THE HAYS 



237 



factory. In winter it may be fed in limited amounts to 

 brood sows when they are not suckling a litter. For breed- 

 ing ewes, good clover hay with little or no grain is sufficient 

 to maintain them until within a few weeks of the lambing 

 season. 



For Milk Cows. — Clover hay furnishes a large amount 

 of the crude protein and ash so essential to milk production. 

 When it forms the sole rough- 

 age of dairy cows, as much as 

 half of the concentrates may 

 consist of corn. If a non-ni- 

 trogenous roughage is used, 

 less corn and more nitroge- 

 nous concentrates must be fed. 

 Either clover or alfalfa hay is 

 almost essential for economi- 

 cal milk production. 



For Work Horses. — Clover 

 hay is coming to be more gen- 

 erally fed to horses. When 

 of good quahty it may be used 

 together with timothy hay for 



work horses. It should be of good quality, otherwise it ^vill 

 be too stemy and the dust will cause harm. 



Alfalfa hay is probably the most valuable roughage grown. 

 Although it is the principal hay of many of the semi-arid 

 states of the West, alfalfa is not yet generally grown in the 

 corn-belt. It is, however, becoming more extensively grown 

 and it has its place on every corn-belt stock-farm. It has 

 the advantage over clover of being more resistant to drought, 

 of yielding better, and of having a higher feeding value. 



Fig. 52. — An alfalfa plant. (Liv- 

 ingston, Field Crop Production.) 



