438 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



fed either wet or dry, contains 60 pounds of corn meal, 60 pounds of 

 wheat middlings or shorts, 50 pounds of meat scrap, 20 pounds of mealed 

 alfalfa, 20 pounds of wheat bran, 10 pounds of linseed oil meal, and one 

 pound of salt. At the same time grit, oyster shell and charcoal should 

 be kept before the birds, and all the green alfalfa they will clean up in 

 a half hour once a day, if the birds are confined. In the wintertime, when 

 green alfalfa is not available, it will probably be necessary to substitute 

 mangel beets or sprouted oats. (See "Poultry," in index.) 



ALFALFA AS A HUMAN FOOD. 



By MARGARET H. HAGGART, Professor of Domestic Science, 

 Kansas State Agricultural College. 



Manufacturers of alfalfa products for human consumption submitted 

 to the department of domestic science samples of a blended flour, tea, 

 and coffee, made from alfalfa, together with manufactured products of 

 crackers, cookies and candy. The crackers and cookies were palatable. 

 The candy was of such a pronounced alfalfa flavor that it was not rel- 

 ished by those who sampled it. 



The flour submitted was made from the alfalfa leaf, prepared by a 

 patent method, and mixed with wheat flour for better results. This 

 flour was not analyzed, but it was used in making griddle cakes, muffins, 

 biscuits, doughnuts and cake. The batter and dough mixtures behaved 

 in all respects like those made from ordinary flour. The finished pro- 

 ducts were sampled by a number of people. All agreed that the decided 

 greenish tint was undesirable in a food, though, of course, this was a 

 matter of mere prejudice. The griddle cakes, muffins, doughnuts and cake 

 were very palatable and agreeable to the taste; but in the biscuits the 

 alfalfa flavor was very pronounced, and many people objected to it. 



The manufacturers do not claim that alfalfa flour can be substituted 

 for wheat flour in bread making. Their claim for it is, like the claim 

 now made for potato flour in Germany, that it is a saver of the king of 

 cereals wheat. 



Tea made from the dried leaves of alfalfa tasted very much like an 

 ordinary herb tea, and one might be able to cultivate a taste for it. 

 Coffee made from the baked leaves of alfalfa was quite as agreeable to 

 the taste as that of any cereal coffee. The odor of the boiling liquid 

 very strongly suggested alfalfa. 



As to the particular therapeutic value of alfalfa for human food 

 investigation has not furnished conclusive evidence. The large amount 

 of fiber contained adds greatly to its value as a laxative. The large 

 amounts of all kinds of mineral matter necessary to the living organism 

 would greatly increase its value as a food. 



However, even though a food may contain large amounts of the 

 various food nutrients carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and mineral mat- 

 ter it has not always been found under scientific investigation that the 

 nutrients in the form in which they exist are available to the human 

 organism. 



