ALFALFA IN SOUTH AMERICA. 853 
for market they are shifted about from one pasture 
to another and are given the best on the place. At 
other times they are not moved much but are left in 
one large pasture sufficient tor their needs for a 
year. 
In the summer much alfalfa is allowed to go to 
waste because it is not always practicable to put 
on enough cattle to eat it all, as there would not be 
feed enough in the winter. Some cutting of pastured 
alfalfa is often done. After the first spring growth 
has been eaten down the cattle are taken away for 
a few weeks, and hay is put up, with a temporary 
fence around the stacks. In winter when feed gets 
short these fences are often taken away and cattle 
allowed to help themselves, though some ranchmen 
practice a less wasteful method of feeding. 
These ranchmen have learned by experience that 
the alfalfa will be better in the winter and will live 
longer if it is not eaten down closely in the summer 
but is allowed to grow to its full height. 
The following estimate of cost of making alfalfa 
hay in Argentina gives clue to labor conditions and 
wages down there. The estimate is from the Jewish 
colony at Mosesville, 100 miles northwest of the city 
of Santa Fe: 
Price in stack, Per tOn........cecescecee eect c eect eres $2.40 
Cost of mowing with machine......................45 
Raking, gathering, stacking...... 
Total cost of making hay..........ceccceeeveseeees $1.07 
Net profit per tON vos. ciaderiecaesvess vad acavaa ais $1.33 
