70 



that can be used with corn and make a balanced ration. 

 While feeding the alfalfa to dairy cows at this station, we 

 have produced butter fat at 11.9 cents per pound. When 

 we did not have alfalfa, and were obliged to balance up 

 the ration with high priced concentrates, the butter fat 

 cost from 15 to 17 cents a pound." 



When fed to work horses with the addition of a small 

 grain ration, they will keep in good condition. 



Alfalva is one of the best soiling crops. It can be fed 

 to advantage in this wa} r in New England, especially in 

 seasons when the weather is not favorable to curing it. 

 Care should be taken not to feed it when it is wet, as, 

 like clover, it will bloat the cattle. It can be pastured by 

 sheep or cattle, but it is unsafe to pasture it on account of 

 danger from over-eating, causing bloating. Another of 

 the disadvantages of pasturing alfalfa is the tramping by 

 the cattle, which packs the soil too hard around the roots, 

 preventing the alfalfa from making proper growth. 



The feeding of alfalfa hay in winter gives the milk and 

 butter a rich yellow color. 



As to its value as a milk producer, from recent tests at 

 Cherry Hill Farm I found that by feeding alfalfa in place 

 of clover mixed hay to eighty cows, at an additional cost 

 of one dollar per day over the cost of the clover hay, we 

 got an increase in milk of fifty quarts per day, which to 

 us was five dollars a day, against an outlay of one dollar. 

 To the farmer, getting four cents a quart for his milk, it 

 would mean an increase of two dollars for an expenditure 

 of one dollar. 



ALFALFA AS A SOIL RENOVATOR. 



Alfalfa belongs to the class of plants known as nitrogen 

 gatherers. All legumes draw nitrogen directly from the 

 air. The roots of the alfalfa plants will be found to be 



