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be profitable and satisfactory: Let a proper site for factories be selected, with a view that each one shall be built in the midst of the land that produces the beets for its support. Let such land,

say a township or more in extent, be divided into forty-acre lots of land, each lot to be owned and occupied by a family. This would establish a farm village occupied by 576 families. The factory hands employed would amount to perhaps 200 more. These, with the mechanics and merchants and such professional men as are always attracted to such villages, would constitute a village of nearly 1,000 families. These persons should own the factory and share in all its net profits, and the mutual exertions of each would have the inspiration and the assurance that the success of the enterprise would accrue to the benefit of each.

PRACTICABILITY AND POSSIBILITY OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY IN NEBRASKA.

The following is an extract rfom the Doniphan Index of recent date:

The country is the proper place for the location of sugar factories, for reasons that should be obvious to all people who have any knowledge of the practical workings of the industry. A city is no place for such an industry, and especially a city of any magnitude. The very nature of the beet-raising business is such as to give best results when the factory is located in the center of a beet-raising belt. Cities do not produce the kind of beets that can to advantage be worked up into sugar.

Hauling is quite an item of expense, by no means to be overlooked by the beet-growers; the shorter the haul and the fewer handlings and transfers necessary, the greater the profit. Every mile hauled and every cent paid for freight or handling is just so much taken from the profits of the producer. In any event, the beets must be loaded into wagons, and then, if they must be shipped by rail, it is necessary to remove from wagons to cars and then again from the cars to the sheds, thus adding to labor and expense. In erecting a factory this important item of location should not be overlooked or ignored.

The product of 6,000 acres will tax either of the Nebraska factories to its utmost capacity, so the location of a factory in the center of any township of suitable soil, abundant water, and means of drainage would afford opportunity for operating the factory to its utmost capacity, with not to exceed three miles for the longest haul of beets, making due allowance for rotation of crops, growing beets on the same piece of land not oftener than once in three years, and allowing for space for buildings, waste land, yards, feed lots, etc., as in the space of six miles square there would be an area of 23,040 acres, one-fourth of which planted to sugar beets each year would supply the factory. The product of these 6,000 acres, at the very low average of ten tons per acre, would be 60,000 tons, which at the present price would bring $300,000, to say nothing about the value of the other crops raised on the remainder of the land when not planted in beets, but devoted to other suitable crops.

On good land in an average year, with careful cultivation and proper understanding of best methods, it would be safe to say that the average yield could be easily brought to fifteen tons per acre, so that the realization from beets alone in a single township could be brought up to $450,000 per year, with two-thirds of the land left in the highest state of cultivation for the production of other crops, which do better upon beet land than upon any other on account of the high state of cultivation, and this estimate leaves in the township, for factory grounds, feed yards, buildings, waste land, roads, etc., 5,040 acres of land.

By pondering over these figures one may get some idea of the possibilities of the beet sugar

industry in Nebraska if proper attention be given to it. Let the average township produce a half million dollars' worth of beets, and the average county, with sixteen townships, would produce additional wealth to the extent of $8,000,000 annually, as under proper conditions would be possible, and you have in sight for our ninety average counties $720,000,000 of products. With such development as the state is capable of along this line, poverty would have no abiding place in Nebraska. These figures do not take into account at all the live stock industry, other cereals, and manufacturing industries which would be the natural adjuncts to the proper development of our beets sugar industry.

It is, of course, true that there are many counties in which suitable soil, water and drainage, railroad and other necessary facilities for sugar factories could not be found, but nearly every county along the Platte valleys, the Loup valleys, and a vast portion of the high table lands is susceptible of highest development of the beet sugar industry, and other manufacturing industries using Nebraska products for raw material, thus giving our state the full advantage, would soon follow and Nebraska soon be made one of the very richest states in the sisterhood.

This is no fanciful picture, but a plain statement of the possibilities of the state if advantage to the fullest extent be taken of our natural resources. This development would require capital, labor, talent, and energy, but the reward is worth the effort and all should work.harmoniously to the end indicated.

ALFALFA AND THE DAIRY.

The dairy business is destined to be one of the leading industries of Nebraska; it is already of considerable importance. Several of the counties, as Boone, Wayne, Hamilton, Webster, Hall, and several others, have creameries in successful operation.

So far as I can learn, very little cheese is manufactured in this state. The great drawback to success in this industry is the lack of reliable forage plants. In the eastern counties of the state the red and white clover, blue grass, and timothy succeed well, but in the middle and western counties these are not reliable, and the native grass is better adapted for producing beef than an abundant flow of milk, such as is necessary for profitable dairying. Another disadvan tage arising from relying on these grasses is that they are so scanty in their growth that it requires a large range for successful pasturage. Among these grasses the most noted for nutritious and beef-producing qualities is the buffalo grass, which in nearly one-third the state is a dependence for range pasturage. This grass, although it retains its nutritious qualities during the winter months, is of such scanty growth that it requires more than ten acres to the head to keep stock in good condition, and this in the case of milk cows requires considerable grain or nutritious slops to sustain a fair flow and richness of the milk.

