72 Bureau of Farmers^ Institutes. 



cow as a good dual purpose one. The breeds are either "beef or 

 milk. The Short-Horn, llerefords and Angus are of the beef 

 type ; the Jersey, Guernsey, Ilolstein and Ayrshire are dairy 

 breeds. It is the same with horses; one cannot make a trotter out 

 of a Clydesdale. 



Question. — When should a cow come in to milk to give the most 

 milk during the year? 



Mr. Witter. — In September or October, but she must be fed 

 and cared for in the right way. She must have a warm stable, 

 balanced ration and succulent foods; then we can get 25 per cent. 

 more milk, if the cow comes in to milk in the fall. 



Question. — Would a cow giving 5 per cent, milk need different 

 feeding from a cow giving 3 per cent, milk ? 



Dr. Smead. — TSTo; you cannot feed butter fat into the milk 

 when you get her up to her normal production. 



ALFALFA.* 



Question. — Can alfalfa be successfully grown in this part of 

 New York (St. Lawrence county) ? 



A Farmer. — It has died out here, the first year, so far. 



Mr. Chapman. — In Onondaga county a good deal of alfalfa is 

 grown, having taken the place of clover. It withstands the 

 drouths. I sowed some last year. It looked very well when it 

 went into the winter. Do not know how it will come out in the 

 spring. Think we all ought to experiment with it. If it suc- 

 ceeds it will be found a very valuable forage crop. It is a deep 

 rooter and ought not to be sown on wet land. Cut it when it first 

 begins to show blossom, else it will become hard and woody. At 

 Geneva, nearly four tons of cured alfalfa were cut from an acre, 

 or about 17,000 pounds of green fodder. We alloAved our calves 

 to run on ours a little while last fall. When once it is well estab- 

 lished it will last many years. 



Mr. Goodrich said he knew of a piece that has given annual 

 crops nine years and is in good condition now. 



Question. — What about alfalfa? Is it all right for this climate 

 and soil (Steuben county)? 



Mi-. Dawley. — Alfalfa is all right, but whether it can be grown 

 here is n question. If you have never grown any, try a small piece 

 of it. If it succeeds, sow more, make the ground rich and have it 



* Read special article on this subject elsewhere in this volume. 



