
take up the proposition of endeavoring to secure alfalfa adapted to our
conditions. About eight or ten years ago there was called to the attention
of the Minnesota Experiment Station an alfalfa that was growing in the

19

vicinity of Excelsior, near Lake Minnetonka. It was noticed that the
farmers in that vicinity had been growing alfalfa for a number of years
and had succeeded in maintaining their fields through the winters without
loss to the stand, while in many other sections of the state alfalfa very
frequently killed out in severe winters. It was thought at first that this
might be due to local conditions in the vicinity of Excelsior, but it was very
soon discovered that the farmers who did not use their home-grown seed
from this particular stock but sent away for their seed did not secure the
results that were obtained from the homegrown stocks. Repeated trials
were made with seed secured from other more southern localities, where
alfalfa was made a general crop, and a large number of failures resulted.

When Professors Hays and Boss, of the Minnesota Experiment Station,
had this particular alfalfa called to their attention they started an investi-
gation to determine what had been the record of this alfalfa in the vicinity
of Excelsior. They succeeded in bringing out the complete history of
this stock and were aided by Mr. A. B. Lyman, of Excelsior, who gave
them every possible assistance in securing this information and later in
securing seed of this hardy alfalfa for trial. The original source of this
alfalfa is given very briefly by Mr. Chas. Brand in an article in Science
from which I quote as follows:

“Tn that year (1857) there came to this country from#the
little village of Kulsheim, near Wertheim, in the Grand Duchy
of Baden, a German farmer named Wendelin Grimm. Like
many of his countrymen Grimm went west, taking up a farm
in Carver County, Minn.

“‘ Among the few possessions that he brought from his old
home with him was a small bag containing less than twenty
pounds of seed of the alfalfa or lucerne, commonly cultivated
in Baden. Grimm applied numerous localfnames to this
alfalfa, but most commonly he called it ‘ewiger Klee’ (ever-
lasting clover) referring to its perennial nature.

“This small lot of seed was the progenitor of an alfalfa
industry that has existed in Carver County, Minn., for more
than a generation and which is now being extended into other
parts of the cold northwest.”

This gives briefly the origin of the hardy%alfalfa which is now well
and favorably known under the name of the Grimm alfalfa or Grimm’s
Everlasting Alfalfa.

It is true that we have had only a few years in which to study the Grimm
alfalfa since it was first located and called to the attention of scientists, but
every evidence that we have of records since that time and every record
that we have found of the results obtained from it since it was first brought
into this country, go to demonstrate its unusual hardiness and general

20

adaptability to northwestern conditions. The U. S. Department of Agri-
culture and all of the state experiment stations in the northwest are today
working with this stock in particular.

I saw a field of it in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1906, which had with-
stood the winter when the other stocks under trial were almost entirely
killed out. In North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota it has always
shown its hardiness, never to my knowledge having been excelled in this
respect where a good comparison was made. It is a fact that at the Min-
nesota Experiment Station, the Grimm alfalfa has to some extent been killed
out under most severe conditions. It is well known, however, that there
are conditions in the vicinity of the Twin Cities and many other portions
of eastern Minnesota which are very unfavorable for alfalfa, and these fac-
tors are to a large extent responsible for some of the failures in this region.
In fact, the Grimm alfalfa, in its adopted home near Excelsior, Minn.,
rarely produces seed enough to pay for cutting the crop for this purpose.
In South Dakota, however, under conditions prevailing in the vicinity
of Highmore and Mitchell, Grimm alfalfa is one of the best seed producers
that we have, often producing twice as much seed as any other stock under
trial, excepting S. D. No. 167. This latter number is one of unknown
origin. The only record that we have of it as to source is that it has been
grown in South Dakota for about 12 years. In all tests with the Grimm
alfalfa it seems to produce the same amount of seed, starts just as early in
the spring and has an equal forage value. In fact it appears to be identical
with the Grimm alfalfa.

