AI.FAI.FA.
. . .
The report of the Kansas state board
of agriculture , which has just been
published , is devoted to a discussion of
forage plants , paying particular atteu-
tion to alfalfa. Alfalfa is no longer an
experiment. It has been established
that it is peculiarly adapted to the soil
and climatic conditions of the western
states. THE CONSERVATIVE publishes
the following relative to the preparation
of the soil and the method of planting ,
as described by Geo. L. Clothier , M. S.
of Manhattan , Kansas :
"The most desirable soil for alfalfa is
that of fertile creek or river 'bottom'
land , well drained and not subject to
inundation. Any soil which retains
standing water on its surface forty-eight
hours will not successfully produce
alfalfa. With this reservation , I believe
it safe to assert that it will grow on any
soil that will produce corn , and on a
good many soils where corn will not
grow. It prefers a soil , however , that is
rich in the mineral elements of plant-
food , such as potash , lime , magnesia ,
phosphoric acid , and sulphur. A soil
formed from decomposed limestone is
ideal for the growth of alfalfa. It will
also thrive exceedingly well in a soil
composed of almost pure sand , provided
the water table is within reach of its
roots , and the underground water contains -
tains enough mineral to supply it with a
large quantity of its food. In central
and western Kansas "alkali gumbo , "
such as is frequently found on the creek
bottoms of that section , is considered
the most valuable alfalfa land. It is
reported ns thriving close up to the
edges of "alkali sinks , " on Mr. H. D.
Watson's great ranch at Kearney , Ne
braska. This is accounted for by the
fact that the plant is a gross feeder upon
some of the identical minerals compos
ing the alkali.
"In eastern Kansas , the clay subsoil
apparently contains inexhaustible sup
plies of plant-food for the growth of
alfalfa. The difference in yields re
ported from bottom laud and upland is
not duo to a difference in fertility of the
soil , but to a difference in the available
water supply to the roots. Although
alfalfa has been known to survive periods
of excessive dryness in western Kansas
so severe as to kill out the buffalo-grass ,
yet it is an undoubted fact that the
plant uses as much water in the pro
duction of a ton of dry matter as any
other crop. Hence , if large yields are
expected , the soil must bo such that
largo quantities of moisture are avail
able to the growing plants. Alfalfa is
not likely to be a permanent and heavily
yielding crop upon a soil underlaid with
an impermeable substratum of rock or
hard-pan within two or three feet of the
surface.
Preparation of tlio Soil In Kiintorii KUIISUH.
The preparation of the soil should
rightly begin two or three years before
the time of seeding. In the older culti
vated lands of eastern Kansas the soil
should be freed from weed seeds by
clean tillage with hoed crops , such as
corn , potatoes , or roots. If the land is
so weedy that it cannot bo cleaned by
cultivation , it should be fallowed for
one season prior to the seeding. If it is
desirable to subsoil the land , this should
bo done a year before seeding , and may
be followed either by fallow or a culti
vated crop. Time enough should inter
vene between the subsoiling and the
seeding to allow the soil to settle , and to
store a bountiful supply of moisture
against dry weather.
"Although alfalfa roots penetrate very
stiff soils , it generally pays to subsoil
such to a depth of fifteen to twenty
inches , so that the young plant roots
may not meet with discouraging diffi
culties too early in life. In a fairly
porous soil o. vigorous alfalfa plant
thirty days old will have a tap-root
fifteen or eighteen inches long. The
soil should be put in such perfect tilth
that the farmer need have no fears of
dry weather or weeds injuring his young
alfalfa. The seed-bed should be as fine
as an onion bed , and the subsurface be
rather firm and well supplied with
moisture. If the soil is deficient in
humus , a liberal coating of barn-yard
manure plowed under at the time of
subsoiliug will add greatly to its physical
condition , and thus help to start the
young plants out in life with less diffi
culties to encounter. If the soil is very
sandy , the manure will be of great value
in preventing the sand from blowing
and in conserving moisture. A very
sandy soil is not benefited by deep plow
ing or subsoiliug. If the soil is heavy ,
and it is not practicable to subsoil , it
should be plowed to a depth of eight or
ten inches several mouths prior to seed
ing. If the land is allowed to lie fallow
after this treatment , or has been fall-
plowed , it should be thoroughly disked
every three weeks during the summer
or autumn , as the case may be , to keep
a dust mulch on the surface and prevent
evaporation.
"If the soil has had the thoroughly
extended preparation outlined above ,
the immediate preparation will bo very
simple , and may be accomplished by
running a smoothing harrow over the
ground a day or two before the drill.
If there are dead furrows or ditches , or
other inequalities of surface in the field
that can be easily remedied , it will be
profitable to give some time to leveling
or smoothing the field so that the mower
can bo run with comfort and safety over
every foot of the ground.
"If avoidable , alfalfa should never be
sown on freshly plowed land. Yet ,
since it is the custom of many farmers
to follow this more uncertain method , I
will attempt advice for the alleviation
of the difficulties likely to result : If
such sowing is done in the fall the seed
might just as well be thrown away. If ,
on the 1st day of May , one has a clean
piece of corn stubble which he is anxious
to seed at once , ho could in all probabil
ity secure a better stand by thoroughly
disking and cross disking the ground ,
and , after smoothing with a harrow ,
seeding without plowing. If it is neces
sary to plow the ground , put on enough
teams and do the work as rapidly and
thoroughly as possible. Each afternoon
go over all the plowing of that day with
a Campbell subsurface packer or a
similar implement , heavily weighted.
The second day , in the forenoon , this
ground should be given a thorough
treatment with an Acme harrow , or
with some other pulverizer , leaving a
fine dust mulch on the surface. If the
work is done rapidly evaporation will
be so retarded that the ground will be
in good condition for seeding after the
first shower that moistens the dust
mulch. Seed with a press drill , running
a smoothing harrow over the ground
before the drill to break up the crust
that may have been formed. If ex
cessive rains should occur within two
weeks after seeding , as are frequent in
May and June , 1 would expect to lose
my seed , no matter how well put in , at
this late spring season. It is not a good
practice to sow after May 1 in eastern
Kansas , unless it be in the fall.
"The better way to prepare clean land
for spring seeding is by fall or winter
plowing. The ground should be disked
a number of times at varying intervals
before seeding , to keep it covered with
the beneficent dust blanket. If the soil
is likely to blow , the disks weighted
down and set so as to ridge the ground
may be made to prevent this. Ground
prepared in this way , after receiving the
immediate harrowing always necessary ,
should bo seeded early in April in the
north half of Kansas. The preparation
should qualify the soil to become a great
sponge , drinking in the rains that fall ,
and giving this moisture back to the air
through the leaves of the plants instead
of through the surface of the ground.
As alfalfa roots extend to great sub
terranean depths , the rain-water should
penetrate to these depths with facility.
Time of Seeding.
The time of seeding is of great im
portance. This should be determined
more by the absence of unfavorable con
ditions than by the season. Alfalfa has
been successfully sown in Kansas in
every month from March to September.
Where the ground is not weedy , spring
seeding has been practiced with success.
The cold rains of spring , however , when
excessive , sometimes cause the young
plants to rot off , as would be the case
with the adult plant when submerged
for two or three days. The farmer
meeting loss in this way , in his dis
couragement , then gives out the report
that "alfalfa can't stand wet feet , " and
will not grow in his locality. He forgets