828 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 24,560 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 1898, 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 not 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 