Alfalfa, or lucerne, is an upright, smooth, branching perennial. Its leaves are three-parted, each piece being broaaest above the middle, round in outline, and slightly toothed toward the apex. The purple, pea-like flowers, instead of being in the head, as in red clover, are in long, loose clusters. These clusters are scattered all over the plant, instead of being borne, as in red clover, on the upper branches. The ripe pods are spirally twisted through two or three complete curves, and each pod contains several seeds. The western alfalfa grows taller than the eastern lucerne, and is said to withstand drouth and freezing better. This is probable, because it has been so long subject to the peculiar soil and climatic conditions of the arid regions of Chile, California, and Colorado that it has become thoroughly acclimated. Alfalfa in the west very

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rarely kills out by winter freezing, although the temperature in certain regions in which it is grown is as low in winter as in the eastern states. In this latter section the plant frequently fails to go through the second season, on account of the freezing of the roots.

HABITS OF GROWTH.

Alfalfa is a deep feeder; the tap roots descend to great depths wherever the soil is loose and permeable, often averaging ten or twelve feet. It has been reported as sending its roots to the depth of fifty and sixty feet, and I have heard of one instance where its roots were traced one hundred feet in depth. The young plants consist of a number of low branches springing from a simple basal stalk at the crown of the root. Its branches ascend directly above the ground and form a compact tuft. As the plant becomes old, however, certain of the strongest stems branch under ground and become new stalks. In this way the simple stalk becomes many-headed. When the stems are cut or eaten off the stalk dies down to the very base and new buds spring up on the upper part or crown of the new part and grow, forming new stems. This method of growth explains how so many farmers have reported that alfalfa is injured or destroyed by continuous close grazing. The stems of many other forage plants, when cut or broken, branch out above ground, forming the lateral shoots that immediately grow up and take the place of the old stems. If alfalfa is closely grazed, and if the young stems are eaten up as rapidly as they appear, the vitality of the root will be impaired, and the plants may die, because the new growth comes directly from the root itself, and not from the base of the old stem. There is more danger of killing out the alfalfa fields when sheep are pastured on them than by the pasturing of horses, cattle, or hogs, as the latter do not graze the plant so closely as do sheep, except at times when there is insufficient forage.

SOILS AND CONDITION OF GROWTH.

Alfalfa will grow in favorable soil anywhere from about sea level to 7,000 feet elevation. The limit of altitude is attained in the sand hills and mountain valleys of California and Colorado. Alfalfa does not seem to be influenced so much by altitude as by such conditions as depth or warmth of the soil, the depth of the water below the surface, and the physical character of the subsoil. It grows best in light, sandy, rich loam underlaid by loose subsoil. The best conditions for the growth of this plant seem to be attained in the arid regions of the west and southwest, where there is a light rainfall and the water can accordingly be artificially controlled. The plant grows best under irrigation; good drainage is necessary, as the plants are quickly killed by excess of water in the soil, or on the surface. Water must never be allowed to stand on the field of alfalfa more than forty-eight hours at a time, for if the ground becomes saturated with water and is allowed to remain so for any considerable length of time the plants will be drowned out and the roots will decay. Alfalfa will not thrive where there is an excess of iron in the soil. It feeds more heavily on lime, potash, magnesium, and phosphoric acid, and succeeds best where the soil is rich in these elements. Of these lime seems to be the most essential for rapid growth, and there will not be a large or heavy crop on soil lacking this fertilizer. If the subsoil be heavy, stiff, and impervious to water, alfalfa will not be a permanent success, no matter how well the surface soil has been prepared. Under these conditions there can be no certainty of the plant living beyond a year or two.

PREPARATION OF THE SOIL.

The land should be thoroughly plowed and subsoiled.

The best results from this crop are

obtained after the second year, because alfalfa does not reach its maturity until the third or fourth season; hence, the field selected should be one that can be kept in alfalfa for a number of years. Deep plowing pays, because there will be a greater yield from the land. After plowing, the field must be harrowed and rolled several times, until it is perfectly smooth and mellow. Alfalfa should be sown in the spring, as soon as the ground is warm and there is no further danger from hard frost. Young alfalfa plants are tender and are liable to be injured by cold. Seed may be sown either broadcast or drilled. Drilling is more economical of seed and a better stand can usually be obtained. If sown broadcast, from twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed per acre may be used; if drilled, from fifteen to twenty pounds.

summer.

