34 



CONKEY'S STOCK BOOK 



For the horse y 2 to \ l / 2 Ibs. per day (more will make him soft). 



' dairy cow 1 to 2 Ibs. " 

 ' fat sheep l / 4 to y$ Ibs. " 

 ' steer 2 to 3 Ibs. " 



' h g 1 A to y 3 ibs. " " 



HAY It is to be hoped your hay comes from a mixed meadow, such, for 

 instance, as red top, timothy and orchard grass, with a little alsike 

 and medium red clover and some white clover; then you will get big crops, 

 and the livestock will benefit by the aromatic, palatable blending. Good 

 hay is very important. Feeding hay that is inferior, mouldy, mow-burnt, 

 or dirty is a common cause of poor condition of farm animals, loss of 

 spirits, loss of working capacity; and in horses causes broken wind, and 

 heaves. 



MUSTY AND Sometimes serious brain diseases are caused by 



ERGOTED GRAINS moldy food, or food that is wormy. Ergot, the 



black mold on rye and such grains (maybe you 



call it "spurred rye"), produces the poisoned condition called ergotism, 

 for which see page 141 under Diseases. The big caution is Avoid all 

 smutty and moldy foods for livestock. 



. LEGUME CROPS The general grains corn, oats, wheat, rye, barley 

 and the grasses timothy, prairie hay, etc., are 



great energizers and fatteners. You noted their high per cent, in the carbo- 

 hydrates column. Another class of feeds, the legumes alfalfa, clover, 

 vetch, cow pea, soy bean, etc. represent muscle 

 and bone builders, being rich in protein, also in 

 lime, which latter element is important to all farm 

 animals. In these two elements, protein and 

 lime, the legume crops are the strongest of all 

 raised on the farm. We know that legume crops 

 are a positive necessity if we expect to keep up 

 the fertility of the soil, so on this as well as our 

 livestock account, the legumes must claim the 

 farmer's closest attention. We haven't the space 

 here to get enthusiastic. But take it to heart, 

 what the farmer of today doesn't know about 

 legumes, and especially in this alfalfa day, what he 

 doesn't know about alfalfa, he must make short 

 work to find out, or he'll be left far behind the 

 procession. 



ALFALFA, ALFALFA, The song of songs 

 ALFALFA! would be the song of 



alfalfa, the wonderful 



gift of nature to crop-tilling man. No other 

 roughage on the farm can compare with it in 

 variety of uses. Fed to fattening steers, it tends 

 to rapid gains, at far less use of expensive con- 

 centrates. Alfalfa hay for dairy cows gives the 

 very best material for milk production. Alfalfa 

 leads as a roughage for sheep. It is even use- 

 ful for fattening hogs, or tiding them over the 

 winter and the hog, you know, is an almost total 

 abstainer from ordinary roughage. Horses at 

 slow and steady work can make good use of alfal- 

 fa, though it is unsuited to road animals. In the 



Alfalfa 



