40 AI^FAIyFA 



' ' This, being for one-fifth of an acre, gives as the total 

 produdlion per acre 12,720 pounds, or, approximately, 

 six and one-half tons of good, dry forage. What 

 plant do we grow that, without special care, will give 

 greater or even an equal return of good, palatable 



forage?" 



SCIENTIFIC FEEDING 



Before going into the details of questions arising 

 out of the pradlice of feeding alfalfa, it seems best to 

 discuss the fundamental principles which govern the 

 estimation of the feeding value of any feedstuff. Not- 

 withstanding the fadts that much good work has been 

 done and is being done in the scientific feeding of 

 domestic animals, and that the published results of the 

 experiments are accessible, yet those who comprehend 

 or use well-balanced rations in every-day pradlice are 

 not nearly so numerous as is desirable. No farmer 

 can learn to feed alfalfa in the most economical way 

 until he understands the compounding of a balanced 

 ration. All foodstuffs for either man or beast are 

 made up of three classes of substances — namely, 

 protein or proteids, fats, and carbohydrates. The 

 animal's digestive and assimilative organs are so con- 

 strudled that it can not use these three classes of sub- 

 stances interchangeably; in other words, an animal fed 

 wholly upon any one of, these three substances would 

 gradually starve to death. "When mixed in the pro- 

 portions needed to supply the vital organs of the body 

 with material and energy, these substances become the 

 source of animal life. The protein goes to build up 

 the brain, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in which 

 the life force is adtive. Without protein there would 

 be uo life. 



