78 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



The University of Illinois and the Ohio Experiment Sta- 

 tions have conducted work along the line of determining the 

 .value of the feeding of alfalfa hay in comparison with bran for 

 milk production — they found the results the same. When a 

 group of cows taken from the herd and divided into two groups 

 and then one group was fed on alfalfa hay and the other group 

 on bran, the group fed on alfalfa hay produced a larger flow of 

 milk than those on bran. Not satisfied, they have reversed this 

 experiment and fed the group first fed on alfalfa hay, bran — and 

 the group first fed on bran, alfalfa hay, and found that the cows 

 fed on alfalfa hay gave an increase in production over that which 

 is produced from the feeding of bran. 



There are many cases that I might cite, but I must be brief. 

 There are many things that I would say to you about this sub- 

 ject if I had the time, but I will be around here all day and if 

 anybody wants to speak to me on the subject of alfalfa, I will be 

 ready and willing to answer all questions which it is possible for 

 me to answer. 



There is another reason why we should be growing alfalfa 

 for hay, and that is because of the fact that it has stayed with 

 the progress of civilization through the ages. We know that it 

 is a native of Persia, a land where there is a semi-arid climate; 

 where the soil is made up solely of the decomposition of the 

 limestone. These are the conditions under which the native al- 

 falfa has grown ; that means that the soil is sweet ; does not con- 

 tain acid. It was as early as the year 490 B. C. that Xerxes took 

 his army into Greece and history tells us that he grew the crop 

 in order to feed his men and animals upon it. The animals were 

 fed the hay and the men ate alfalfa porridge. There are at least 

 eighteen different products manufactured 'from alfalfa; one of 

 those products is alfalfa tea, and I want to say that anybody that 

 wants to sample alfalfa tea can do so. I have made arrangements 

 so that you can have it served free for the asking at a restau- 

 rant one and a half blocks east from the Savoy Hotel. The 

 alfalfa that I have supplied to the cafe is some that was at the 

 exhibit of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Whether or not you 

 sample alfalfa tea at this time, make it a point to grow alfalfa 

 and eat it as the animals eat it. You can get other food products 

 manufactured from alfalfa and they are excellent. 



