No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. i83 



have been conducted at a number of experiment Stations to test this 

 point, and the results have been as a whole very concordant, though 

 I shall quote only those that have been conducted at our own Station, 

 as they have a more direct bearing upon the particular point at 

 issue. 



In 1901, the first experiment was conducted in which four animals 

 were fed 60 days, in two groups, in periods of 15 days each, with 

 ration No. 1, made up of: 



Silage, 35 lbs. 



Alfalfa hay, 11 lbs. 



Mixed hay, 6 Dbs. 



Cottonseed meal, 2 lbs. 



NO. 2, MADE UP OP: 



Silage, 35 lbs. 



Mixed hav, 6 lbs. 



Wheat bran, 4 lbs. 



Dried brewers' grains, 4 lbs. 



Cottonseed meal, 2 lbs. 



The composition of the two rations was practically identical, so 

 far as the protein was concerned, though the dry matter in the 

 alfalfa ration exceeded that in the mixed grain ration. The main 

 difference in the two rations was, therefore, the substitution of 11 

 pounds of alfalfa hay for eight pounds of an even mixture of wheat 

 bran and dried brewers' grains. 



Without going into details, which may be found in our bulletin No. 

 148, suffice it to say, that the mixed grain ration, which cost 15.38 

 cents, or 27.3 per cent, more than the alfalfa ration, produced but 4.5 

 per cent, more milk, and 6.7 per cent, more butter than were pro- 

 duced from the alfalfa ration, thereby reducing the food cost of 

 milk from 70.7 cents per hundred to 58 cents per hundred, and the 

 cost of butter from 14.3 cents to 12 cents, illustrating very clearly 

 that alfalfa may substitute a part of the protein feeds, not only, but 

 in so doing reduce the cost of the product. 



In 1902, further experiments were conducted and reported'in bul- 

 letin Ko. 161, in which alfalfa, crimson clover hay and cow pea silage 

 were substituted for the purchased feeds. In the alfalfa experi- 

 ment, the home-grown ration was made up entirely of alfalfa hay 

 and corn silage, namely, 13 and 30 pounds, respectively, and com- 

 pared with a feed ration made up of: 



Silage, 30 lbs. 



Mixed hay, 5 lbs. 



Wlieat bran, 5 lbs. 



Dried brewers' grains, 5 lbs. 



The alfalfa used in this experiment was richer in protein than that 

 previously used, and this combination of hay and silage furnished 

 practically the same amounts of protein as were contained in the 

 feed ration. The feeding period was 32 days. 



The result of this experiment, so far as yields were concerned, 

 were practically identical with the one just reported, namely, that 



