29S 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



TABLE XIV.— COMPOSITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NUTRIENTS IN THE DRY SUB- 

 STANCE OF HAY FROM ALFALFA CUT IN EARLY BLOOM— FIRST CUTTING. 



Part of plant. 



Stalks 



Leaves. . . . 

 Flowers.. . . 

 Whole plant 



Yield 

 per acre, 

 pounds. 



28.38 



18.56 



1.36 



43.31 



Ash. 



9.01 

 14.33 

 10.56 

 11.10 



Protein. 



10.74 

 24.05 

 26.18 

 16.30 



Fiber. 



42.17 

 13.81 

 15.58 

 30.53 



Nitrogen 



— free 



extract. 



I 



37.14 

 41.82 

 46.00 

 39.23 



Fat. 



0.94 

 5.99 

 1.68 

 2.92 



Kansas Bulletin No. 155. 



TABLE XV.— PERCENTAGES OF ASH, PROTEIN FIBER. ETC.. IN E.ACH OF THE DIFFER- 

 ENT PARTS OF THE ALFALFA PLANT. TO TOTAL AMOUNT OF THAT CONSTITUENT 

 IN ENTIRE PLANT— FIRST CUTTING. EARLY BLOOM. 



Kansas Bulletin No. 155. 



It may be noticed from the above tables that about one-half of the 

 ash, about one-half of the protein and nearly SO per cent of the fat, the 

 most valuable constituents for feeding, are found in the leaves. The 

 curing of the hay in the cock largely avoids the bleaching by the sun 

 and the exposure to rains and dew. Prof. J. T. Willard, in Kansas 

 Bulletin, No. 155, estimates from data from the Colorado Experiment 

 Station that alfalfa exposed for fifteen days, in which time it was ex- 

 posed to three rains, amounting to 1.76 inches, lost sixty per cent of the 

 protein, one-third of the fat and forty-one per cent of the "nitrogen free 

 extract. 



It would seem advisable for the alfalfa grower to provide himself 

 with hay caps, sufficient to cover the hay on a part of his acreage. These 

 should be made of factory, or similar cloth, about six feet square and 

 will cost about fifty or sixty cents each, exclusive of the labor of making. 

 These may be used several times for each cutting. 



A word of caution may be in place here against putting the alfalfa 

 in the mow or large stack until thoroughly cured. Loss by spontaneous 

 combustion is much more apt to result from storing uncured alfalfa 

 than in the case of a grass or mixed hay. If the hay is cured in the 

 cock, it goes through a natural process of sweating and usually will be 

 in good condition to go into the mow, but the hay which is cured in the 

 swath and windrow is apt to contain a large amount of moisture in 

 the stalks which make it unsafe to put in the barn. 



Many methods of handling and storing alfalfa, such as baling in the 

 field, storing green in open sheds, putting in the silo, etc., are being 

 used or tried in various sections, but the only method that seems to be 

 suited to general recommendation in Michigan is the storing of the 

 cured hav in barns or fairlv large stacks. Alfalfa mav be made into a 

 fairly good, but rather sour ensilage, but the crop is not sufficiently 

 improved in feeding value to justify this method as a general farm 



