ALFALFA FOR CATTLE FEEDING. 383 



with corn and cob meal produced 100 pounds of gain for $5.13; 

 but when Kaffir-corn hay at $3.00 per ton was substituted for 

 alfalfa hay, the cost of 100 pounds of gain was increased to 

 $7.32, while with sorghum hay at $3.00 per ton substituted for 

 the alfalfa hay the cost was increased to $9.06. In other words, 

 one bushel of corn-and-cob meal fed with alfalfa hay as rough- 

 age produced 11.8 pounds of flesh, while the same amount of 

 corn-and-cob meal fed with sorghum hay as roughage gave in 

 return only 6.25 pounds of flesh; thus, a difference of 5.5 pounds, 

 or 88 per cent in favor of the alfalfa hay ration. 



Tests in Other States. -A summary of trials in 

 beef making with alfalfa is thus presented by J. 

 M. Westgate, of the Department of Agriculture : 



Alfalfa forms probably the best roughage for fattening cattle, 

 as its lack of bulkiness enables the animals to consume suffi- 

 cient quantities for rapid gains. It is also very valuable for 

 young growing stock before the fattening period commences. 



The Utah Agricultural Experiment Station conducted an ex- 

 periment extending over a period of five years to determine the 

 quantity of beef produced to the acre from alfalfa hay cut in 

 the different stages of maturity. It was found that hay cut when 

 in full bloom produced 562 pounds of beef annually to the acre, 

 while that cut in early bloom produced 706 pounds. The hay 

 that was not cut until half the blooms had fallen produced only 

 490 pounds of beef to the acre. At the Nebraska Agricultural 

 Experiment Station 2.41 pounds of beef were produced daily on 

 a full ration of corn and alfalfa, while only 1.48 pounds were 

 produced by a ration of corn and prairie hay. 



The North Platte Substation of Nebraska has given, in Bul- 

 letin No. 105, some valuable data on the great value of alfalfa 

 in growing and developing beef cattle. The first test compared 

 alfalfa, prairie hay and cane in wintering calves where all lots 

 received two pounds of grain daily per calf. During the winter- 

 feeding period of the experiment alfalfa produced 143 pounds 

 of gain per head; prairie hay, 76 pounds; cane, 46 pounds, and 

 half-and-half alfalfa and prairie hay, 133 pounds, and half-and- 

 half alfalfa and cane, 120 pounds of gain. 



The year following the same cattle were wintered as yearlings 

 on the same rations, except that no grain was fed. The alfalfa 

 lot gained 81 pounds per head in 120 days; the prairie-hay lot 

 lost 18 pounds; the cane-hay lot lost 64 pounds; the half-and- 

 half alfalfa and prairie hay gained 62 pounds and the half-and- 