Aside from the work that has been done on the Grimm alfalfa, large
numbers of importations of alfalfa have been made from Turkestan in the
hope of finding an alfalfa that would be perfectly hardy in the northwest.
Several of the importations that have been made and tried out have proved
to be quite hardy in trials at the Dakota Experiment Stations and in Min-
nesota. Many others have proved very tender. This result is of course
to be expected, for the province of Turkestan is a very large country and has
a range of climate from a very mild temperate climate in the south to rather
a severe climate in the north of the province. Following the first introduc-
tion and recommendation of Turkestan alfalfas there have been a large
number of importations into the United States by commercial seedsmen
without any regard to the region of Turkestan from which they came.
The general importations of Turkestan alfalfa are, therefore, today, to a
large extent discredited as hardy alfalfas. In comparisons made of com-
mercial Turkestan alfalfa with commercial stocks from southern points
I find that the Turkestan alfalfas in general are more hardy than the
southern stocks, but aside from hardiness they have shown that they are
not in general good seed producers. This has been especially true with
those stocks which have shown the greatest amount of hardiness. This

21

naturally places them at a great disadvantage in comparison with other
stocks that would produce an amount of seed sufficient to be handled in a
commercial way.

The Grimm alfalfa in its adopted home near Excelsior does not usually
produce a large amount of seed, but this is true of all alfalfas in that vicinity.
When grown in the Dakotas and Montana, Grimm alfalfa appears to be a
better seed producer than any of the commercial strains or any other of the
improved stocks. Bulletin No. 101 from the South Dakota Experimental |
Station gives a report of the trials at the Highmore and Brookings stations
made by the writer during the seasons of 1905 and 1906. These records
cover too brief a period to draw any definite conclusions; however, the
evidence given in the bulletin is in accordance with other reports from other
experiment stations and so is worth considering.

From the tests in South Dakota four stocks have proved hardy and are
recommended. They are the following:

South Dakota No. 162: The Grimm alfalfa which has
been grown for over fifty years near Excelsior, Minn. In
Canada, North and South Dakota and Minnesota this has
proved the hardiest alfalfa under trial.

South Dakota No. 167: Secured by the South Dakota
experiment station at Brookings in 1905. On all tests since
that date at the Highmore and Brookings stations and in my
plats at Mitchell this appears to be the same as the Grimm
alfalfa. It has shown itself equal in hardiness and seed
production. Its record is not known for as many years as
the Grimm but so far as known it is equal to it.

South Dakota No. 164: Grown for several generations
at Brookings and Highmore from P. I. No. 991, imported
by Prof. Hanson for the U. S. Department of Agriculture
in 1898.

South Dakota No. 240: According to the records this
is from the same source as No. 164. It has been grown con-
tinually at the Highmore experiment station from the original
seeding. It is not equal to No. 164 at present in seed pro-
duction.

Aside from these numbers there are being tried at the Brookings and
Highmore stations and next year will be tried at a large number of the
South Dakota State Experiment Stations the stocks that were brought over
from Russia by Prof. Hanson the past season. It will naturally take ten or
fifteen years before the value of any of these can be very clearly determined,
but it will be of interest in the meantime to keep watching all of them and
note what results are being obtained.

22

At the Minnesota station the Grimm alfalfa seems to be very much
the most promising and this is highly recommended. The selection and
breeding of alfalfa at this station has been handicapped by the fact that
very little, if any, seed is ordinarily produced by the selected plants because
of the unfavorable conditions for seed production. y

In North Dakota Grimm alfalfa has been grown in various ways.
No full report has yet been made by the experiment station, but several
results have been secured, all of which point to the fact that the Grimm
alfalfa is the hardiest under trial. They have also had good results from
gene al Montana grown seed and the Turkestan alfalfas. There is being
carried on at the present time at the Dickenson Experiment Station in
North Dakota, an investigation of a large number of kinds of alfalfa from
all over the world to determine their comparative hardiness. Mr. L. R.
Waldron who is in charge of the experiment station at Dickenson, in
writing in the Dakota Farmer regarding this first year’s trial, says:

““We had 68 strains go through, or attempt to go through,
the winter of 1908-1909. There were eleven consecutive days
of that winter which averaged colder than any similar period
in any winter since records were kept, which I think is since
1891. During those eleven days the ground was only slightly
protected by snow. With the kind permission of the Dakota
Farmer I desire to give in its columns in the near future some
of the results of this experiment as far as it goes. To say the
results are of interest and value is putting it mildly. Without
spoiling the promised article, I might say that we found the
winter divided the alfalfa into two groups. These groups
are: the Grimm Alfalfa and—the others.”

