384 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



half alfalfa and cane gained 92 pounds each. The amount of 

 hay consumed or wasted about the racks daily per steer ranged 

 from 18.7 pounds in the prairie-hay lot to 24 pounds in the 

 cane lot, 20.2 pounds being eaten daily per head by the steers 

 receiving alfalfa alone. From the fact that the half-and-half 

 ration gave equally good gains with straight alfalfa, it would 

 seem to be economy to use some of these cheaper roughages with 

 alfalfa for wintering steers. 



While no accurate data have been kept, it has been the com- 

 mon practice to winter the breeding cows of the pure-bred herd 

 of the Kansas experiment station upon alfalfa hay and corn- 

 stover, the alfalfa being fed in racks and the stover fed out on 

 the pasture as much as possible. This method of feeding has 

 kept the cows in splendid breeding condition, and the use of the 

 stover has resulted in cheapening the cost of their maintenance 

 from that of straight alfalfa feeding. 



Results at Woodland. On Woodland Farm the 

 best and cheapest beef 'ever produced was from 

 young cattle given all the alfalfa hay they would 

 eat up clean, corn silage and a small ration of ear 

 corn. 



Meeting Competition. In Argentina where alfalfa 

 growing is assuming large proportions it is becom- 

 ing a common thing to finish cattle with alfalfa hay 

 and corn maize. Better beef is thus produced and 

 a better price secured foT it. Argentina, that young 

 giant of the Southland, is our most formidable com- 

 petitor in the business of furnishing England with 

 bread and meat. The use of corn and alfalfa there, 

 although already assuming large proportions, is yet 

 in its infancy. We in America must awaken to our 

 possibilities. We can grow alfalfa. We can grow it 

 in practically every county in the United States, cer- 

 tainly with greater ease in some places than in 

 others, yet almost any of us can grow it. We grow 



