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
_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.
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