This simply adds one more evidence as to the hardiness of the Grimm
alfalfa in North Dakota.

ALFALFA
by
J. V. Bopp, Associate Professor of Agronomy,
South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station

South Dakota has demonstrated that its soils and climate are adapted
to produce plants in many respects. The production and steady increase
has kept stride with the development of the country and in some localities
has outstripped it, so that in some regions more is produced than is needed
for consumption and is baled and exported to other markets. The acreage
is being gradually pushed out of the region of the James River and out
of the Black Hills into that area which was thought, until a few years ago,
only fit for stock raising.

Bountiful crops have been produced in the Black Hills without irriga-
tion, yields of two to three and one half tons not being uncommon. Farther
east of this section the crops are somewhat lighter, the average being from
one to two tons per acre.

Within the last few years, however, a new industry has sprung up, that
of growing alfalfa for its seed. Phenomenal yields have been secured
which are not surpassed in any other section of the country. Instances
have been known where it yielded twelve bushels of seed per acre and
an average of from six to eight bushels are quite common. This crop
is grown after harvesting the first cutting for hay, and what this industry
will mean for South Dakota can be easily surmised. Such fields have been
seeded from five to ten years. There are, however, some fields which
have stood for twenty-five years and are still giving profitable yields, yet
the best fields are those seeded recently.

Alfalfa has a tendency to become thinner in stand as the fields grow
older. This can be accounted for in part by the fact that very few growers
give their fields any treatment. I am of the opinion that an alfalfa harrow
or disk used judiciously would lessen this tendency and thus prolong the
life of the field.

Winter-killing seems to be the result of neglect or mistreatment of the
field rather than to the plant being unable to endure the ordinary climatic
changes. Well cared for fields have stood the seasonal variations of tem-
perature and moisture very well. Wherever alfalfa stands in low spots,
where the soil is poorly drained, its death is only a matter of a short time.
Where irrigated, low spots must first be drained, otherwise no alfalfa need
be expected under such conditions. Instances can be shown also where a
field was cut too late in the season, so that the plants did not have time
to recover before being subjected to harsh weather; and invariably the field
would be killed and fail to resume its growth in the spring.

24

Lack of cultivation permits the weeds to make their appearance. Were
the fields disked, influx of weeds could at least be partially checked. Culti-
vation answers a threefold purpose; that of killing weeds, splitting the
alfalfa crown and conserving moisture. Where the stand has become
thin it has been renewed by permitting the few plants to seed, then disking
this seed in. Heavy stands have thus resulted.

To the prospective grower, as well as those who have already made
a success of it, a few timely hints may be of value. In the first place it
is absolutely essential to select a good field. A hard and fast rule may
be set down and that is “‘Alfalfa will not stand wet feet.”” The soil must,
therefore, be well drained at all times, for standing water will kill it before
anything else. A soil that is loamy or clayey in texture is better suited than
sand and is given preference. Where sandy soil has ground water within
three or four feet of the surface, it will prove as good asloam or clay. Of the
high upland soils, sand does not do as well as heavier types. Alfalfa
follows best as a cultivated crop which has been kept comparatively free
from weeds. The land should be plowed in the fall to a depth of six to
eight inches. No cultivation should be given this until early spring,
when it should be disked so that the disk laps half. This is important, for
the ground should be as level as it is possible to get it, in order to secure an
even stand. The soil should be disked and harrowed in the spring to
conserve moisture and kill the few chance weeds until May or the fore part
of June, which is the average time for sowing.

Most farmers make a practice of seeding with a nurse crop, especially
_Where the moisture supply is limited. The Grimm, Turkestan or a
variety already growing in the locality, should be chosen and sown at the
rate of twelve to twenty pounds of seed per acre, the rate depending on
the vitality of the seed and the manner of seeding.

Alfalfa is best seeded with a drill because it can be distributed more
evenly and covered at a more uniform depth. For this reason it is highly
essential to have the seed bed level, because a uniform stand is one of the
first requirements for successful culture. If the seed is covered too deeply,
too much energy is required to push to the surface and when seeds ger-
minate on the surface they are too often killed by the hot sun.

