82 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



trin and other soluble matters, and also develops fungi. 

 However, the only thing to do is to cut, exercising good 

 judgment of course as to the amount each day. 



LOSSES IN CUKING. 



Headden found, at the Colorado station, that in an 

 average alfalfa plant the stems amounted to forty to 

 fifty per cent of the weight, while with very leafy, small- 

 stemmed plants the leaves sometimes form more than 

 sixty per cent of the entire weight. The leaves were 

 readily lost if the hay was not handled carefully. He 

 concluded from his experience and observation that the 

 minimum loss from the falling off of the leaves and 

 stems in careful haymaking amounts to from fifteen to 

 twenty per cent ; and in cases where the conditions have 

 been unfavorable, as much as sixty or even sixty-six per 

 cent of the entire dry crop is lost. Stated in another 

 way, with the best of conditions, and with great care, 

 for every ton of hay taken off the field, at least 300 

 pounds of leaves and stems are left scattered on the 

 ground. With unfavorable conditions and careless hand- 

 ling the loss is of course far greater. A study of these 

 facts should induce the careful haymaker to use all pos- 

 sible skill in citring alfalfa, and they show that it will be 

 profitable to expend more than the usual amount of labor 

 in saving the leaves, considering that they are worth, 

 pound for pound, nearly four times as much as the stems. 



HARVESTING EST HUMID REGIONS. 



Ordinarily, it is not well to cut alfalfa immediately 

 after a heavy rain, because the wet ground will operate 

 against proper curing. Begin cutting in the morning, 



