ALFALFA AND SHEEP-RAISING 1 73 



3. The lambs fed prairie hay with corn and i6 per 

 cent of oil meal made 26 per cent larger gains than the 

 lots fed prairie hay with a grain ration of shelled corn, 

 or shelled corn with 25 per cent of bran or oats added 



In the twenty-fifth annual report of the Ontario agri- 

 cultural college are some interesting reports on feeding 

 lambs on various foods. The feeding periods were 74 

 days for the first experiment and 42 for the second. 



By these tests alfalfa hay was shown to be slightly 

 better for the lambs in every w^ay than clover hay under 

 practically equivalent conditions. 



The first and second cuttings of alfalfa were equal in 

 value ; the third cutting was slightly better than the first. 



W. L. Carlyle, dean of the Colorado agricultural col- 

 lege declares alfalfa hay is the basis of the feeding indus- 

 try in northern Colorado. ''Without alfalfa our agri- 

 culture would be of very little moment. Alfalfa forms 

 the basis of all our sugar-beet growing. It not only 

 enriches the soil in which it grows, but prepares it for 

 the growing of sugar-beets in a way that no other crop 

 or system or cultivation can, and while doing this prepar- 

 atory work it yields an enormous tonnage of the most 

 valuable feed for fattening sheep and cattle. Usually 

 lambs are given free access to the hay and are allowed 

 to eat all of it that they will." 



Lamb feeding in northern Colorado has been carried 

 on quite extensively for a number of years, and with such 

 success that "Fort Collins lambs" are recognized in the 

 eastern markets as superior to anything that is shipped 

 from any other section of the country. The name 'Tort 



