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
_Isaac Zoller, Montgomery county_, writes in a recent article in
_American Agriculturist_:--“In the spring of 1889, I sowed my first ten
acres of alfalfa. The field was reseeded for the second time in April,
1905. I now have 25 acres. The land was plowed in the fall after being
manured. In the spring, generally during the last two weeks of April,
the surface for five or six inches is made extra fine and 25 to 30
pounds of the best seed are sown with three pecks of oats as a nurse
crop. By June 1 the oats are cut three inches above ground and again
every four weeks during the first season. The following June during the
third week the first crop is cut, usually yielding about three tons. The
second cutting generally comes during the last week in July when 1¹⁄₂
tons is an average. By September, the third cutting is made, but I
generally let sheep browse it, but not very close or after it is frozen.
The season of 1905 it was cut and allowed to wilt, raked with a side
delivery rake, allowed to lie a couple of hours, then rolled over with
the rake and drawn to the barn. Formerly I used to shock it and allow it
to sweat, but this is too much work. I feed it to sheep and find it
equal, if not superior to Red clover. To be at its best it must be cut
when about one-tenth of the blossoms are out. The soil in which my
alfalfa grows is a heavy, clay loam and rolling, but is underdrained.
The soil here is apt to heave three or four inches during winter and
injure clover. But where properly drained, this does not occur on
alfalfa fields. I am certain alfalfa can be more extensively and
economically grown here.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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