344 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



80 pounds in June, and the ewes without grain have 

 fattened while suckling their lambs. Lambs eating 

 corn and suckling their mothers have never suffered 

 from bloat in my experience. 



Grazing Pigs on Alfalfa. Alfalfa is the natural 

 food for swine. The pregnant sow on alfalfa pas- 

 ture generally needs no grain at all, at most but a 

 trifle of corn should she be in a thin condition when 

 turned to pasture. Pigs born from sows pasturing 

 alfalfa are unusually fine and strong. After they 

 come the sows need a little more grain than before 

 and suckle profusely. The little pigs enjoy the 

 sweet, tender herbage and thrive on it, but they too 

 should have a daily allowance of grain. This is not 

 absolutely necessary, as in Colorado, Western Kan- 

 sas and Nebraska many hog ranches are found where 

 no grain is produced or fed winter or summer, only 

 alfalfa hay dry in winter and alfalfa pasture in sum- 

 mer, but the pigs are often sold to farmers in the 

 cornbelt to be fattened. It is economy to feed corn 

 on alfalfa pasture. Alfalfa alone is too one-sided a 

 ration ; it is too rich in protein and too poor in starch 

 and fat. It builds the pig long and lean unless corn 

 is added, but the amount of corn should be very 

 much less than is needed on other pasture. In Kan- 

 sas the state agricultural college has found that 

 "at this station, pigs were pastured throughout the 

 summer on alfalfa with a light feeding of corn. 

 After deducting the probable gain from the corn, the 

 gain per acre from the alfalfa pasture was 776 



