SOILING AND PASTURE. 331 



can be used with alfalfa. The more highly nitrogenous grains 

 and hays fed with corn silage or forage, however, have a much 

 higher manurial value, which is often of wide importance. 



The palatability of alfalfa or of corn (maize) is greater than 

 of most other forage plants of rapid growth that will yield heavy 

 crops. This is a matter of the greatest importance. 



From my own experience I believe that there is 

 hardly anywhere a farmer who could not use a small 

 field of alfalfa profitably in summer as a soiling 

 crop. There are always dry times when grasses 

 fail and cows >shrink in milk; there are pigs and 

 lambs and horses, all of which relish green feed and 

 particularly if it is the delicious alfalfa forage. 

 It is an insurance against drought and an acre of 

 good alfalfa cut and fed green to stock will give as 

 much as ten or more of average pasture grasses. 



Alfalfa for Soiling Horses. In all Europe much 

 reliance is placed on fresh-cut green feed for horses 

 in summer time. Sometimes it is vetches and rye, 

 sometimes grass, sometimes alfalfa. And alfalfa 

 or lucerne is the most prized and best relished of all 

 the forage plants cultivated over there for feeding 

 green to horses. Horses fed a daily ration of green 

 stuff keep in far healthier condition than when fed 

 on dry hay throughout the summer. With green al- 

 falfa available the grain ration may be considerably 

 lessened. The alfalfa should not, however, be cut 

 for hor.ses till somewhat mature, at least at the stage 

 when it would be cut for hay. Working horses may 

 go to pasture at night in which case soiling is not 

 so necessary. They may have the run of an alfalfa 



