PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES 24I 



contains the more nutriment. Like all rank growths, al- 

 falfa will produce double under irrigation, and the quan- 

 tity will greatly overbalance any possible improvement in 

 quality without irrigation, for I have found little differ- 

 ence between that grown by irrigation and under natural 

 moisture. For horses, there is no pasture better than the 

 alfalfa; for sheep and cattle, it sometimes works injury 

 by way of bloat, caused by too rapid grazing, especially 

 when there is dew, thin cattle and young stock being most 

 liable. Cattle in high condition and cows suckling or well 

 forward in calf do not bloat. As preventive of the bloat, 

 hay should be kept in the pasture where the stock can 

 run to it, and a good supply of salt in troughs to which 

 they have constant access. The plant will not stand 

 trampling by stock unless the surface of the ground be 

 entirely dry, and we do not allow sheep or cattle on the 

 fields during certain stages of growth nor during certain 

 states of the weather. We consider this pasture better 

 than clover for swine, especially when the ground has a 

 smooth surface, but if the soil is of a sandy nature, and 

 allowed to dry, it is not so good. The capacity per acre 

 depends on the nature of the soil, and the gain in weight 

 made by the hogs depends on the breed and on the com- 

 fort they have. We can raise hogs on alfalfa, and by 

 feeding them two months on grain (say barley, wheat, 

 or Egyptian corn) they will average, when lo months 

 old, 250 pounds, gross, 



/. B. De Jarnette, Colusa county. — I have had 1 1 years' 

 experience with alfalfa, and have about lOO acres border- 

 ing on the Sacramento river. The soil ranges in depth 

 from 10 to 20 feet, and rests on a clay subsoil, while 



