FEEDING VALUE. 



The feeding value of alfalfa not only as hay, but for soiling and pasturing 

 purposes, entitles it to rank exceedingly high. Under proper condition it also yields 

 a good quality of silage. 



DRY MATTER AND DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN 100 LB. 



It is as a soiling crop for dairy cattle that alfalfa is particularly valuable. It 

 makes a good spring growth and is ready to cut before most greeu feeds. It may 

 be cut for this purpose before blossoms appear, and will admit of cutting two or 

 more times during the season, depending on the locality. No soiling crop approaches 

 it in value as a food for milk-production. 



As a soiling crop for swine, it may be expected to reduce the cost of producing 

 pork 40 per cent, in comparison with swine fed on grain alone. When used for this, 

 it should be cut even earlier than when for feeding to cows. It is also well suited, 

 in this form, for horses and sheep. 



All classes of live-stock thrive upon alfalfa pasture, but before the third season 

 it is not advisable to allow animals upon it to any extent, and close cropping at any 

 time is dangerous to the catch. The trampling of stock also hardens the soil, and 

 eventually kills the crowns. Cattle and sheep sometimes bloat if allowed to eat 

 alfalfa when wet with rain or dew. 



Mixed with corn or red clover, alfalfa appears to give better results in the 

 silo than when alone, though by itself it has, in some hands, made good ensilage. 

 Professor Henry states, with regard to clovers in general : " It would appear that 

 the best quality of silage is secured by cutting at the usual time for haymaking, 

 and allowing the plants to lose a part of their moisture by wilting before they are 

 placed in the silo." 



HAY. 



Alfalfa hay well made has no equal as a dry feed for live-stock, but it demands, 

 in the making, more care and skill than does any other kind. 



As the plants blossom, their stems become woody and, if far advanced in the 

 flowering stage, lose their leaves easily, producing indigestible and inferior hay. 

 They should, therefore, be cut when blossoms commence to appear. If the field is 

 uniform, the proper stage may be said to be reached when about one-tenth of the 

 plants are in bloom. 



In the curing and housing, the crop should be handled as little as possible, to 

 avoid the loss of leaves, which are by far the most valuable part. If exposed to 

 rain during curing, alfalfa hay loses probably half its value. When the crop is 

 well wilted after cutting, rake into windrows, and finish the curing process in the 

 windrow and in the cocks into which it should soon be put. A cap for covering 

 the cocks during the curing will be found of service. 



The following is taken from Bulletin No. 313 of the Geneva Agricultural Station. 

 N.Y., on " Inoculation and Lime as Factors in growing Alfalfa," and may be of 

 interest : 



" SUMMARY. 



" 1. The results from more than 100 co-operative experiments in growing alfalfa 

 indicate that where neither lime nor inoculation is applied, the chance of a successful 

 crop is not more than 20 per cent., or one chance in five. 



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