File:American farmers' manual (1904) (17932270870).jpg

Title: American farmers' manual
Identifier: americanfarmersm19pete_1 (find matches)
Year: 1904 (1900s)
Authors: Peter Henderson & Co; Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection
Subjects: Vegetables Seeds Catalogs; Farms Catalogs; Grasses Seeds Catalogs
Publisher: New York : Peter Henderson & Co.
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

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16 ALFALFA OR LUCERN. (Medicago Safiva.) The Deepest Rooting, Soiling and Hay Plant Grown. Opens up the Subsoil. Adds Nitrogen and Humus to the Land. iriELD.—When fully established it yields as much as eight to twelve, and sometimes as high as sixteen, tons of cured hay per acre at three to four cuttings each year. The hay is palatable and very nutritious. By the New Jersey Experiment Station and other competent authorities the feeding value of the hay is placed at $20.00 as compared with Timothy at S12.00 per ton. As a soiling plant for cutting and feeding green during the summer it is of the utmost value on all dairy farms, as it is ready for fii st cutting about the time for planting Corn and about as early as green Eye can be cut, and is ready for cutting about every six weeks thereafter. Alfalfa should be cut every time it begins to blossom, whether the grovTth is short or tall, for if allovsred to form seed, it shortens the life of the plant. Owing to slow growth the first season, almost the entire growth going to roots, the land should "be clean and free from weeds, and it is, therefore, best to follow Potatoes, Corn or some other crop that has been thoroughly hoed and kept free from weeds. DEEP ROOTING.—Its drought-resisting qualities are remarkable, ren- dered so by the wonderful root formation, THE EOOTS GOING- DOWN DEEPEE THAN ANY OTHEE PLANT, eight to twelve feet being usual, and a depth of thirty feet has been reported. This deep-rooting quality enables it to reach and utilize plant food beyond the reach of other plants. There is no plant which can be fed green or cured into hay that is deserv- ing of wider cultivation than Alfalfa, and there is no State in the Union where it cannot be successfully cultivated under the following conditions : HME XTECESSABT.—One of the essentials for its success is LIME in some form, either in the soil or subsoU, and if lime or marl is present, profitable crops may be expected. Therefore, if it is known that there is no lime in the soil, it should be applied as a top-dressing when the land is being plowed preparatory to sowing the seed OOOS DSAIITAGE is neces- sary, for an excess of surface water soon rots the roots and under these conditions the plants seldom live longer than one or two years, though excellent results have been obtained on clay soils, provided always that lime is in the soil or subsoil, either naturally or applied. TIME OP SOWING.-The best time to sow in this section Is in April, and if the land is thor- oughly clean and free from weeds, it ma.v be sown broadcast, using 20 lbs. per acre, and such weeds as appear kept down by the mowing machine with the cutter bar raised so as to avoid cutting near the crowns of the young plants. But, even under the most favorable conditions the better plan is to drill the seed in rows 16 inches to 2 feet apart, at the rate of 15 to 20 lbs. per acre. As soon as the young plants are high enough to mark the rows, cultivation should begin, and if the soil is kept clean and mellow by frequent stirrings, the Alfalfa, if cut often and noli allowed to go to seed, will after the first year cover the ground and easily keep ahead of all weeds. 22'c. lb.; $12 50 bushel of 60 lbs.; $20.00 per 100 lbs.
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