THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XH 



659 



TABLE V. 



The Food Value per Average Acre of Alfalfa and Other Crops, Based on the Average 

 Composition and the Average Yield for the State for 1909 and 1910. 



*Assuming yield to be that given for "Tame Hay." 



Considering the average yield of various crops for those years in which 

 alfalfa data are available in Iowa, alfalfa produced 5.5 times as much 

 protein per acre as timothy, 4 times as much as oats, 2.75 times as much 

 as corn, and 2.6 times as much as red clover. 



As a pasture for hogs, the animal husbandry section of the Iowa Agri- 

 cultural Experiment station reports a net profit of $184.92 per acre from 

 alfalfa, the hogs selling at 6 cents and the corn fed costing 49 cents for 

 56 lbs. of grain on the cob. And this when an acre of blue grass handled 

 in the same way gave a profit of but $97.23. 



TABLE VI. 

 Showing the Average Per Cent Digestibility of Alfalfa as Compared with Other Crops*. 



Crop 



Alfalfa 



Red Clover 

 Timothy ... 



Corn 



Oats 



Corn Stover 

 Oat Straw . 



Nitrogen 

 Free Extract 

 Fat 



'Henry's "Feeds and Feeding." 



VALUE AS A SOIL BUILDEK. 



As a soil builder, it is estimated that an acre of alfalfa adds annually 

 over twice as much nitrogen to the land as the average acre of red 

 clover. 



This phase of alfalfa growing will not be overlooked, nor its importance 

 underestimated by those who realize the need of giving much greater at- 

 tention to maintaining the fertility of Iowa soils. 



Not only does this plant add greatly to the available nitrogen in the 

 soils, but it adds also to the available mineral fertility, through its power to 



