AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES 123 



good axle-grease and "city butter," sent through San 

 Francisco from the coast dairy districts, was con- 

 sidered indispensable to good housekeeping. Here 

 again alfalfa and alfalfa hay came under indictment 

 which endured for a time, until the large well- 

 equipped creameries were opened in the alfalfa dis- 

 tricts and began their conflict with the coast estab- 

 lishments for standing both in quantity and quality 

 of product and thus the prejudice against interior 

 valley butter faded away. Since then the greatest 

 butter production in the State has developed in the 

 interior alfalfa regions and the greater part of the 

 city milk supply also comes from alfalfa feeding, the 

 hay being freely used in the old coast dairy regions 

 where the plant is not largely grown. 



Alfalfa hay for horses then came under indict- 

 ment and city teamsters would not use it. Not only 

 did it make the horses washy and prone to undue 

 perspiration, but the public objected to having the 

 pavements defiled with their excreta. Although al- 

 falfa hay can be utilized in a proper way even for 

 horses at hard hauling in the city streets, its unwise 

 use has created a lasting prejudice against it, which 

 it is hard for horse feeders in the alfalfa districts 

 to consider reasonable as they rely on it largely for 

 their country work horses. However, as city motors 

 are now so largely fed on gasoline, the city hay sup- 

 ply is a diminishing quantity, both in use and in 

 public interest. On the whole, alfalfa hay may be 

 said to have made good for all purposes, to a degree 

 far beyond early expectations. 



