230 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



would be secured were some carbonaceous concentrate added. Whether 

 this would be profitable, however, would depend on the relative price of 

 the feeds. In Europe, where soilage is commonly fed to horses in summer, 

 alfalfa is the most popular crop. 16 Whether to feed alfalfa as soilage 

 rather than graze it will depend on the relative cost of land and labor. 



342. Alfalfa silage. In many instances alfalfa is ensiled with entire 

 success, but often poor, vile-smelling silage is produced. The difficulty 

 seems due to the high protein content of the crop compared with the 

 small amount of sugars, from which the acids necessary to preserve the 

 silage are formed. (404) Eckles has recently found in extensive 

 trials at the Missouri Station 17 that entirely satisfactory silage can be 

 made from alfalfa if the alfalfa contains at least 30 per ct. and up to 50 

 per ct. dry matter. Except when the crop is unusually dry as a result of 

 drought, it is advisable to allow it to lie in the swath for a few hours after 

 mowing, until it is wilted but not dry. In this condition the stems are 

 still green and pliable. Eckles states that alfalfa may be ensiled with 

 good results immediately after having been rained on while being cured 

 for hay. If the alfalfa should get too dry before being ensiled, water 

 should be added. Reed found at the Kansas Station 18 that alfalfa made 

 better silage when mixed with material containing easily fermentable 

 carbohydrates, such as green sorghum, molasses, or corn meal. Owing to 

 the palatability of good alfalfa hay, whenever the crop can be cured in a 

 satisfactory manner there is little reason for ensiling the crop, especially 

 in view of the fact that either corn or the sorghums are reliable silage 

 crops in most sections of the country. (338) In the West where foxtail, 

 with its troublesome beards, sometimes greatly injures the quality of the 

 first cutting, it may be profitable to ensile the crop. 



343. Types of alfalfa. Besides the common alfalfa, which is the type 

 chiefly grown in the United States, various other type? are of importance 

 in certain sections. Turkestan alfalfa is indistinguishable from ordinary 

 alfalfa in growth. It is somewhat hardier than common alfalfa, but 

 usually yields less hay per acre in humid regions. Arabian and Peruvian 

 alfalfa are rapid growing, tender strains, which have an unusually long 

 growing season. In the irrigated districts of the Southwest these types 

 are valuable. Several strains of yellow-flowered, sickle, or Siberian 

 alfalfa (Medicago falcata), some of which produce rootstocks, have been 

 introduced into the northern plains district. This type is very hardy 

 but usually produces low yields and hence is not commonly grown. 

 Variegated alfalfa, and sand lucerne are hybrids between the common 

 and Siberian types, which are exceptionally drought resistant and hardy. 

 The well-known Baltic and Grimm varieties belong to this type. 



344. Alfalfa meal and feed. The manufacture of alfalfa meal (ground 

 alfalfa hay) and various feeds containing more or less of this material 

 has increased rapidly of late. Alfalfa meal varies in fineness from a 

 product nearly as fine as corn meal to a coarsely chopped or shredded 



"Wing, Alfalfa Farming in America, p. 331. "Mo. Bui. 162. "Kan. Bui. 217. 



