328 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



in winter cut alfalfa that has been moistened and 

 sprinkled with barley meal, about four pounds of the 

 meal to thirty pounds of alfalfa, or even a less 

 amount is often used and fed to steers, dairy cattle, 

 and in fact to all sorts of live stock. 



Green Alfalfa in Dairy Rations. — New York has 

 made valuable experiments to determine the cost of 

 milk from alfalfa and from other sources of succu- 

 lent forage. Concerning alfalfa on the Geneva sta- 

 tion farm. Bulletin (No. 80), says: 



Alfalfa has grown well on the station farm, although the soil 

 is a rather heavy clay. A field of alfalfa of 2.28 acres, sown in 

 1890, yielded this season (1894) for the first two cuttings — ^the 

 first during June and the second about August 1 — at the rate 

 of 24,500 pounds of green forage per acre. On account of very 

 severe drought the third cutting was very light and only part 

 of the field was cut for the fourth time. Another field of al- 

 falfa of 1.3 acres, sown in 1893, yielded at the rate of 33,800 

 pounds of green forage per acre, as the total for four cuttings. 

 The last two cuttings were very light on account of severe 

 drought. The first two cuttings, from May 11 to 31, and from 

 July 9 to 28, yielded at the rate of a little over 12 tons of green 

 forage per acre. These fields had been steadily cropped and 

 not well manured for some years before sowing to alfalfa, and 

 were iiot in condition to produce heavy crops. 



The importance of feeding leguminous crops has led to many 

 inquiries concerning the value of alfalfa as forage for milch 

 cows, for the alfalfa is much liked by cattle and other animals 

 and contains an unusually large proportion of nitrogenous con- 

 stituents. The rapid growth of the plant, which can be cut 

 three times during the season, and often four times, makes it 

 especially worthy of consideration where soiling methods are 

 practiced. 



Then follows an account of very careful and accu- 

 rate experiments with cows, feeding various grain 

 and hay rations, with green peas and oats, clover, 

 corn silage and sugar beets. In every instance the 



