FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 195 



for being fed to cattle that are being fattened along with 

 carbonaceous food such as corn. When corn is virtually 

 the exclusive grain ration fed, alfalfa is so far superior as 

 roughage to corn or sorghum, that feeding it should effect 

 a saving of not less than 33 per cent in the grain fed. Its 

 large protein content makes it highly suitable for pregnant 

 cows or cows in milk. When fed to the latter as the sole 

 fodder, fully 50 per cent of the grain fed may be corn. 



For sheep, it is quite as valuable as for cattle. Sheep 

 grown chiefly upon it like cattle similarly grown, attain to 

 a relatively large size. Breeding ewes may be successfully 

 wintered on alfalfa of good quality without grain, up to 

 the season for lambing. As when fattening cattle, it should 

 effect a saving of fully 33 per cent in the grain ration when 

 fed to sheep. 



As swine fodder, when of good quality, alfalfa hay is 

 frequently fed to brood sows in the winter and also to other 

 swine, but is relatively more suitable for the former be- 

 cause of its bulkiness. In some instances it is fed as hay, 

 in others in the cut form and in admixture with meal, 

 steamed or not steamed, but preferably steamed where the 

 cost involved is not excessive. The leaves are much prized 

 for such feeding when they accumulate sufficiently for such 

 a use. In corn and alfalfa growing areas, alfalfa hay may 

 be made to furnish a very considerable proportion of the 

 ration for swine in winter. 



For horses. In some sections, as in areas where alfalfa 

 grows very abundantly and the grasses grow less abun- 

 dantly, alfalfa furnishes the chief fodder fed to horses. It 

 has been found very suitable for colts, horses that are idle 

 and also for brood mares both when carrying and nursing 

 their foals. As it is more or less laxative when fed to 

 horses driven faster than a walk, it produces too much 

 looseness in the bowels, especially at first. Alfalfa hay and 

 corn furnish a more suitable food for horses than timothy 

 and corn, viewed from the standpoint of nutrients, since it 

 is in better balance. Tests have shown that horses will 



