^^^hweeket
VOL XIX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, DEO. 6,1884.
NO. 49.
Written for the Indiana Farmer.
ALPA_."PA OK IiUOEHNE.
Its Value a<< Live Stook Pood Compared with Timothy and Clover.
BY I„ J. TKMP-IN.
This forage plant Is attracting bo much
attention and is proving so valuable as to
make it desirable tha,i_r, knowledge of its
value and properties be more generally
disseminated.
This plant is known among the English
people by the name of "lucerne," but it is
generally known at the West by the Spanish term "alfalfa," as it was by the Spaniards it was introduced into the western
parts of the country. To botanists itis
known aa Medicago sativa. It is a species
of clover, grows tall and branching, and
has a small bine flower. This plant was
esteemed by the anclents,having been cultivated as early as the time of Darius. It
is reported to have been carried from Persia to Greece about 500 years B. C. It
was known and cultivated among many
of the ancient nations.
In more recent times ithas been cultivated extensively as a forage crop in France,
Italy, Spain, Flanders and Holland. It
was early introduced into this country and
in the hands of a few men, .among them
i 'hancellor I_vlngsto_,"it proved quite re»-
munerative, but never acquired any extended popularity. The Spaniards introduced it into their possessions on this continent and ithas become extensively naturalized in the pampas of South America, as
well as in Mexico and the western portions of the United States. Its cultivation
is gradnally making its way eastward. It
is now cultivated quite extensively in the
Centennial State; and has already become
the most popular forage plant in the State.
It is largely superseding other forage
plants for both pasture and hay. A com-
pari-on of this hay with that of clover and
timothy will give the reader a fair understanding of its value as a forage plant. The
following table gives the economic value
of alfalfa hay when cut in bloom,- and also
when cut in the young state:
In bloom..    Young.
Wilier '.        17.7 16.7
urgautc matter -       76.9 64.4
Ash or mineral matter...        6.4 8.7
Albuminoids i flesh former)        14.4 19.7
Carbo-hydrates (fat former)       25.4 3U.2
Accessories —       40.2 22.1
Next I give an analysis of- ordinary clover hay,' from which it may be seen that
the difference in feeding value, ton for
ton, is not great:
Witter  16.7
organic, mutter 77.1
Asa...: ,    6.2
Albuminoids ' :....  13.4
i 'arbo-hydrates :- 33.1
Accessji-ies   35.5
The following is the table given for timothy hay: .  _    '
Water...'. ,  14.3
Organic matter —t '. _ 81.2
Ash ; . -S.2
Albuminoids   9.7
Carbo-hydrates ;.... M.8
A ccessories  22.7
From this comparison it Is seen that the
difference in the value of these different
kinds of hay is not very wide. Bnt the
samples of clover and timothy used In the
above analyses were cut when the seed
was rige which added to the nutritive
value of the timothy and detracted from
the clover.   From this showing it appears
that, supposing they yield the same
amount per acre, other things being equal,
these three crops are of nearly equal value
for hay. Bat such is not the case, for
while clover and timothy are cut but once
during the season, alfalfa is cut from three
to five times, giving at each cutting about
as much as the others do. A neighbor of
mine recently told mo that from 15 acres,
that lacked a great deal of being set, he
had put up 75 tons of good hay. Of course
he used irrigation, but having seen his
meadow I am sure a third more might
have grown on his ground without its being any heavier than some pieces I have
seen.
In an experiment  made by the Duke of
Bedford at  Woburn, England, the results
with the three crops named above gave the
following:
Weight of hay. Alfalfa.     Clover.     Timothy.
28,314 .' 12^51 19,397
Weight ot nutrition.    7,639 1,914 3,669
It appears from this table that one acre
of alfalfa is worth more than one each of
clover and timothy; for while lt gives
7,659 pounds of nutriment, both the others
give but 5,583, a difference of 2,076 pounds
in favor of the alfalfa; showing that one
acre of alfalfa is equal in value to one acre
of timothy and two of clover, ln this
State this crop is coming into use very
largely not only for. hones and cattle, but
also for hogs. It is found that swine do
quite well on both the green and dry alfalfa. Those who have tried it claim that
hogs thrive well on the pasture, and that
tbey go through the winter with no other
feed than alfalfa hay. Hogs have recently
been put on the market here that have
been raised and fed exclusively on this
plant. One advantage in raising this crop
is that when once well set in congenial
soil it will continue to yield good crops for
15 to 25 years. It has a very long tough
root, and is exceedingly difficult to eradicate.
Canon City, Col.
Written for the Indiana Farmer.
One Hundred and Sixty Aores Not
Enough.—No. 0.
BY TOHN M. STAHL.
I wish to show first that such a state of
affairs as I advocated in my last article, is
not contrary to the course of nature, because my opponents aver that it is unnatural and hence evil. Surely nothing Is
more in accordance with natural laws
than that some should accumulate more
property than others. Nature and their
own selves have made men widely different. Tills is natural, not the opposite.
Being different In every respect, men differ in the capacity to gain worldly goods,
and this again is natural. It is axiomatic
that those who gain most are the very odes
to handle it to gain more. Then the largest farms will naturally'come i_$Ds«the
hands of those best fittedfs have them, to
make them the lno^tfprbntable. My point
Is gained.'" >    ■      \       >'v
But K the land conies into tlu'.hands of
those who can make the best use of it, it is
surely better than for it tobeparcelled.out
among those who could use lt but badly.
