1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



93 



think of trying to sling his honey out by 

 hand. 



I should not, perhaps, have begun the 

 study of the gasoline-engine with such real 

 enjoj^ment had it not been for the incentive 

 of the "naughty" mobile; but when I saw 

 how simpl}' one of those little motors could 

 be adapted to an extractor, a new and in- 

 teresting field of investigation was opened 

 up. Why, the gasoline-engine in its prac- 

 tical form to-day is onlj' about ten years 

 old, although the gas-engine has been 

 known for a good many 3'ears. 



I suppose that some of you will think I 

 am a little wild when I saj^ that I think a 

 quart of gasoline will do a big day's work 

 in extracting. What do you think of this? 

 A gallon of gasoline (worth 10 cts. by the 

 barrel) has driven a two-passenger four- 

 horse-power automobile with two passengers 

 40 miles over the road, the whole outfit 

 weighing about 1000 lbs. The average 

 fuel consumption is a gallon to 20 or 30 

 miles. Contrast this with horse feed, oats 

 at 37 cents a bushel, and hay at S14.00 a 

 ton. Contrast a quart of gasoline (worth 

 2 '2 cts. in Medina) with a man at $1.50 a 

 dajs who sometines can not be had for love 

 or monej' just at the height of the season. 



N. B. — Don't ask us to supply power out- 

 fits just yet. 



CUTTING ALFALFA BEFORE IT IS IN BLOOM ; 

 PROOF THAT IT DOES NOT PAY. 



In our Jan. 1st issue are some extracts 

 from Bulletin 114, of the Kansas Agricultu- 

 ral Station, to the effect that alfalfa hay 

 cut after coming into bloom made a better 

 hay for stock, and had a greater food value 

 than that cut when it is in full bloom. I am 

 in receipt of a bulletin sent by Mr. Frank 

 Kauchfuss, from the Experiment Station at 

 Fort Collins, Col., that goes to show very 

 strongly that alfalfa cut in full bloom not 

 only yields more hay, but actually has 

 more nutritive value than when cut early. 

 Mr. Rauchfuss, in referring to this bulle- 

 tin, saj's: 



Friend Ernest: — I have just read your article on cut- 

 ting alfalfa in your issue for Jan. 1st. It seems that 

 you do not get all the Experiment Station bulletins, as 

 the Colorado station has issued a bulletin lately on 

 this subject, which puts the matter in an entirely dif- 

 ferent light. Inclosed I send you the bulletin referred 

 to. and I hope you will quote portions of it. 



I know that many extensive cattle-growers, not dai- 

 rymen, hold that it pays them to let the alfalfa come 

 to full bloom before cutting, and Prof. Headden seems 

 to have come to the same conclusion in his experi- 

 ments. ' Frank Rauchfuss 



Denver, Col., Jan. !l. 



From the bulletin above mentioned I make 

 the following extracts, which will speak 

 for themselves: 



when we express results in percentages we do not 

 give the actual amounts produced per acre unless we 

 also state the weight of hay produced. This is an im- 

 portant factor, and one which we must take into ac- 

 count. We usually assume that this is thoroughly un- 

 derstood, and that it is accepted as a fact that the crop 

 increases in weight from the time of budding till it 

 reaches -or slightly i)asses full bloom, and then de- 

 creases. The amount of this increase will vary with a 

 number of conditions ; but the following figures, based 

 upon the results of observation, may ser\'e to give a 

 definite idea of how much this increase amounts to. If 

 ■we cut enough alfalfa in bud to make 100 lbs. of hay, 



the same alfalfa would make 126 lbs. if allowed to 

 stand till in half bloom, and 146 lbs. if allowed to 

 stand till in full bloom. If allowed to stand longer it 

 would decrease. If the question were, ''When shall 

 we cut alfalfa in order to make the most hay' 'the 

 answer would be, "When it is in full bloom." The 

 question as prestnted to us is, " When is the best lime 

 to cut alfalfa?" This time is evidently that at which 

 we shall have, not the largest yield of hay, nor of the 

 best quality, but the largest yield of digestible food in- 

 gredients. This answer considers two factors — com- 

 position and cigestibility. Every feeder will mentally 

 add, "But there are other things to be considered," 

 which is true, but it is assumed that the animals will 

 eat the hay of which we are writing, and will relish it. 