The treatment while the plants are small varies with the crop itself.
If the field becomes weedy, it should be clipped when the plants are from
four to six inches and the clippings allowed to remain on the field. The
field is then well harrowed. This has a tendency to stimulate the plants,
and they respond with renewed vigor. Occasionally, with clean fields,
a crop may be harvested the first year. However, the plant should have
made from six to eight inches of growth in order to winter best.

Alfalfa should be cut for hay when about one-tenth of the blossoms
are out. After the removal of the hay the field should be double disked

25

for the reasons herein mentioned. Two crops are the customary harvest,
while at times a third is cut. With three cuttings the plants are, however,
so low in vigor that they easily winter kill.

Since South Dakota has grown alfalfa successfully for a number of
years, her future in this respect is indeed bright. Alfalfa makes an ac-
ceptable feed for all kinds of stock and should, with barley, brighten the
future of the stock raiser as well as the grain raiser

HILLAND (STANLEY County), S. D., Dec. 13, 1909.
TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT, C. & N. W. Ry. Co.,
Winona, Minn.
Gentlemen:— ad

My experience with growing alfalfa in Stanley County began nine
years ago, when I seeded about a quarter of an acre of creek bottom land
with five pounds of Turkestan alfalfa seed bought in Milwaukee.
This experimental plat was new ground plowed deep and disked and
dragged a good many times. I had a good stand and it is a good stand
now; has been cut three or four times each year, depending on whether
the first cutting was early or later. Since then I have sown a number of
different fields, both on upland and bottom land, using homegrown and
Montana seed. Have not failed to get a good stand and very little winter
killing. I made a mistake in using Brome grass with part of my seeding,
which in time crowds out the alfalfa.

I have had best results from seeding on clean potato or corn ground,
disked and dragged early in the spring and again May 15th to 20th, seeded
broadcast at that time and dragged lightly. Last year the early spring
being very dry, I seeded a few acres on fall plowing with a double disk drill
at the rate of 20 pounds per acre and got a fine stand and good growth. I.
always seed without a nurse crop and mow at least once, sometimes twice,
to keep down the weeds, this depending on the rains. All our farming
has been done without irrigation. Our yield on bottom land has been
three tons per acre or better; on upland one and one-half to two tons to the
acre, depending on summer rains.

I have had a good stand from sowing on sod, but on account of crowding
out by native grasses the land should be well cultivated for two seasons
for best results. After cutting first crop I allowed a few acres to go to seed
the past season and threshed at the rate of four and one-half bushels per
acre of clean seed. The hay when nicely cured is worth nearly as much
as the same weight of grain. I find it especially valuable for milch cows,
colts and calves.

Yours truly,
(Signed) E. A. Morrison.

26

ABERDEEN, S. D., Nov. 14, 1909.

TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT, C. & N. W. Ry. Co.,
Winona, MInn.
Gentlemen:— :

Alfalfa can be profitably grown without irrigation in this section of the
State (that is, the northern part). A fair average of two cuttings would be
two and one-half to three tons to the acre. I got three tons without irriga-
tion.

None of the alfalfa which I have has passed more than one winter
but the winter of 1908-09 was a hard winter on alfalfa and clover, although
mine went through without any injury. The alfalfa I have is called
Grimm’s Minnesota Alfalfa. Weeds do not affect it after it gets well rooted.
The first year, when the alfalfa is first starting, the weeds will probably be
quite thick, and I think it should be topped at least twice during the sum-
mer. Cutting does not hurt the alfalfa but stops the growth of weeds.

I consider the alfalfa hay raised from an acre of fair alfalfa worth
from thirty-five to forty dollars. The expense of putting it up is about
$4.00, so we can say the net return from an acre of alfalfa is $30.00, which
would be as good a net return from an acre of alfalfa as from two acres of
corn.

I have fifteen acres of alfalfa, seven acres of which was seeded in 1908
and eight acres in 1909. The ground on which it is sowedjis high prairie
land with heavy loam, and well drained.

The land I sowed in 1908 was plowed about September 1, 1907, about
eight inches deep; was cultivated three times in the fall of 1907, and four
times in the spring of 1908. The cultivation was done by disking and
dragging. The seed was sowed about the first of June, 1908, and the
ground was in good condition. About sixteen pounds of alfalfa seed
was sown to the acre without a nurse crop. I used a disk drill with a
grass seeder attachment, putting my seed in the grass seeder, which worked
finely. The seed used was Grimm’s Minnesota Alfalfa.

