\,>. 4.] DAIRY ECONOMICS. L89 



duce itself, and you keep cutting it just as it has commenced 



to blossom, when it is in the highest protein condition. 

 Put it in the barn. Jt may heat in the mow some. Pay 

 no attention. It will come out as green as the greenest 

 hay you ever saw, more so, I think. I want to say to you 

 right here that I am making my milk, which is one of the 

 highest-priced of foods, nearly 50 per cent cheaper than I 

 ever made it before. I give my cows about 35 pounds of 

 ensilage. Last fall I gave them ordinary hay from 10 to 

 15 pounds, 8 pounds of grain, corn meal, gluten and bran. 

 This year I am getting the same amount of milk on 35 

 pounds of ensilage, 10 pounds of alfalfa hay and 4 pounds 

 of some kind of grain. If I can reduce the cost of making 

 milk in this way, and do it by growing this material on my 

 own farm, I am getting Iry this a tremendous advantage. 



Professor Brooks. I want to emphasize everything ex- 

 Goyernor Hoard has said in favor of alfalfa. At the same 

 time, one or two points in our experience may be of service 

 to men who undertake to manage it. One of these is my 

 own experience, and I think it has been true also in the ex- 

 periments of many of us about here. Alfalfa is very subject 

 to a kind of leaf spot or rust, somewhat similar, as far as one 

 van judge, to the ordinary rust. You see yellow spots on 

 the leaf first ; this soon spreads, and the leaves fall and the 

 plant is soon dead. This disease is very troublesome in 

 Xew York, as I learn through a most enthusiastic friend of 

 alfalfa, and from him I received a hint that I want to make 

 public here. When you notice this little leaf spot, cut the 

 alfalfa at once. If it is the first year, there won't be enough 

 to be worth harvesting, and this leaf spot usually will ap- 

 pear the first year. It does on our college farm. We cut 

 it down and just leave it there. After the crop is better 

 established, and there is enough to be worth haying, of 

 course there would be no objection to taking it oft*. But 

 unless this is done, unless you cut it as soon as this spot 

 appears, you will find the plants will be very greatly weak- 

 ened. We have been experimenting with alfalfa for a good 

 many years now, but without any marked success so far ; 

 but I think it may be due to the fact that we haven't the 



