560 Report op the Department op Animal Husbandry. 



Silage. 



Alfalfa silage compares well in chemical composition with 

 clover and similar forms of silage. It is said to usually have a 

 disagreeable odor and taste, although it is freely eaten by cattle. 

 No experiments in the use of alfalfa silage have been made at 

 this Station. The green fodder has been in such continual de- 

 mand for feeding that not enough has been available at any time 

 to fill a silo. Alfalfa, like clover, would require more careful 

 packing and a greater depth of silo for best results than is neces- 

 sary for corn. 



Hay. 



Alfalfa hay is an excellent fodder. It is palatable and very 

 nutritious. Experience and good judgment are required, and 

 much time and care are necessary, to make good hay. If handled 

 too much when dry all the leaves. and small stems are liable to 

 fall off, and if not thoroughly cured it is liable to mold and mil- 

 dew. The hay will not shed water well, and stacks, when left 

 long, should be well covered. Hay caps are often of great serv- 

 ice. The hay suffers much deterioration in feeding value by ex- 

 posure to rain. 



The leaves constitute in weight about half the plant — from 

 forty to sixty per cent. Sometimes the loss of leaves and small 

 stems amounts, with careless handling, to much more than half 

 the weight of the crop. The ordinary loss with careful handling 

 in about one-fifth or one-sixth. The leaves contain from three to 

 four times as much protein and fat as the stems, and more 

 starchy substance, v»^hile the stems contain three or four times as 

 much woody substance as the leaves. It can be understood from 

 this that the best part of the crop may be lost unless great care is 

 taken. As the ash content of the leaves is also very high, the 

 surface soil is enriched by their decay, but their great feeding 

 value is lost. 



