SOILING AND PASTURE. 335 



of green alfalfa and threw over to them. With no 

 other food during summer the sows and pigs thrived 

 quite well. They did not fatten at all, but the sows 

 gave milk and the pigs grew. Later in the season 

 when corn ripened they were given corn or squashes 

 in addition to their alfalfa and then they fattened 

 off readily. 



When hogs must be kept in pens they should have 

 green stuff abundantly supplied. There is prob- 

 ably nothing else so good for them as green alfalfa, 

 It should not be allowed to get woody. It is probable 

 that it is more profitable to 'cut the alfalfa green 

 and feed to the hogs than it is to let them run on 

 it when land is worth $100 per acre and alfalfa hay 

 commands $10 per ton. Where land is cheap and 

 hay is cheap and alfalfa is a plant easily established 

 it is no doubt better to pasture than to soil. 



Alfalfa for Poultry. When fowls are confined 

 to yards they thrive much better when fed green 

 stuff and there is nothing they relish more than 

 green alfalfa. It is, moreover, an exceedingly rich 

 and well chosen food for -them, especially for laying 

 hens and growing chicks. It may be fed to them 

 whole or cut into very fine bits, when they will con- 

 sume nearly all of it, 



