POULTRY FEEDS AND FEEDING 



purposes as the alfalfa but are not as desirable a crop. 

 Consult with your State experiment station to see if al- 

 falfa will do well in your section and secure directions 

 for growing alfalfa and other forage crops. 



Alfalfa thrives best in the semi-arid plans region and 

 very large yields are secured from an acre of land, es- 

 pecially heavy crops being obtained where irrigation is 

 available in sections having a mild climate. As many as 

 9 to 12 cuttings are secured in a season under the best 

 conditions in such sections. Alfalfa requires a well- 

 drained soil, rich in lime, and a specially well prepared 

 sod bed. It is being grown more and more all over this 

 country. In places where conditions are favorable it will 

 hold a sod for many years, if the weather is not too ex- 

 treme, and makes an ideal poultry range or pasture. Al- 

 falfa should be cut for hay as soon as the new shoots are 

 well started at the crown of the plants and before the 

 stalks get woody. As large a proportion of leaf as possi- 

 ble is desired for poultry and great care should be used 

 in harvesting alfalfa so as not to lose the leaves. 



Ground alfalfa or alfalfa meal is not as valuable as 

 bran as a feed as it contains somewhat less crude 

 protein and three times as much fiber, but is useful 

 in the ration to partially replace green feed. Alfalfa is 

 not well adapted for silage but is occasionally used for 

 that purpose. Alfalfa meal is produced extensively in this 

 country, the product varying in fineness from a fine meal 

 to a coarse product containing pieces of hay one-fourth 

 to one-half inch long. There is considerable possibility 



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