Does any one doubt that it is better for all
classes that the wiser and more intelligent
guide and direct? If so, he doubts the
wisdom of all governments for tfc» people,
and also by the people, for in these the intendment and effect is to elect the wisest
to govern those, of less wisdom. If my opponents attack me* _er» they must at the
same time attack eveiy free government
and all the social fabrics of Christendom.
More, they must attack nature, whose decree is the rule of the fittest.
I apprehend that some will say that the
farm hand will get less wages. It is a
common notion that large landed estates
must lead to the oppression of the poorer
loboring classes. In proof of this the deplorable state of affairs existing in many
portions of the old world is instanced. But
I must remind my readers that these evils
ever exist under the shadow of a monarchy supported by an aristocracy, where
the people have no voice, or else a very
weak one, in the government. In a country like this, where the very air is full of
liberty, where the liberties of the people
are jealously guarded and the powers of
government rigidly circumscribed by a
written constitution, where press,thought,
speech and suffrage are free, where the
vote of the poor man counts for as much
as the ballot of the millionaire, the laboring classes can never be oppressed without
their consent.
Does it not seem strange that under such
a government bysuch a people the greater
prosperity of the employer would lead to
the greater poverty of the employed? It
cannot be. If, as we have seen, the land
would be far more productive and profitable, and the owner more prosperous, aa
sure as truth is true and justice is just, the
employed would be paid larger wages and
be more prosperous and happy. My readers know that it is when manufacturing
establishments are prosperous the laborers
are paid the higher wages; they know that
when panics bring disaster to the capitalist employer it is then that employment is
wanting or wages are low and the laboring
classes cry for bread.
Bat the adoption of this system of solid
financial principles In the conduct of large
farms managed by the most intelligent aud
competent men would be to the benefit of
the farm employes, by elevating their calling. As it now is, it must be confessed
that the position of farm laborer is very
near the bottom, not because of anything
unworthy in the farm hand, but because
the occupation demands neither intelligence nor good judgment. Farm labor, to
be properly performed, requires both of
these; but the occupation of the farm
hand does not. All that is required of a
farm laborer is brute force. The very appellation given him—"hand"—furnishes a
curious but no less conclusive proof of
this. He is called a hand because he is
expected and required to use only his
hands and not his head. The intelligent,
thinking, rightly judging farm hand is
put on the same level as the ignorant, unthinking, unreasoning one. If the former
has the least physical strength he will experience the most difficulty in obtaining a
situation. The greater excellence lies in
greater brute force. But when the farm is
conducted on shrewd, business principles,
all this will be changed. Already the introduction of . intricate labor saving machinery has made brain as well as brawn
to measure the worth of the farm hand,
and  the  most  intelligent laborer is the
most valuable, though he rarely gets extra,
compensation. But this change in the very
basis of agriculture will render brain absolutely necessary. The owner, the manager, the very farm will demand skilled,
and intelligent workmen.'• Sharp contpe--
tition will be engendered. The farm hand
will be compelled to show his fitness for a
position before he gains it, as the clerk,
accountant, or cashier is now. Employes
will be accepted upon the farm as they
now are in business houses and as an effort
is being made te have them accepted in
the civil service of our government. The
farm hand will be compelled to show his
intelligence and his knowledge of intensive tillage. He will be forced to bring,
recommendations from former employers,
and kis promotion will depend upon ability, efficiency and faithfulness. This may
be hard upon the unworthy, but upon
them alone; for the better class of conscientious, ambitious workmen it will work
a greater good—not only increase of compensation but a far higher position in the
scale of occupations.
CQujcrxj & Qvisvozvs.
Give your name and postoflice when asking ques
tlons. Many queries go unanswered for failure to
observe this rule.
A letter in our care to May Bird ban
been . received. We have no such name.
on our list of contributors. Is not tho
writer mistaken in addressing her here?
Please give me the address of some East
ern Poultry Journal. '  S-i.ma.
Stone's Crossing.
The Poultry World, Hartford, Conn.
The Poultry Monthly, Albany, N. Y.
Please tell me through the Farmer
where I can get the B. A O. red book for
Indiana and what the cost would be.
Howard Co. G. M.
Send a 2 cent stamp to C. K. Lord, agent
B. A'O. R. R., Baltimore, O. He will send
you a copy.
Please give ln the next issue of your
paper, the political shade or standing of
Congress after the 4th of March next? and
oblige a neutral reader of the Faiimeh.
Syracuse. M.
The House will be strongly Democratic,
and the Republicans will have a majority
in the Senate.
I have a muck prairie 5 to 15 foet doep,
now ditched dry, and it grows what is
called crazy hay. Who can analyze It for
me and tell whetherthe intoxicating quality is in the grass or ground?
Fulton. ' J. V. H.
What kind of grass is it? Does the samo"
kind grow elsewhere? If so, is it intoxicating? Next year, when it is in bloom
send a bunch of it, root and top, to. Dr.
George Vasey, Botanist, Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and iu
due time you will hear from it.
1. Is any poultry paper published gin
Indianapolis. If so, what is the price to
club with the Farmkr.
2. Where is the Railroad Gazette published?
3. How can I get a sample of the London Live Stock Journal, and what price?
D. J. M.
1. Fanciers' Gazette, monthly,price f 1 25,
with Farmer $2 30.   .
2. The Railroad Gazette is published at
New York.
3. The   London, Eng., Live Stock Jour- '
nal and  Fanciers' Gazette, is sold at 4d (8
cents) per copy.   ,