262 The Feeding of Animals 



from the data shown, any one can easily make a cal- 

 culation on the basis of his own estimate. 



The foregoing figures emphasize the relative high 

 productivity of alfalfa, maize and roots, as compared 

 with certain cereal grains and the meadow grasses. 

 The former crops fill an important place in intensive 

 stock husbandry. Probably no species of forage plants 

 are known that are more economical sources of high class 

 cattle food than alfalfa and maize. While no more 

 productive than mangolds and sugar beets when these 

 are at their best, the former cost much less in labor. 



Crops of such large productive capacity are espe- 

 cially adapted to dairymen located on limited areas of 

 high-priced land. They occupy a place in intensive 

 culture which will become more and more important 

 as grazing and long rotations are replaced by soiling 

 and stable feeding during the entire year. 



4. The protein supply of the farm may be aug- 

 mented by the growth of leguminous crops, such as 

 peas, beans, alfalfa and the clovers. In so far as climate 

 and soil permit the economical production of this class 

 of fodders, there will be a correspondingly less neces- 

 sity for the purchase of nitrogenous feeding stuffs. 



5. The leguminous crops are regarded as sustaining 

 an important relation to fertility in acting as nitrogen- 

 gatherers, and for this reason they are believed to be 

 a valuable adjunct of any system of farming. Just' 

 what proportion of the nitrogen in a crop of clover, 

 for instance, comes from outside the soil is not known, 

 however, either for particular conditions or as to the 

 average. 