The first year it was cut twice, and as high as I could set the mower,
not only that, but I tilted the mower up so that it cut very high. Both
cuttings I left remain on the ground as a mulch. In 1909 I cut two crops
from this field for hay. The first crop I cut when about a fifth was in
blossom; the second crop came on during harvest and I did not cut it until
about one-half was in blossom. The yield was three tons to the acre. I
weighed the first cutting, which yielded a ton and a half to the acre, and
estimated the second cutting, which was as good or a little heavier than
the first, although it was not cut as early as it should have been.

For the eight acres which were sowed in 1909, I prepared the land about
the same as I did the first seven acres, except that I only cultivated it twice

27

in the fall and three times in the spring, and did not cut it but once this
year. In fact, I didn’t give this year’s seeding as much care as I did last,
and I think the stand is not as good as I got a year ago. My next alfalfa
planting I shall do as I did on my first field.

I also raise timothy and clover, but I consider my alfalfa to be much
more valuable and shall increase my acreage considerably the next two
years. In my estimation of alfalfa I figure two and one-half tons to the
acre at $14.00 per ton; the corn at forty bushels at $0.50 per bushel. It
is, I think, easier to raise three tons of alfalfa to the acre than fifty bushels
of corn. I intend after cutting another year to top-dress my alfalfa with
manure from the cattle yard at the rate of about eight loads to the acre.

Any good tillable land that does not overflow or have water standing
on it will grow alfalfa. Forty-eight hours under water will probably kill
an alfalfa plant and twenty-four hours will do it great damage, therefore
the land should be well drained.

Land should be plowed deep and thoroughly cultivated, using every
effort to destroy all weeds and weed seeds. The cleaner the ground, the
better chance the young alfalfa will have.

Seed bed for alfalfa should be free from weeds and trash, plowed deep,
cultivated with a disk and dragged to make it fine and clean. Seeding may
be done either with a drill or broadcast, a drill with a grass seed attach-
ment preferred. If sown broadcast it should be lightly dragged after the
seeding.

About fifteen pounds to the acre if sown by the drill; if sown broadcast,
a little more than that (possibly eighteen pounds), is the amount of seed that
should be used.

The best fields in this section were sown alone, although some good
esults have been obtained with a nurse crop, but the general opinion is to
sow the alfalfa alone.

The ‘first season the field will probably have many weeds or much
pigeon grass and should be cut two or three times and allowed to fall as a
mulch on the field. Fight the weeds and the alfalfa will take care of itself
after the first season. After the first year alfalfa can be cut twice and
possibly three times, depending very much on the season.

Yours truly,
(Signed) Isaac LINCOLN.

28!

PrerRsON FARM, YANKTON, S. D., Nov. 28, 1909.

TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT, C. & N. W. Ry. Co.,
Winona, MINN.
Gentlemen:— 5

We have secured two and one-half tons of alfalfa to the acre in two
cuttings and have pastured the land in the fall.

The alfalfa has been seeded and produced as above for about twenty
years. Think it was sown in the spring of 1890.

If the land on which the alfalfa grows is flooded, or there is a heavy
snow, it will kill out; but we have not had any killed out by the influx of
weeds.

Our alfalfa has been sown on the Missouri River foot bluffs, one mile
from the bank of the river, on sloping, well-drained ground. It will not
do well on wet ground with us; will kill out the first year.

The alfalfa was sown with a crop of spring wheat, after the land had
been placed in the best condition possible, well plowed and harrowed.
We sowed the spring wheat and after harrowing well, sowed the alfalfa,
and then went over with brush drag and smoothed the ground good, sowing
from 12’to 16 pounds to the acre.

There has been in all about three hundred acres sown, some of it twenty
years ago, and same has been cut for hay and pastured more or less each
year. The crop this season has been as good as for any previous
year. When plowed up we get big crops of corn and the ground is
_ always in fine fix.

We have had the best results by sowing with a nurse crop and have
always sown it with spring wheat.

The proper time to cut alfalfa is when it is in bloom. We cut three
crops some seasons but found it does better to cut twice and pasture the
last crop, but not too short.

(Signed) E. R. Hovrton,
Manager Pierson Farm.

