Leguminous Plants for Green Forage and Hay. 181 



the value and importance of a limited amount of alfalfa hay in the 

 ration of fattening swine. (903) 



246. Pasturing alfalfa. — Alfalfa is primarily a hay and not a pas- 

 ture plant, and while it may be grazed with some success in the arid 

 regions, this practice means almost certain failure in the Eastern 

 States. Sheep are particularly severe on alfalfa pasture because 

 they graze so closely. The loss from bloat with animals grazing 

 regularly on alfalfa is small, tho in some cases it reaches 5 per ct. 

 per annum. Stock should not be turned on alfalfa pasture for the 

 first time until the dew is off, and only after they have been so 

 well filled wdth other feed that they are not hungry and will not 

 overeat. Even tho pigs may injure alfalfa pastures, on account of 

 the high value of the succulent, nitrogenous feed furnished, it is 

 often most profitable to set aside areas of limited size for their 

 use. Hitchcock^ reports a case where pigs weighing from 30 to 60 

 lbs. gained 100 lbs. each during the season when turned on alfalfa 

 pasture. At the Kansas Station- pigs on alfalfa pasture were 

 given corn in addition. After allowing for the corn, the alfalfa 

 pasture returned 776 lbs. of pork per acre. (895-6) 



247. Alfalfa for soilage and silage. — Wherever it can be grown 

 in the East, alfalfa wdll prove the most valuable of all soiling crops, 

 fitting admirably into the soilage system. Voorhees of the New Jer- 

 sey Station^ reports that the first cutting is ready about the last of 

 May or the first of June, with 3 cuttings following at intervals of 

 from 4 to 6 weeks. Alfalfa furnishes a more nearly continuous 

 supply of summer forage than any other crop. Voorhees recom- 

 mends feeding dairy cows from 35 to 40 lbs. of fresh alfalfa forage 

 daily at first, and gradually increasing the allowance to 50 lbs., which 

 will furnish nearly 2 lbs. of digestible crude protein. At the New 

 Jersey Station* Voorhees and Lane found that for 3 years alfalfa 

 yielded annually per acre an average of over 18 tons of green for- 

 age, or 4.5 tons of hay. Alfalfa is primarily a soilage and hay plant, 

 and while it can be made into silage it is less satisfactory for that 

 purpose than Indian corn, and should only be ensiled w'hen it can- 

 not be successfully cured into hay. (360) 



248. Alfalfa meal. — Ground alfalfa hay and alfalmo, the latter a 

 mixture of alfalfa meal and beet molasses, are products brought to 

 public notice by the high prices ruling for concentrates. In view 

 of the great palatability of well-cured alfalfa hay and the satisfac- 



' U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers ' Bui. 215. ' Forage Crops. 



* Bui. 114. * Bui. 148. 



