206 



Feeds and Feeding. 

 Second Cutting. 



Third Cutting. 



Widtsoe concludes that to insure a large yield of dry matter 

 and albuminoids, alfalfa should be cut not earlier than the period 

 of middle bloom, and that the blossoms should not be past full 

 bloom. This is from two to three weeks after the flower buds 

 appear. 



303. Losses in hay making. Headden, of the Colorado Sta- 

 tion, l found that " a very leafy, small-stemmed alfalfa plant may 

 have more than 60 per cent, of leaves, and, consequently, less than 

 40 per cent, of stems, but the stems of an average plant will amount 

 to between 40 and 60 per cent. . . . Inasmuch as many of the 

 smaller stems may go with the leaves, the loss in hay making 

 can, and in some cases does, amount to from 50 to 60 and even 

 more per cent. . . . We have been led by our experience 

 and observation to the conclusion that the minimum loss from the 

 falling off of leaves and stems in successful hay making amounts 

 to from 15 to 20 per cent., and in cases where the conditions have 

 been unfavorable to as much as 60 and even 66 per cent, of the 

 dry crop, or, for each 1,700 pounds of hay taken off the field, at 

 least 300 pounds of leaves and small stems are left, and, in very 

 bad cases, as much as 1,200 pounds may be left for each 800 

 pounds taken. Of course, the latter is extreme, but it does occa- 

 sionally happen even in this land of perpetual sunshine. ' ' 



304. Damage to alfalfa hay from rain. Headden studied the 

 losses in alfalfa hay due to bad weather. One sample of hay re- 



* Bui. 35. 



