i6o Soiling. 



the method of soiling--that is, mowing the alfalfa 

 and feeding it in a partially wilted state — is a cheap 

 and perfectly safe one. The additional cost and 

 labor of cutting the crop, and hauling it to the 

 feeding pens, will be 'less than the loss that will be 

 sustained if several head of stock die of bloat during 

 the season. Young horses will make a very rapid 

 growth if pastured on alfalfa, especially if supple- 

 mented by the daily addition of a small feed of oats. 

 One of the disadvantages of depasturing alfalfa is 

 that the soil soon becomes trampled and hard, and 

 for this reason the roots are not able to make a 

 sufficiently strong growth, and the field is sure to 

 deteriorate. " 



Alfalfa for Hogs. 



" One acre of alfalfa will furnish forage for from 

 ten to twenty hogs per season. There is no cheaper 

 or better way of producing pork than to allow grow- 

 ing pigs to run in a field of alfalfa. At a conserva- 

 tive estimate, ten pigs per acre will gain a hundred 

 pounds each during the season from May to Septem- 

 ber, and 1,000 lb. of pork cannot be produced so 

 cheaply on any other feed. The pigs will come out 

 of the field in autumn in capital condition to fatten 

 with corn or small grain. The alfalfa in a hog pas- 

 ture should be mowed once or twice during the sum- 

 mer, or whenever it commences to get -hard and 

 woody. This will provide plenty of young and ten- 

 der herbage, which is more nutritious, weight for 