When a permanent hay meadow is desired the larger amount of seed is the best. To get the best quality of hay the plants should grow close enough together so that the stems will be small and not woody, but when raised for seed alone they should be grown so far apart that, while covering the ground, they will put forth the greatest number of flower clusters. Some farmers cut for hay the first season. This depends entirely upon the rapidity of growth during the first At any rate, the plant should be permitted to thoroughly mature its stalks the first, year, as thus the best growth of the roots is assured. If the field is very weedy it should be mowed early enough in the summer to keep the weeds from seeding. If this be done the alfalfa will soon take possession of the ground, and there will be little trouble from weeds or grass after the third year. If a good stand is secured and the field is not weedy, a small crop of hay may be obtained the first season. The crop should not be cut too late in the autumn of the first year, as the plants are more apt to winter kill.

Alfalfa should be cut for hay just as the first blossoms begin to appear; if left until it is in full bloom the stems become woody and lose their nutritive qualities. To make good hay, alfalfa should be cut in the forenoon. Let it lie in the swath until the leaves are thoroughly dry and wilted, but not brittle. Then rake in windrows and leave it awhile and remove it from the windrows directly to the stack or barn. The art of making good alfalfa hay is acquired by practice, as the quality depends upon putting it in stack when it is just sufficiently cured to keep without heating and is yet green enough for the leaves not to drop off. This can be acquired only as the result of practice. In the state of Nebraska three crops of hay are cut in a year, though frequently the second crop is cut for seed. Where irrigation is used, four crops may be grown in a

season.

Reports have been received at this office from fully one-half the counties in the state in regard to alfalfa, in most of which it succeeds well. In a few instances it seems to be shortlived; these are toward the eastern part of the state, and probably are caused by a compact clay subsoil near the surface, and possibly, in some instances, on account of iron in the soil. In the valleys of all the streams of the state, so far as my observation goes, and from all reports received, alfalfa succeeds well except in a few instances where the land is marshy. Until recently the crop was confined to the valleys of the Cedar and Sappa, in the southwestern part of the state, and in the Platte valley near North Platte, but in the past four or five years its sowing has been largely increased, and usually with favorable results. It seems especially adapted to the valleys or irregular basins among the sand hills in some of the counties near the northwestern part of the state. These regions are mostly used for cattle ranges, but if the valleys were seeded to alfalfa they would support five times the stock now supported by the whole range, and the hills could be planted to pine and cedar trees, for the growth of which they are well adapted.

USES OF ALFALFA.

Alfalfa is excellent pasturage for cattle, horses, hogs, and sheep, all of which thrive upon it and all of which will winter on the hay if properly cured, without the addition of ground feed. Even fowls, in the western part of the state, will eagerly eat the cured blossoms and foliage, and seem to be as fond of it as of grain. A sheep-raiser of Wyoming told me recently that the best wool is raised from sheep that are pastured on alfalfa, and that in the different breeds the feeding of alfalfa increases the fineness and the strength of the wool. A cattle-feeder in the Platte valley reports that no other rough feed is equal to it for fattening steers, and that they will fatten with a less amount of grain.

Where alfalfa is raised as a standard crop it has been found that hogs can be more economically raised in alfalfa pastures than in any other way, and that they sometimes become fattened for market on alfalfa alone; but it is as a feed for milk cows that alfalfa attains its greatest success. Not only are the cows kept in better condition, and with less grain feed than with any other grass, but the flow of milk is greatly increased and its richness and butter-producing qualities are unparalleled. But another condition besides richness of food is necesasry for the most successful dairying. On account of the improved machinery used in creameries, and also in cheese factories, they have largely superseded all home farm manufactures of these articles. The success of these factories depends largely on the distance required to be traveled in collecting the milk or cream. It will be seen at once that the advantage of a pasture in which one acre will produce food for a cow is very great over that in which it requires ten acres; in fact, by the use of alfalfa, from ten to fifteen times as many cows can be kept on a given area. Thus at least eight factories could be sustained in the one case to one in the other, and the labor of conveying the milk to the factories would not be greatly increased.

Some of the counties of Nebraska which are considered scarcely fit for agricultural purposes are destined to become the best dairy-producing regions in the whole country. In the counties of Cherry, Thomas, Hooker, Grant, Sheridan, Dawes, Box Butte, Keya Paha, Cheyenne, Deuel, Keith, and Logan, and parts of Lincoln and some other counties, there are hundreds of small valleys, and even some of great extent, enclosed by sand hills, each of which would be capable of supporting a successful creamery or cheese factory, and in the aggregate of supplying dairy products for the whole northwest. I have dwelt at some length upon this subject because I consider it of great importance, and I believe that by a judicious introduction of alfalfa in those parts of the state where it is a success, the dairy interest would be second to none in the state. Another consideration in connection with successful dairying is the raising of young stock. Where the cream separator is used calves can be successfully raised in the best condition on the separated milk and alfalfa, and thus as the dairy cows become unprofitable by age they can be replaced by the heifers raised on the same farm, and the steers which could be sold every year would add to the profit. By thus utilizing the fertile lands in the semi-arid parts of the state they may become quite as profitable as the eastern part of the country and be peopled by a prosperous and happy population.

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