We of course claim superiority for Kellogg Pedigree Plants. This you would naturally expect and our strongest claims would count for naught were they not verified by thousands who know and grow them. Throughout this book we have reproduced reports selected at random as representative of many which have come to us from growers whose interest in our plants exists merely because they have found them in every way the most profitable and desirable. If better plants were to be had they would readily plant and endorse them.
For every result there must be a corresponding cause. We have referred to the superior qualities of Kellogg Pedigree Plants. Now we are going to explain the reasons why these plants are superior both in plant growth and berry production.
Follow us please through our regular process of crop rotation and soil preparation beginning just as we have finished digging and shipping a crop of Kellogg Pedigree Plants in May.
The ground on which these plants were grown is first plowed deeply (eight to nine inches) after which it is harrowed repeatedly both with spring tooth and disc. Following this it is packed with roller and the result is a perfect seed bed thoroughly pulverized the full depth of plowing. All vegetation which remained at the time of plowing has been cut up and crushed so as to decay rapidly.
The ground is then seeded to alfalfa and remains in this crop for three years. The first two years it is cut for hay. The third year the first crop is mowed and allowed to remain on the field as a mulch just as it falls from the mower blade. The second growth comes up through this mulch and the entire crop is then plowed under.
[Illustration: Root of two-months-old legume plant showing numerous bacteria nodules. These vary in size, shape and number according to the age of the plant.]
Alfalfa is a legume or nitrogen gathering plant. An examination of the roots of leguminous plants reveals numerous bacteria nodules which vary in size, shape and number according to the kind and age of the plant. A very close relation has been found to exist between leguminous plants and the bacteria existing within these nodules. The plant furnishes the nourishment required by the bacteria while the bacteria in turn draw nitrogen from the air and render it available for the use of the plant. Nitrogen is essential to plant life. The plowing under and resulting decay of legume plants releases vast quantities of nitrogen into the soil where it may be absorbed and assimilated by succeeding crops.