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
cattle than clover, and yields more largely; sheep may be kept on it to
advantage also. A good acre will keep five grown hogs in excellent
condition, but will not make them fat. If they are taken up in October
and fed about 40 days on grain, they will be marketable. Cattle on the
pasture sometimes bloat, but I have had 100 head of cows and calves on
mine for two months, and have had no trouble. The irrigated alfalfa is
better than that grown on land that requires no water. The straw is
about equal to oat straw, but not half so good as the alfalfa hay. To
rid land of the plant requires a strong team and a sharp 10-inch plow.
The roots rot at once after plowing, and the land is well fertilized for
other crops. In my opinion, alfalfa is the best forage plant known in
this western country. It is most easily raised, produces the largest
yield, commands the best price, and can be planted at any time from
March to September. Land seeded to it is the most valuable, and the
farmer who has plenty of it is the most prosperous. Farming here cannot
be a success without it, and I take pleasure in recommending it to my
brother farmers. It will lie dormant all summer if it is dry, and with
fall rains revive and make good pasture. It is the earliest plant up in
the spring, and the last to stay green in the fall. In other words, it
is the best of all.
_Hartman & Weil, San Miguel county._--We have been dealers in alfalfa
hay for eight years, and have some small fields of our own. This is on
both bottom and upland. In the bottom, the subsoil is sand and bowlders;
on the upland, stiff bluish clay, and in some places blue limestone.
Well water is reached on the bottom land at a depth of 8 to 10 feet,
through soil moist all the way; on the upland, it is necessary to dig 60
to 100 feet, and, beginning two or four feet from the surface, the
ground is dry. When seed is planted in the spring, the soil should be
well pulverized, moist, and warm, that the seed may germinate quickly.
It should not be put in deeper than 1¹⁄₂ inches, and may be planted in
May or June, or any time in the spring after the soil becomes warm. In
our climate, it is best to sow about 30 pounds of good seed to the acre,
besides just enough oats to shade the ground and protect the young
alfalfa from the hot sun. Once well started, it will kill out all weeds,
and does not winterkill here. We irrigate from streams. Alfalfa should
not be irrigated when quite young, for, if the small plant is covered
with soil, when watered, it will not come up again, but, after it gets a
good start, it is not easily killed. There should be about two
irrigations to each crop harvested, or ordinarily, six in a season. The
heavier the stand the more water is needed. We have three cuttings,
yielding about 3,000 pounds of cured hay per acre per cutting. When the
plant is fairly well in bloom, it is cut, and is best when cured under
large sheds or in the shade. If left until dry where cut, the foliage
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