468 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



too close to the ground, leaving the far end untouched. (Neb. 

 B. 99.) 



At the Utah Station some 5 months old pigs were fed on alfalfa 

 pasture alone, This test indicated that alfalfa furnishes only a 

 maintenance ration and that additional food must be given to secure 

 gains in live weight. During the progress of the experiment the gen- 

 eral appearance of the pigs was greatly changed. The plump rounded 

 form gave place to large, coarse frames and large stomachs. At the 

 end of the experiment they looked very much larger than at the 

 beginning, but the scales failed to show any gains. What is said 

 above would apply also to the mixed pasture set, only in that case the 

 eye was not as badly deceived, for small gains were made. 



While the pasture had the effect to develop strong frames and 

 large stomachs, and while the gains from the after feeding were very 

 high and the consumption of food enormous, the profits from this 

 method of feeding, even for the short period of after feeding, were not 

 as large as from a number of others, and the practice is not to be 

 recommended. 



Alfalfa without other food, whether pastured by pigs or cut 

 and fed to them in pens, furnished only enough nutriment for bare 

 maintenance. When additional food was given the rates of gain 

 were nearly proportional to the extra quantities they received. It 

 supplies a good supplementary food in connection with bran and 

 grain, but it is too coarse and bulky to be fed alone to the pig whose 

 digestive tract is especially adapted to concentrates. (Utah B. 70.) 



Food Character of Alfalfa. It not only furnishes a great amount 

 of pasture, but it is of a character that goes to make bone and muscle. 

 It belongs to the leguminous family of plants, as do the clovers, the 

 cowpea, the field pea, the soy bean, and the vetches, and, while it is 

 furnishing this valuable food, it is adding fertility to the land. Either 

 alfalfa pasture or alfalfa hay, with corn, forms very nearly. a bal- 

 anced ration for animals ; and, while it is better to have grain ration 

 fed with it to hogs as well as other animals, a healthier, thriftier hog 

 can be raised on alfalfa alone than on corn alone. Many instances 

 are found where hogs have been raised on alfalfa alone. (F. B. 

 331.) 



Alfalfa Hay. While alfalfa pasture has been found to be very 

 valuable for hogs, the hay as a part ration for winter is scarcely less 

 important. Throughout the region referred to the farmers are 

 feeding the hay to hogs in winter. The hay has been found to be 

 especially valuable for brood sows before farrowing. Where it is 

 fed during the winter only a small ration of grain is necessary to keep 

 the sows in good flesh and in healthy conditions. Sows thus fed also 

 farrow good litters of strong, healthy pigs. 



Many feed the hay by throwing it on the ground in forkfuls ; 

 others have made low racks in which the hay is placed, where the 

 hogs can feed like cattle or sheep. The hay is usually fed dry. The 

 leaves are more readily eaten by the hogs than the stems, and they 

 contain more of the nutritive value of the plant. For these reasons 

 some farmers save the last cutting of hay for the hogs because it is 



