NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XII 707 
coarse pieces, and it is an excellent feed for them in the winter months 
when they need green feed. Hogs will eat some of the best of it, but I 
do not consider it an economical feed for them, more than just as an 
occasional feed for a change and an appetizer. As to who should have 
a silo, I would say that every man who owns a farm should have one, 
and the smaller the farm the more the need. I heard of a man who 
had recently built a silo saying that any man who had a dozen chickens 
should have a silo. I can hardly verify this statement but I dare say 
that if you fed silage to a dozen chickens you would soon see the virtue 
of it as a feed and have something else to feed. As this is my first 
attempt to read a paper before your institute I hope you will pardon the 
fragmentary way in which it is presented and bring out the many points 
of interest I have omitted in the discussion that is to follow. 
ALFALFA. 
JAS. BROCKWAY, LETTS, IOWA. 
(Before Louisa County Farmers' Institute.) 
I shall not try to give you the history of alfalfa. I shall not try to 
tell you how old the plant is nor how long it has been known to civiliza- 
tion. We all know that as a forage plant it has no equal either for feed 
value or in productiveness. Especially is it rich in protein, that blood, 
bone and muscle making element that is so lacking in a ration composed 
chiefly of corn. It has been proven by several experiment stations that 
alfalfa leaves are of as much value for feed as wheat bran. And when 
we consider that five to seven tons per acre, even in Iowa, is not an un- 
common yield, then the value of alfalfa can at once be recognized. 
But I take it that these facts are familiar to most of you. That you 
know and realize the value of this great plant, and the great question is, 
how shall I secure a stand, will it winter-kill, etc. To be successful with 
alfalfa we must study the plant, study its needs, its nature, etc. Then 
fit the soil in a way and sow the seeds at a time that will meet these 
demands. If you are not willing to give the use of a portion of your 
best ground, or do a lot of work, and bear a heavy expense for seed, don't 
try to raise alfalfa in Iowa. However, if you are willing to do all this, 
if the harvest will justify the outlay, then don't hesitate to try alfalfa. 
It is a common opinion that to secure a stand of alfalfa one must lose 
the use of the ground for at least one season. This is not at all neces- 
sary. This year we secured as fine a stand of alfalfa as one could wish 
to see on fifteen acres, that this year produced over thirty bushels of wheat 
per acre. 
Whatever you do, don't try spring sowing either with or without a 
nurse crop. We tried it for five years in succession and failed every 
time. We used all kinds of bacteria cultures and soil inocculations and 
still we failed. However, we could not give up the idea that alfalfa) 
could be made a success in Louisa county. We believed then, as we do 
now, that if alafalfa will succeed pther places in the corn belt that it 
will succeed here. 
