The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits: Its Uses as a Forage and FertilizerCoburn, F. D. (Foster Dwight)
History
The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits: Its Uses as a Forage and Fertilizer
Coburn, F. D. (Foster Dwight)
Alfalfa
Some nice rains came on and soon I noticed from our house, since I did
not go to that corner of the farm in between, that all of it was green
again, and sure enough, there was a comparatively good stand and the
sprouts showed quite a bit of vigor. This surprised me. I had no time to
plow right away and having a large harvest of bottom hay, I did not go
to the field for three weeks, and when I saw it again it was just about
ready to cut. I actually did cut and harvest it and it was well worth
the time it took us to do the work. The next plowing and disking, of
course, thinned it out, and especially as dry weather came just right to
assist in killing it.
All this made it clear to my mind that we did not find the right time to
plow alfalfa, so the next time I tried it still later; in fact, it was
almost in bloom, and, being a wet year, there was little difference in
the result. This year I waited the second time for the alfalfa to come
up a foot high before plowing it back and drilled in sweet corn, and now
I can hardly see any difference on parts of the field.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
_Prof. Frederick W. Taylor, Agriculturist New Hampshire experiment
station._--We have tried to secure a stand of alfalfa for four
consecutive seasons, but so far our efforts have been unsuccessful.
Various types of soil, from a heavy boulder clay to a light sandy loam,
have been tried, and, contrary to our expectations, the most promising
crop was on the heavy clay soil. Our chief difficulty has been in having
the alfalfa keep ahead of the weeds and in getting a uniform catch that
would withstand our winters. From one-fourth to one-half of the plants
have usually wintered over in good condition and made a vigorous growth
the next season, but there has not been enough of them to say that we
have made a success with alfalfa. We have largely eliminated the seed
question by plowing the ground early and keeping it harrowed until about
the middle of July, when it is sown. Our experience seems to indicate
that an application of lime is beneficial, if not absolutely necessary,
in this section and we have accordingly been using it at the rate of a
ton to the acre. We have also tried inoculation with the various
cultures, but in no case have any benefits been observed. So far as we
know, there have been no successful attempts to grow alfalfa on a medium
or large scale in this state, although several farmers in the
Connecticut river valley have reported success on some areas of an acre
or less. When we more thoroughly understand the plant, and the
conditions necessary for its growth, we believe it can be grown upon
some of our soils.
NEW JERSEY
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