Alfalfa in New York. 



391 



Just compare the analysis of alfalfa hay, air dried, with that of 

 clover and see if it is not better than sage brush: 



Alfalfa, 1st cutting (early bud) .. 

 Alfalfa, 2d cutting (early flower) 

 Alfalfa, 3d cutting (late flower).. 

 Red clover, med.uin (in bloom).. 



Water. 



Per cent, 

 7.17 

 7.49 

 8.14 

 20.9 



Protein. 



Per cent. 

 15.12 

 17.08 

 15.88 

 11.5 



Fat. 



Per cent. 

 1.24 

 1.66 

 1.69 

 3.3 



Nitrogen 



free- 

 extract. 



Per cent, 



30.98 



36.17 



34.63 



33.0 



Fiber. 



Per cent. 

 34.73 

 26. W8 

 28.34 

 24.7 



Ash. 



Per cent. 



10.79 



11.32 



11.32 



6.6 



Or go into my stables, and with scales and Babcock test ask the 

 cows, as I have done, and the answer will convince you, as it has 

 me. A few years ago I made the statement in an Institute in 

 New Jersey that if I was obliged to discard either corn and the 

 silo, or alfalfa, and still keep a dairy, I would bid good bye to the 

 silo, and try alfalfa, with mangolds for succulent food. Some 

 very bright men in that State thought I was straining a point 

 to prove my statements, or that my judgment was not good. 

 To-day alfalfa has no more strenuous advocate in the East than 

 Dr. Voorhees of the New Jersey State Experiment Station and 

 any Jersey dairyman who will follow him in his practical work 

 with the State farm dairy will be a winner. 



Why do I like alfalfa better than corn? Just because I can 

 grow more pounds of food on an acre. At the Colorado Station 

 they compared the food values of the yield of an acre of dent corn, 

 with those of an acre of alfalfa that had been down three years; 

 the corn crop was a fair one, equaling 14 tons of green forage per 

 acre. The alfalfa was cut three times, yielding 4,000 pounds of 

 hay at the first cutting, 3,250 at the second, and 3,050 at the third, 

 or a total of 5.6 tons per acre. In 1897 I grew more than this to 

 the acre on a four-acre piece, and I often grow 14 tons of silage 

 corn on an acre; so it is fair to use this comparison. 



The following table gives the comparative food yields: 



