154 Transactions of the 



AI.IAI.IA 1 i;ii P.V Tlir. SOII.IXC SYSTHM, 



The iJural Press pulilishcs an nrticlc upon this suWjict. road lulori' 

 the California 1 )aiiyin(.'n's Association at its late niet-tinu, hy llonor- 

 al)le E. Nason, of ISan Benito County. Tlio essayist starts out with a 

 staten^.ent that some dairymen object to alfalfa as food for dairy cows 

 on the ,uri)und alletied that it makes the jtroduct, hutter or cheese, of 

 poor (lualily, the milk bein^ tainted. 'rh('(»bjection he answers in this 

 way: "1 am frank to admit that when cows are fed in the old w'ay, 

 beins turned into a field of rank and sudden .growth (for umler fav- 

 orable cf)nditions the growth is always rapid and suddi-n) the milk 

 is for a few days oflensive, but soon becomes sweet and pure." He 

 then as frankly asks the objector if the same diUieulty is not experi- 

 enced wherever and whenever an abundance of wild feed is found 

 and fed in the old way. Takinjj it for .granted that the answer to 

 this infjniry must be in the attirmative if answered intellijiently and 

 honestly, he concludes that the objection lies against the system of 

 feeding rather than a«;ainst the food itself. The second objection to 

 the system of soilinj,^ cows, viz., the cost of feedinp, lie answers in 

 the followin*,' language: "I am of the opinion that this is not 

 weighty, for every dairy requires a certain force to run it success- 

 fully, and, as there is much spare time between milkings for all the 

 liands, save those who make the butter or cheese, the outside help 

 can do all the feeding. If we lind. by carefully estimating the cost, 

 a small margin against our system, 1 am certain it will appear insig- 

 nilicant when set over against the diminished cost in feecj, for I feel 

 very certain that the .statement that three cows are fed where only 

 two are fed by the common method, is far below what a good stand 

 of alfalfa with plenty of water will do." The writer then states liis 

 own experience in soiling dairy cows on alfalfa. In the spring of 

 eighteen hundred and .sevetity-scven he had a dairy of thirty cows 

 in j»oor condition, and he had lifteen acres of alfalfa, live acres of 

 which were .sown in February of the .same year, and did not yield 

 like an old stand would have done. He commenced cutting on his 

 ohl stand in the second week in >rarch and fed it to his thirty cows 

 and two horses. The cutting and feeding was continued all through 

 the summer to this same number of stock, and the alfalfa so gained 

 on its consumption by them that at the l)eginning of winter he found 

 he had eightei-n tonsof good hay stored away for winter use, and his 

 cows were in good comlition, as also liis span of horses. He cuts the 

 grass as it comment'cs blo.ssoming. finding by many exjieriments that 

 at this stage it gives the best results of butter as well as of beef. The 

 butter was sold do.se at home and consumed there, and he never 

 heard of any objection on account of taint of the milk. In the 

 spring of eighteeii hundred and ."^eventy-eight he increased the mim- 

 ber of cows in liis dairy to thirty-two, and kept the same numl^er of 

 horses constantly, and some transient hor.ses. He also increa.sed the 

 number of acres of alfalfa, which he fed in the same way to tiiirty- 

 three cows. This year, after keeping his cows and horses in good 



