284 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



mold. The most convenient bales weigh 90 to 100 

 pounds, and the cost of preparing them is $2 a ton. The 

 total cost of hay in the stack is about $3 a ton, and the 

 average yield about three tons to the acre each year. 

 When the burs turn brown the seed is harvested, and 

 when well cured should be stacked in a dry place. An 

 average yield is 500 to 600 pounds to the acre, and it 

 sells for $4 a bushel. The hay makes excellent feed for 

 farm animals, keeping them in good condition the year 

 around without grain. The alfalfa pasturage is better 

 for swine and cattle than clover, and yields more largely ; 

 sheep may be kept on it to advantage also. A good acre 

 will keep five grown hogs in excellent condition, but will 

 not make them fat. If they are taken up in October and 

 fed about 40 days on grain, they will be marketable. 

 Cattle on the pasture sometimes bloat, but I have had 

 100 head of cows and calves on mine for two months, 

 and have had no trouble. The irrigated alfalfa is better 

 than that grown on land that requires no water. The 

 straw is about equal to oat straw, but not half so good 

 as the alfalfa hay. To rid land of the plant requires a 

 strong team and a sharp lo-inch plow. The roots rot at 

 once after plowing, and the land is well fertilized for 

 other crops. In my opinion, alfalfa is the best forage 

 plant known in this western country. It is most easily 

 raised, produces the largest yield, commands the best 

 price, and can be planted at any time from March to 

 September. Land seeded to it is the most valuable, and 

 the farmer who has plenty of it is the most prosperous. 

 Farming here cannot be a success without it, and I take 

 pleasure in recommending it to my brother farmers. It 



