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or
Garden
VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 1, 1911.
NO. 26
START  ALFALFA  NOW.
We often hear It said, "Alfalfa won't
Jo any good around here, I've tried It,"
or "it's been tried and nothing but
geeJs come up." This may be true in
Kinic cases, but Is false as regards most
of our common clay loam soils.
The first sentence ln circular No. 27,
M alfalfa culture, published by the
Indiana station is this: "There is now
10 longer any doubt concerning the
jdaptatlon of alfalfa to Indiana conditions." Farther along the bulletin
says: "As with all crops that are new
to the farmer or to the local conditions, there is much to be learned about
alfalfa before It can be succesfully produced. The nature of the plant must
be carefully considered and Its habits
of growth, its needs In the way of
plant food, the soils best suited to it,
ud Its cultural requirements must be
understood. Without such knowledge
much disappointment Is likely to remit, and no one should attempt to
raise alfalfa without flrst making a
thorough study of the subject."
The fault generally lies with the
Itudy of the subject. If when alfalfa
li tried, all conditions for its develop-
aait are made suitable the statement
mentioned would not be so fre-
I erally heard. Farmers know the
nioe of alfalfa and would like to raise
ft but the trouble is in the difficulty in
letting a start.
One of the chief causes for alfalfa
failures is that the young plants are
crow,!ed out by weeds. To guard
ifainst this the land must be gotten into the best posible condition by keeping it free from weeds during the season previous to alfalfa sowing. A corn
crop well tilled before the alfalfa is
food. If the land is handled In this
manner spring sowing will probably
bring the best results. The main objection to early sowing Is that usually
the weeds will get the start of the alfalfa and crowd  lt out.
If the weather conditions are favorable    late    sowing is    advisable.      The
trouble with  late sowing is that there
b apt to  be  an  insufficient  supply  of
Moisture in  the  soil  to  permit  proper
•oil preparation and seed  germination.
Taking   these   two   points   Into   con-
"deratlon   Purdue     recommends     that
the spring and early summer be spent
m ridding the soil of weeds and keep-
ln<5 the  moisture   in   It  by  cultivation,
•nd  then  sowing  alfalfa   in   the  early
ten of July.
The best  method  for  summer  seed-
rc is with a drill set to run as shallow
•* risible.     If for any reason drilling
■ not possible sow the seed broadcast
*mi harrow  in  lightly.     The  seed  are
*° small   that   it   is   important   not   to
•'•nt it too deep.     Eighteen to twenty
••unds of seed  are required  per acre.
" the drill can not be adjusted to sow
,:' small amount the plan of mixing
(tl»rse corn  meal  to  Increase the bulk
•*• proven satisfactory.    If thoroughly
"If,d an even stand  can  be secured.
The Inoculation of the soil for alfalfa
r*ms to cause a great deal of trouble.
ere are several  methods of »«ft<;ul8-
The most satisfactory (    ;Js ap-
'■nng two or    three hundred    pounds
acre of soil from a field where al-
*jj* hag been successfully grown. This
'■' should not be exposed  to  the sun
"J* before lt Is harrowed ln. An-
,ner method  Is  to Inoculate the  seed
^™re sowing with a commercial form
the pure culture of bacteria.     This
is the method we used recently. A
good stand has been secured but the
success of the inoculation cannot be
determined until the plants are developed.
Other methods are by sowing sweet
clover and turning the crop under, and
by sowing a little alfalfa with clover
for a year or two before alfalfa is
sown alone.
Alfalfa land must be well drained.
If lacking in fertility a fertilizer containing a good per cent of phosphoric
acid and potash should be used, or the
land   should   be   well   manured.       Al-
organizations are concerned yet there
are other things thut are Just as fatal
to such oganizations as is slugging.
How many farmers' organizations
have started up in the last half a century, and what have they accomplished?
But why do these organizations fail
of results?
E. C. C. says one-third of our
population are on the farm; these are
the producers. Of the other two-thirds
it is safe to say that half of these, or
one-third of our population are common  laborers,   dependent  from  day  to
Farm house of W. B. Lambert, near Rockville, Parke County, Indiana,
on his small farm of 38 acres, of which he says: "I flnd it pays to farm on
a small scale and do it better.
falfa will not do well on sour land. Be
sure the land is sweet, and if it is not
give it an application of lime just after
plowing.
Although alfalfa requires more care
in the start than clover and other crops
the returns from It will repay for the
extra trouble.
ORGANIZATION   AND   CO-OPERATION.
By J.  H.  Haynes.