VIEWFIELD, S. D., Dec. 1, 1909.
(9 miles north of Underwood, S. D.)
TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT, C. & N. W. Ry. Co.,
Winona, Minn.
Gentlemen:—

Although there are a few who have grown alfalfa for a long time past
in this vicinity, the production of same is still in its infancy. For the
last three years the seed has been threshed to a large extent after the first
cutting, the sale of such seed being very profitable, as you will note by
statement of the sale of my 1908 seed crop.

29

Number acres harvested for seed...............--- 22

Number bushels seed threshed.,.......s0csessseeuss 100

Price Per DGANGLS. Ooi siisi sa! wee Ree oe ep oo ae pee $6.00

Recemts from sale Of S660.. lec fe igen nwa ou oie so 0's $1,080.00

Number tons ‘hay cut first cutting... .............. 70

Value ‘hay per ton, occurs ens es coche tein ales sss 8.00

Value of BBY CROP iis cya s'h Sotedaetheten ees oe 560.00

Total value cop of the 22 acres, ;':'s. ass senses. > ; $1,640.00
An average return per acre of ............$74.55

The hay cut from two of my fields this year, first cutting only, which
was sown by me some eighteen years ago, averaged at least two tons to
the acre, and with the exception of a few dry years the amount cut from the
first crop was as good if not better’an average than that. Up to three
years ago, or until the time that I started to thresh the seed, the second
crop would average from one to one and a half tons per acre, and after
that cutting I would have the use of the fields as a pasture until well along
in the spring.

The only damage“any of my fields have suffered is through winter-
killing, due to water standing on it and freezing, and that only in spots.
As for damage by weeds, same has been slight if any. Alfalfa, a good
growth at least, seems to choke out the weeds and as the first cutting of
the hay is usually made before the weeds ripen, there is not much chance
for spreading.

I have two fields on low land and one field on high ground. The low
land fields, which have a good strong growth, were sown eighteen years
ago without the aid of a nurse crop, while the field I planted last spring
on ae was put in with a crop of oats and barley, the grain being sowed
with a drill and the alfalfa put in with a hand seeder. The part sown
with barley was fairly good, but that sown with oats did not amount to much
and will have to be reseeded. The ground was plowed deep and harrowed
thoroughly and from my experience I think it best to put alfalfa in
by itself.

The first cutting of alfalfa should be made about the first to the middle
of June, or when the field just commences to blossom good.

Yours truly,
H. C. Jupson.

30

UNDERWOOD, S. D., Nov. 25, 1909.

TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT, C. & N. W. Ry. Co.,
Winona, Minn.
Gentlemen:

I have been engaged in the production of alfalfa for the past ten years
have studied and experimented with it more or less during that time, and
as a result of such experience, I have decided that as a farm or business
proposition under proper conditions, there is no better for seed or feed
purposes.

On alfalfa sown by me six years ago the average yield per acre this
year, first cutting, yielded about two and one-half tons to the acre, second
cutting one ton and the third crop used for cattle pasture.

On the second year, or succeeding year’s crops, I would consider an
acre of alfalfa in this country worth more than an acre of corn. Last year
my corn, which was better than the average in this vicinity, run about
thirty bushels to the acre. Figuring the sale of this corn at $.75 per bushel
and that it cost me $7.50 an acre to secure same in barn or granary, I would
net $15.00 to the acre. Figuring three and one-half tons alfalfa, valued
at $8.00 per ton, deducting $1.00 per ton as total expense harvesting hay,
would net me from an acre of alfalfa $24.50 per acre; in other words an
average acre of alfalfa compared with the average acre corn raised by me
this year, would be worth $9.50 more to me.

Weeds have appeared to a small extent, but by cutting the first crop at
the proper time, usually from the 15th to 20th of June, the head of the
~ weed is cut off before it is ripe and does not allow it to spread. It does
not make so much difference what kind of ground is selected, that is either
high or low ground, the chief point to consider is to secure ground where
water will not stand for even a short length of time.

Before seeding alfalfa I generally take off two crops of small grain,
and would not advise putting alfalfa in on new land. I plow the land
extra deep, harrow it in good shape and then put in with nurse crop of
oats, using about eight bushels of oats and from ten to twelve bushels alfalfa
seed. After each cutting I go over the ground with harrow just to mulch it
on top tozhold the"moisture.

Yours truly,
(Signed) FRED Hotcoms.

31

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