300 



Journal of Agricultural Research voi. xviii, No. e 



Samples of lo to 20 pounds each were taken from the different loads 

 as the alfalfa was hauled to the stack. These were placed in bags and 

 sent at once to the chemical laboratory. Here they were weighed again 

 and the contents removed from the sack and spread out to dry. Care 

 was taken to prevent any loss. When the samples were air-dry they 

 were weighed again and passed through a feed cutter, and the moisture 

 in the air-dry material was determined. The total moisture in the 

 original samples was then calculated and was found to vary from 29 to 

 70 per cent, the average being 53.28 per cent. The percentage of feed 

 constituents in the dry material was as follows: Ash, 9.27; protein, 17.25; 

 crude fiber, 38.97; and ether extract, 2.68. 



A few samples of the freshly cut alfalfa were also taken. The moisture 

 content of these varied from 70 to '^7 per cent and averaged 72.1 per cent. 

 These variations illustrate some of the difficulties of conducting the 

 experiment and should be considered in interpreting the results. The 

 range in moisture content can be seen from the percentages given in 

 Table I. 



Table I. — Percentage of moisture and dry matter in sam,ples taken at tim£ of stacking 



Sample 

 No 



359 

 360 

 362 



365 

 366 

 368 

 373 

 374 

 381 

 382 

 386 

 361 

 364 

 2^3 

 367 

 385 



Description. 



Alfalfa ready to load . 

 do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



Alfalfa just cut. 



do 



do 



do 



do 



Average of all 



Average of " ready to load" . 



The alfalfa remained in the stack till early winter, when the stack was 

 measured into four quarters. The plan was to leave one quarter intact 

 until early spring. The alfalfa from the three other quarters was used 

 in a feeding experiment with steers in which the black alfalfa from this 

 stack was compared with good quality green alfalfa and also good quality 

 brown alfalfa. Three samples were taken the latter part of December 

 from the material and fed to steers. The last quarter was loaded and 

 weighed the last part of March, and at which time the different kinds of 



