226 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



where this plant, which requires a deep, well-drained soil, rich, in lime, 

 may be profitably grown. Alfalfa thrives under irrigation in hot semi- 

 arid climates, but languishes when high temperature is combined with a 

 humid climate, except where soil conditions are unusually favorable. 

 Marked success is obtained with alfalfa on certain soils in the lower 

 Mississippi valley where the annual rainfall exceeds 50 inches, but in 

 general a rainfall of over 40 inches is unfavorable to the crop. 1 Where 

 soil and climate are suitable, this long-time perennial returns good crops 

 for many years without reseeding. 



The acreage of alfalfa in the United States doubled during the de- 

 cade 1899 to 1909. During the past decade, the acreage has again 

 nearly doubled, increasing from 4,707,146 acres in 1909 to 8,629,111 acres 

 in 1919. The reason for this surprising advance is revealed in the follow- 

 ing table, which gives the average yield per acre thruout the United 

 States from alfalfa, clover, timothy, and corn: 



Average returns per acre from alfalfa and other crops 



Yield Digestible Total Net 



per acre crude digestible energy 



protein nutrients 



Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Therms 



Alfalfahay 4,372 463 2,250 1,497 



Clover hay 2,624 199 1,336 1,015 



Timothy hay 2,340 70 1,134 1,007 



Corn (ears and stover) 3,574 150 2,251 1,961 



The table, computed from the average returns for the whole country, 

 shows that alfalfa produced by far the largest yield of dry matter per 

 acre of all forage crops generally available, even 22 per ct. more than 

 corn, the king of forage plants. More striking still is the fact that 

 alfalfa produced over 2.3 times as much protein as clover and over 

 3 times as much as corn. It equaled corn in yield of total digestible 

 nutrients (including fat multiplied by 2.25), tho, owing to the high net 

 energy value of the corn grain, the corn plant considerably surpassed 

 alfalfa in yield of net energy. 



Even in the eastern states, larger returns are possible from alfalfa 

 than those given above. Voorhees of the New Jersey Station 2 reports 

 a yield of 26.6 tons of green alfalfa forage per acre from 5 cuttings. 

 This contained 11,785 Ibs. of dry matter and 2,328 Ibs. of crude protein, 

 or as much as is contained in 7.3 tons of wheat bran. 



338. Alfalfa for hay. Alfalfa should be commonly cut for hay when 

 one-fourth to one-third in bloom. At this time, numerous new shoots 

 will usually be found starting at the crowns of the plants. By harvest- 

 ing the crop at this stage of maturity, a large yield of high-quality hay is 

 secured, which is leafy and palatable, with no undue amount of fiber. 

 Cutting late reduces the next crop and results in hay of lower quality, 

 while cutting too early may weaken the stand. For horses, hay cut 

 Forage Plants and their Culture, p. 310. *Forage Crops. 



