35 



fed, its full value is not obtained, and ranclinien are beginning- to realize 

 the necessity of mixing it with corn fodder, sorghum, prairie liay, or 

 other forage containing an excess of fat forming elements in order to 

 feed in the most economical manner. 



Three or more cuttings are obtained each season unless, as is often 

 the case, it is more desirable to pasture off" the later growth. This is 

 done when summer i)asturage is scarce or when there is no market for 

 the hay and the ranchman gets enough for his own use from the first 

 one or two cuttings. During the past season it was learned from sev- 

 eral ranchmen in the Big Horn Basin tliat they very seldom made more 

 than two cuttings, for the reason that they needed no more for wintering 

 their own stock and the price of the hay was so low that it paid them 

 better to pasture tlieir fields for a portion of the season. This was 

 in a region where the summer pasturage was short because of drought 

 and previous overstocking, though at the present time the number of 

 stock kept on the range is undoubtedly much below what the land 

 ought to support under a proper system of grazing and supplementary 

 feeding. 



One of the things which makes alfolfa so valuable for this regiou is 

 its ability to thrive on land containing a considerable quantity of 

 alkali. There are few cultivated crops that will stand as much alkali 

 as this. 



The injurious effects of too much water upon the growth of alfalfa is 

 well illustrated by the conditions at present prevailing in a number of 

 localities in Colorado, particularly in the southern i)art of the State. 

 The soil, either from natural causes or as a result of the methods of 

 irrigation practiced, has become saturated with water to witliin a short 

 distance of the surface. As a consequence the roots of the alfalfa rot 

 and the plants become sickly and finally die, rendering it impossible to 

 produce anything like a permanent meadow. Here in Colorado, as 

 well as in many other parts of this region, the best success is obtained 

 with alfalfa on the bencli lands. It is surprising what a small amount 

 of labor is required to obtain a good alfalfa meadow in some portions of 

 this region. For example, it is a common practice to give sage-brush 

 land no more plowing or other preparation than is necessary in taking 

 oft" the sago-brush. The brush is cut and grubbed out, raked up and 

 burned, and the seed sown directly on the unplowed land, covered and 

 watered. The soil is so loose as to require little or no stirring, and 

 water is the oidy thing necessary to make it produce abundant crops 

 of alfalfa. Of course more thorough preparation will give an evener 

 and more lasting meadow, but the writer has seen many fine alfalfa 

 meadows on land untouched by the plow except to make ditches for 

 distributing the water. 



RED CLOVER. 



Next to alfalfa, red clover is the most widely cultivated legiuninous 

 forage crop in this region. It seems to be more generally grown in 



