102 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



may, on occasion, plan for the ensiling of his first cutting, 

 in the faith that it will come out in fine condition if his 

 silo is properly constructed. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR SJXiOING. 



* 



The Kansas and Colorado experiment stations recom- 

 mend that alfalfa for silage should be cut into lengths 

 of, say, two inches. Long alfalfa does not pack suffi- 

 ciently close in the silo, and when so stored the loss is 

 much more than if in short lengths. It should always be 

 heavily weighted and great care taken to pack it well at 

 the outer edges. Round silos are most approved because 

 their contents are more readily compacted. The points 

 urged by Professor Ten Eyck, of the Kansas experi- 

 ment station, are, (a) getting the alfalfa to the silo 

 quickly after mowing, allowing little, if any, curing; (b) 

 cutting the alfalfa into short lengths rather than storing 

 it whole; (c) packing it tightly, and weighting heavily 

 when all in. He says, however, that if the weather will 

 permit proper curing of the alfalfa, it will make more val- 

 uable winter feed as hay than as silage. 



BAIilNG. 



The increasing general demand for alfalfa hay in the 

 city markets of the United States, away from the dis- 

 tinct alfalfa regions, has made finding a method of pre- 

 paring it for economic shipment of much importance. 

 The compressing of timothy and prairie hay has become 

 so general that alfalfa raisers and shippers are also fol- 

 lowing this method. The problem of saving the leaves, 

 and, at the same time, being able to market alfalfa green, 

 has been hard to solve. Baling it uncured m^nt mold, 



