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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1885)
138 THE WEST SHORE. ALFALFA, OR " CHILE CLOVER" THE cultivation of alfalfa, or lucerne, an it is more prox-rly railed, is in tlie United States confined nlnuwl i'liiMiv'lv to California, nlthongh it is rmVd to wmie fxu-ut in Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Ah a food for horses, cattle and hogs it cannot le surpassed, while no other known forago plant can le roliod ukii to yield such large crops with ho little care. It is a native of Southern Euroje, whore it has been cultivated from re mote antiquity. From there it was taken by the Span iards to 1'eru and Chile, and was then introduced on this Omst, from which fact it is often called " Chile clover." Tlio tmt result are reached where an abundance of water for irrigation is to be hod, and when proorly supplied with moisture, a well-set alfalfa field will yield large crops year after year, without requiring fertilization or any jmrticular care. In preparing a field for alfalfa, then, the funt requisite is a location where it may be easily irrigated The land should be thoroughly and deeply plowed and cross-plowed, and by rotated harrowing and going over with a "clod crusher," should be reduced to as fine a degree as Nxisible. Any inequalities in the sur face of tho field must be leveled, so as to admit of a free and unobstructed flow of water to all portions at once. As the young alfalfa plants are tender and will not stand exposure to frosts of much severity, the seed should not Im sown until such time in the spring as all danger from frost shall have passed. It is by many considered the better plan to mix the alfalfa seed witli barley, as by so doing weeds are, to a groat extent, provouted from chok ing out tho alfalfa. When the field is not too largo, and the soil has lieen worked down to an almost jwwdery con sistency, a good way to cover the seed is to tako a largo aixeil branch of a tree, or a bunch of brushwood, and by moans of a roje drag it across the field by haud power. This will prevent tho unsightly footprints uuavoidablv loft by horses when the soil has boon put in the proer condition of tilth for this crop, and which would go far toward ruining that exact uniformity of surface which it : .1 . .: i i.. ..?! mi wwihiiiu ui mainuiiu wnero irrigation is practiced. considerable iiintireuoe or opinion exists as to the proxir amount of seed to use, but from twenty to twenty-live Iniuuiis or aero Is an abundance. In gome parts of Ku, ro alfalfa is sown iu drills and is cultivated like any other field crop. While this might render the process of irrigation loss laborious, it d.x not appear that the crops produced are any larger than are raised by the broadcast method of Mowing, nor that any other advantages are bos- t'i . ....... . io um wnuhhi aiur uie mxm! is dIsuUh not nvr three e roM may bo exjxvted to oome to maturity, the wxrih jiW uvo or six cuiungs may be taken, and there. atuv as liigu as eight crops may be harvested. of course, on the plan followed iu iu cultivati.m. whether the field is pastured or not in the winter. The proper Umo to reap alfalfa is just as the flowers apear wn it, as in a abort time thereafter tho stems brain to uanjt-n man sura wiu reiose lo eat Uie greater part of the lay. In curing great car almnld be Uken. H .ho,,!,! not be allowed to become too dry, as then the leaves, which are the most nutritious portion of the plant, will drop off in the processes of loading and unloading, and a large part of the hay will be lost. After each entting the field should be thoroughly irrigated, which in ordinary cases will Bnfllce until the next crop is harvested. One irrigation to each cutting is generally considered the cor rect thing. Wheu the plants have reached their maturity a crop of two or three tons to the acre may be reasonably counted on at each cutting, and with proper irrigation is certain. It is the general custom to pasture alfalfa fields during the winter months. There seems to be almost no known limit to the life and productiveness of this plant, as there are fields in California which have been yielding good crops for fifteen to twenty years consecutively, with hardly any apparent diminution.' Should the field be came "thin" from any cause, it may be remedied by a light sprinkling of seed and then going over with a har row. Of course, this crop may be raised in some locali ties where no water is available for irrigation, but in such cases a far smaller yield must be expected, as not over three or four cuttings, at most, can be made in one sea son. There will also ba touud much trouble from squir rels and gophers, as these animals are very fond of the tender shoots and roots of the alfalfa, and will soon ut-" torly ruin a field if left to themselves. Where irrigation is practiced these pests may ba kept in some degree of subjection by ieriodical drowning out, but in the dry sec tions thia is, of course, impossible, and the problem of how to subdue them will tax the farmer's ingenuity as well as his patience. There seems to be a considerable difference of opinion on the subject of alfalfa as food for horses. While some claim that horses fed on this alone will keep in good con dition and perform all kinds of hard work, the experience of others in this rest has not been so satisfactory. Alfalfa is very fattening, but the best results in its use as horse food seem to bj readied by combining the alfalfa judiciously with barley, hay and grain, by whioh the horses may be kept strong and in good condition. As to cows, no better food in any respect has been round, either fed dry or green. But one drawback has so for been exorioncod, and that is the danger from bloat ing, where they are allowed to feed on the alfalfa while it is wot from dew. Great care should consequently be exercised in this regard, as many valuable animals have been lost from ignorance of the danger of this practice. As a food 1 for growing hogs, also, there is nothing that surpasses alfalfa, and they may be kept in fine condition on it until the time for fattening arrives. They seem to relish it equally well when fed dry as green and to thrive upon it iu any shape. Some have made it a practioe to pasture hogs ,,, their alfalfa fields, but this cannot be rec nTr!f ,T1, S8"16"" ""tg" Propensities the appear- alwfa pSi t lB 80011 i(irye M wel1 M raBny ' th wi.STs'TV0 1)6 .no BOod rea8on w,,y tl,e rea n be Vhl I K Si ".,Hy gwn should not toM 7. i U '? 8rown to " extent in WiSin J. W the.8-,uth of E"8laH in South tl.Theh l Mi K1'?0"! 'ions, it is cultivated at c3 . v 5f ,00,,fet n?vi above the sea leveL fotfXn J Tld I"? m thttt when th8 danger from 23u&I? 7 .P888ed the P,ant endure a