HAY AND PASTURE CROPS 



109 



It has an exceedingly heavy root system. The roots grow 

 into the soil to a greater depth than any other common 

 cultivated crop. When an alfalfa field is broken up, the 

 soil is rich in nitrogen, and well supplied with vegetable 

 matter. As alfalfa grows rapidly and is cut two or more 

 times a year, it is a very good crop to rid the soil of weeds. 

 Feeding Value. — Alfalfa is the richest hay crop produced, 

 and under favorable conditions produces more food value 

 per acre than any other hay crop. The following table 

 shows the composition of alfalfa hay as compared with 

 other common kinds of hay. 



Composition of Common Kinds of Hay Nutrients in One Pound. 



Protein 

 Pounds 



Carbo- 

 hydrates 

 Pounds 



Fat 

 Pounds 



Alfalfa 



Alsike clover 



Medium red clover . 



Prairie hay 



Timothy hay 



Slough hay 



Fodder corn 



.11 



.084 

 .071 

 .030 

 .028 

 .026 

 .037 



.40 

 .42 

 .38 

 .42 

 .43 

 .42 

 .41 



.012 

 .015 

 .018 

 .014 

 .014 

 .011 

 .015 



Besides being richer than other kinds of hay, alfalfa is 

 relished by all classes of live stock, including horses, cattle, 

 sheep and swine. When well cured and intelligently fed, 

 it is a most valuable feed for all farm animals. 



Pasturing. — Alfalfa pasture is one of the best pastures. 

 All kinds of stock eat it readily. In fact, it is relished so 

 much that great care is necessary in turning stock into an 

 alfalfa field to prevent them from bloating. Stock should 

 never be turned on alfalfa when they are hungry or when 

 the alfalfa is wet. There is no better hog pasture known 

 than alfalfa, the main difficulty being that the hogs are 

 likely to root up the alfalfa and thus thin out the stand. 

 If given large pastures and plenty of salt and ashes, hogs 

 are much less hkely to injure the alfalfa by rooting. 



Seed. — Alfalfa produces seed readily, especially in rather 

 dry sections. One condition that has prevented a rapid 

 increase in alfalfa in the Northwest has been the difficulty 

 of getting seed that is entirely hardy. Imported seed, or 

 seed grown farther south in the United States, is not suffi- 



