158 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



"Ten hogs in nine weeks were fed 656 pounds of 

 alfalfa hay; and as shown above, for each 7.83 pounds of 

 alfalfa hay fed with the dry Kafir-corn meal, the hogs 

 gained 3.4 pounds over those having dry Kafir-corn meal 

 alone — a gain of 868 pounds of pork per ton of alfalfa 

 hay. These results are not due to the feeding value of 

 the alfalfa alone, but also to its influence in aiding the 

 hogs to better digest the Kafir-corn. The alfalfa hay also 

 gave a variety to the ration, making it more appetizing 

 and inducing the hogs to eat more grain. The ten hogs 

 having grain alone ate 3885 pounds of dry Kafir-corn 

 meal, while the ten hogs having hay and grain ate 4679 

 pounds of the Kafir-corn meal and 656 pounds of alfalfa 

 hay. The hay-fed hogs ate more grain and gained more 

 for each bushel eaten. 



"In a former experiment pigs were pastured through 

 the summer on alfalfa with a light feeding of corn. After 

 deducting the probable gain from the corn, the gain per 

 acre from the alfalfa pasture was 776 pounds of pork. 



"These facts indicate that to produce pork most cheaply 

 the Kansas farmer must have alfalfa pasture in summer 

 and alfalfa hay in winter." 



The Kansas station also found in another test that one 

 acre of alfalfa produced pork worth $20.30, while one 

 acre of rape produced pork worth $10.05. 



The Iowa station director estimated that one acre of 

 alfalfa pastured was worth at least three acres of blue- 

 grass for pigs. It is claimed by Kansas farmers that an 

 average acre of alfalfa will pasture 15 pigs, while some 

 report having pastured 20 or more pigs per acre. Those 



