152 THE BOOK ALFALFA 



good, clean alfalfa hay at $7 a ton, this would be worth 

 $420. Should the hay be damaged by rain its value would 

 be greatly reduced and, as has been the case for many 

 years, such damaged hay could be purchased for $2 or 

 less per ton. Accordingly this damaged hay would be 

 worth $120. The loss caused by rain would therefore be 

 $300. Put into the silo this first cutting would be equal 

 in value to the best bright hay. 



''The cost of a 100-ton silo is $250, hence the owner 

 could not only save the first cutting, but money besides. 

 Furthermore, it is not infrequently the case that alfalfa 

 of the first cutting is of a stemmy nature, and it has been 

 estimated that fully 28 per cent of such hay is wasted 

 when fed to cows, as they do not eat the coarse stems. 

 This loss can be entirely eliminated by the siloing, for 

 cows will readily eat the stems as silage. 



"The value of alfalfa silage in influencing the milk flow 

 was indicated when a ration was fed to sixteen cows, in 

 •which 12 pounds of alfalfa hay, 20 pounds of corn silage, 

 5 pounds of bran and 4 pounds of corn meal were used ; 

 this ration was afterward changed by substituting alfalfa 

 silage for the corn silage, and at the same time the bran 

 was reduced to i pound, and the corn increased i pound. 

 By these changes the milk was increased 10 per cent. 



"With butterfat worth 23 cents a pound the value of a 

 ton of alfalfa silage has been estimated at approximately 

 $8. This silage solves the problem of feeding cows eco- 

 nomically in summer, as well as in winter, under a system 

 of intensive farming." 



W. J. Fraser, chief in dairy husbandry at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois, says: "Corn silage and alfalfa, two of 



