FOR BETTEIi CHOI'S 79 



this combination, and as little as four or five pounds daily of 

 grain, not only has lie had the maximum returns in milk and 

 cream, but he has seen the dairy herd maintained in remarkable 

 health and vigor. It is time the farmer should break away from 

 the bonds that bind him to the miller and the dealer in food 

 supplies, and learn to produce on his own farm nearly all that 

 his animals need, including that most precious and costly thing 

 of all, the protein content of his animals' ration. 



Alfalfa for Sheep— With lambs selling for $7.00 to$8.(X) per 

 head, and wool soaring, men begin to ask what sort of foods best 

 agree with sheep. The answer is, that if there is one thing tiiat 

 alfalfa is especially suited to, it is to the flock. Sheep love 

 alfalfa above all other forage, and for a good reason. It is the 

 one thing best suited to their needs. They, more than other 

 animals, need a ration rich in protein. The growing lamb needs 

 it to build his muscles, blood, brain, nerves, and bone. Tiie 

 pregnant or nursing ewe needs it to replenish her system fast 

 drained l)y the demands of her offspring. The ram needs it to 

 keep up his vigor. The wool-bearing sheep, and all breeds bear 

 some wool, need alfalfa because it has in it the peculiar ele- 

 ments that make for growth of good, healthy, strong-Abe red 

 wool. And thus all sheep crave and love alfalfa hay. Think 

 for a moment what it means for an animal to like a food. 

 Liking in the animal world is not whim or caprice. Man is the 

 one animal, save a worm, that chews tobacco — the only animal 

 that drinks whisky. All animals crave things that are good 

 for them. Why do they hunger for fitting foods ? Because the 

 very cells of their bodies are calling to be built, and thus instinct 

 tells them that tough grasses nourish feebly if at all, that tender, 

 rich alfalfa leaves and stems have in them substances that when 

 assimilated go directly to build the eager body cells, to reinforce 

 the muscles and strengthen the bones and link together the 

 nerves. It is a fact that sheep once accustomed to a diet of 

 alfalfa will scorn prairie hay and turn from good red clover; 

 they seek that which nourishes best and digests most easily, 

 therefore that tastes best to them. 



The Pregnant Ewe — The* pregnant ewe needs alfalfa to 

 make grow within her that highly organized body made up 

 mostly of protein compounds, her unborn lamb. She needs it 

 to repair the waste in her own body. She needs it to store her 

 udder with milk against the time of coming of that feeble baby 

 head bunting unsteadily against her and seeking nourishment. 

 With alfalfa in abundance she comes in strong, her baby lamb is 

 strong, her milk flow assured. There is need that she should 

 have not quite as much alfalfa as she would consume, else she 

 might overdo the matter, and the lamb be born too large for 



