THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 39 



March or April and with a nurse crop of wheat, 

 oats or barley, for the double purpose of keeping 

 the weeds down and sheltering the young alfalfa 

 from the burning rays of the sun. This method 

 bears reason on its face. The crop is ready for its 

 first cutting by the time the nurse crop is high 

 enough to be cut for fodder. 



A prettier spectacle than a meadow of well 

 established alfalfa ripe for the harvest, rippling like 

 a purple sea before a gentle breeze, it would be dif- 

 ficult to picture, even for the man who cares nothing 

 for farming. The first cutting of such an estab- 

 lished crop occurs early in May, and at intervals 

 from six to seven weeks during the season. 



In nutritive and muscle forming qualities alfalfa 

 has no equal. Work horses fed alfalfa only keep 

 in fine shape and spirit, always provided that they 

 are fed enough and given sufficient time in which 

 to eat it. It is the owner and not alfalfa who must 

 be blamed for his bony steed. This assertion has 

 been proved correct by years of actual experience. 

 Cows fed alfalfa hay, supplemented in winter by a 

 nightly ration of bran, produce butter unsurpassed 

 both in quality and quantity. On some fourteen 

 acres a few head of stock can graze from November 

 to March, thus eking out the baled hay. But alfalfa 

 will not endure too close grazing or any other in- 

 tensive ill treatment ; it must be watched and cared 

 for, whilst yet remaining "the lazy man's crop." 

 Hogs and chickens graze it also, and with little 

 additional food during the growing season are 

 remunerative to their owners. Two hundred and 