Bdltora Indiana Farmer:
This theme of E. C. C, In a recent issue is as old as civilization and as ineffective today as it was In the day
when Cain killed his brother Abel, so
far as farmers and common laborers
are concerned.
The history of every nation on earth
began as an agricultural enterprise
and invariably has ended in the humiliation of the tillers of the soil. Organization and co-operation have been
the keys to success in all business enterprises of man excepting the men
who perform hard manual labor or
who till the soil. It requires but a little study to flnd the reason for this
condition of things.
Organization and eo-operatlon
*among common laborers have been
characterized by bloodshed and disorder, not only arraying its members
against employers but as often against
other laborers less fortunate than thay,
as ls seen almost daily In the slugging
of those *fho are not members of organizations. While the same tactics
are not carried out so far as farmers'
day on their labor for a living and that
the other third consist of men who do
not toil, along with the better class of
laborers who are not altogether dependent on daily toil for a sustenance.
That third who are dependent receive their wages weekly, semi-monthly or monthly and they deal with local
merchants, making payments in accordance with those dates of payments.
This subjects them to be entirely at
the mercy of their dealers, and to this
fact ls due much of the complaint of
high living. This system of payments
bars them from dealing direct with the
farmer, because he expects payments
on delivery of goods, and even if the
farmer dealt direct with the laborer
he would be asked to take such prices
as his dealer would pay. In general
the local dealer charges or deducts 20
to 30 per cent from all farm products,
and this the laborer has to pay his
grocer, yet he complains if the farmer
asks a reasonable per cent over what
the grocer pays him for his products.
Here Is where co-operation between
farmer and consumer is made Impossible.
How about co-operation between
farmers? There are two classes among
farmers as well as among common laborers. One class dependent the year
around upon his productions to keep
from sinking, and another class who by
>Btock jobbing and speculation accumulate a surplus above the needs of a
mere living.
In political ethics we have a tariff
for revenue only and on another basis
a tariff for revenue and protection. The
former  might  represent  that  class of
farmers who are not dependent upon
tluir farm productions entirely while
the second would represent those who
have nothing ahead upon which to depend in emergencies. Those farmers
who are Independent and have means
to loan have no regard for their brother
farmers, less fortunate than they. Their
means are invested In banks, bonds ou
stocks, and in very many cases these
farmers become associated in bank and
loan institutions.
Another point, a large proportion of
farms are worked by renters. Some are
run by malingers, both these classes of
farmers have no interest in organization or co-operation. They too are
larmers  for   revenue   only.
We hear It said prices of commodities depend entirely on supply and demand. That may be true or it may be
false.
If all the eggs that farmers carry to
market were disposed of while fresh
this saying might be made true, but If
the grocer stores those eggs away until
a scarcity makes it possible to raise
prices throe or four hundred per cent
then the law of supply and demand
will not be true. In such cases, who
suffer? Both the farmer and the consumed
Production never keeps pace with
population, never has and never will.
As population grows the consuming
classes outnumber the producing classes. That's why people are continually
shifting about. A country becomes settled, consumption Is great, prices high
and productions fall back, and the
conditions both of the consumer and
the producer with the middleman in
between them make co-operation an
impossibility.
Said a very Intelligent man to us the
other day: "The farmers of America
are up against a stump over which
they can see no way to get," and we are
going to add to it that they are going
to stay behind that stump Indefinitely.
How many farmers understand why
Canadian reciprocity is being pushed;
or the tariff reduced? If you do not
understand lt study this law of supply
and demand along with the wonderful
Increase of our foreign immigration
and of our own Increase too, and you
will learn why we farmers are up
against  a   stump.
Organization and co-operation can
never be effected under the present
regime of affairs. If you think it can
get your old histories out and study
Greece, Carthage and Rome, and you
will learn that there Is nothing "new
under the Sun." Events move ln cycles
and we are nearlng the close of one
similar to many that have preceded lt
in like character.
 ,   m   ,
Bdltors Indiana Farmer:
I send you herewith some Insects
that are Infesting our quince trees.
What are they and what can we do for
them? C.   W.
Answer: The insects are bag worms,
or leaf folders and are sometimes
found on apple and pear leaves also. A
spray of Paris green in water, enough
to color it a little would kill them, or
kerosene emulsion might drive them
away, but there are natural enemies or
parasites that would be killed too by
these remedies. So we do not like to
advise them. These parasites, sometimes called Ichneumon flies will be
very likely to flnd the bag worms, and
lf they do they will soon destroy them