East Oregonian : E.O

ALFALFA IN WILLAMETTE.
Successful Test Conducted by Food Commissioner Bailey.

Alfalfa growing in the Willamette Valley bids fair to prove a success, and that alfalfa will eventually excel all other crops now produced on valley farms as a money-maker, is the forecast of some of Oregon's leading agriculturists, says the Telegram.

Reports received by State Dairy and Food Commissioner J. W. Bailey from the different localities in the valley, where experiments with alfalfa growing are being conducted, indicate that the experiments will prove successful, and that alfalfa will be shown to be a practicable and profitable crop in the Willamette valley.

Three different farmers in the vicinity of Harrisburg, three at Shedds, and two at Halsey, all in Linn county, agree to devote a limited amount of ground to give the experiment a thorough test. The ground was carefully prepared and the seed planted, and Mr. Bailey stated today that reports received indicate that the alfalfa is doing splendidly.

To test the experiment in all parts of the valley, seed was planted near Sherwood, in Washington county; near Woodburn, in Marion county, and near Cottage Grove, in Lane county. A few farmers in different parts of the state also began the experiment of raising alfalfa during the past two years, independent of the supervision of the state dairy commissioner, and they are also reported to be making a success of the venture.

The ground in the Willamette valley is not naturally adapted to the raising of alfalfa, and before planting the seed it is necessary to inoculate the soil with alfalfa bacteria. This bacteria is furnished free by the United States department of agriculture, and even if it were not, the process is not at all expensive. In eastern Oregon no inoculation of the soil is necessary, for that country is admirably suited for raising record-breaking alfalfa crops.