We have given the amounts of hay which the same 

 quantity of alfalfa would give when in bud, in half 

 bloom, and in full bloom, using the figures obtained 

 for our Colorado alfalfa. The KIO lbs. of early-cut hay 

 will contain 15 lbs of albuminoids and 1.5 lbs. of am- 

 ids : the l'2(j lbs. of hav, alfalfa cut in half bloom, will 

 contain 15 S lbs. of albuminoids and 2.9 lbs. of amiris ; 

 the 145 lbs. of hay cut in full bloom will contain 19 lbs.' 

 of albuminoids aiid 2 llis. of amids. Leaving the value 

 of the amids of the question, for they are a.ssumed to 

 have only a small value as compared with albuniin- 

 oid-i, and reducing these figures to the ba.sis of a 

 pound, we find the relative values to be 1.10 for the 

 early cutting. I. CO for that cut in half bloom, and 1.08 

 for that cut in full bloom. Or, stated otherwise 86 2 

 lbs. of alfdfa hay cut in bud, or fl2.6 lbs. cut in full 

 bloom are equal in value, using the albuminoids as the 

 criterion, to 100 lbs. of alfalfa hay cut in half bloom, so 

 that alfalfa hay cut in half bloom is inferior to that 

 cut in full bloom, and still more inferior to that cut in 

 bud. In this statement we assume that the albumin- 

 oids are equally digestible at the three different stages 

 of development here specified. If this be true, the 

 largest amount of digestible proteids would be obtain- 

 ed by cutting in full bloom ; for while the relative val- 

 ues of the hay cut in bud to that cut in full bloom is as 

 100 to 107, the yield is about 100 to 145, leaving an ad- 

 vantage of 38 lbs. of hay on each 145 lbs. of hay cut in 

 full bloom. These figures refer to the first cutting. . . 



The feeding experiments a'e decidedly in favor of 

 the early cutting, calculating the value on pound for 

 pound of hay produced. But if we calculate its value 

 in terms of beef produced per acre, we come to the 

 same conclus-ion at which we arrived from the consid- 

 eration of its chemical composition and the relative 

 crops produced at the respective periods. Mr. Mills 

 summarized the results of his three seasons' feeding as 

 follows : That to produce one pound of gain, beef, it 

 requires 18.21 lbs. of hay of the early cut ; 33.44 lbs. of 

 the medium cut ; 23.97 lbs. of the late cut (p. 11, Bulle- 

 tin 44). But we have seen that the relative quantities 

 of the early, medium, and late cut are 100, 126, and 

 145. Accordingly we would obtain for the values of 

 the respective cuts in terms of beef, 5.4 lbs. for the ear- 

 ly, 3.8 lbs. for the medium, and 6.0 for the late cut. We 

 would, therefore, answer the question in .so far as it 

 pertains to the first cutting, that the best time to cut 

 alfalfa is at the period of full bloom, for at this period 

 we not only get the largest amount of hay, but also 

 the largest return in pounds of beef per acre. 



The results of feeding experiments with the second 

 cutting lead to the conclusion that the best time to cut 

 this crop is what Mr. Mills designated his medium cut. 



I conclude that, after allowing for a little latitude in 

 the use of the terms "half bloom," "full bloom, " 

 " late bloom," etc.. the time to cut alfalfa in order to 

 get the greatest value per acre is at the period of full 

 bloom, and that there is a period of about a week dur- 

 ing which its value is essentially constant. 



Inasmuch as Prof. Headden has been er- 

 roneously ([ifoted as one who believes that 

 alfalfa hay should be cut before it is in full 

 bloom, the extracts put an entirely new 

 phase on the matter before us. For Colora- 

 do, at least, there is not much danger that 

 the ranchers, if they follow the advice of 

 the Experiment Station, will cut their hay 

 too early for the bee-keeper. Prof. Head- 

 den is a very accurate, careful, scientific 

 man; and I think it is reasonable to assume 

 that he is probably right, rather than the 

 Kansas Experiment Station, which has not 

 given this matter of alfalfa nearly the at- 

 tention that the Colorado Station has. 



