l60 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



more. Assuming that only five per cent of the 252,520,- 

 173 bushels of corn produced in Nebraska this year is 

 being fed to hogs as a single food, these figures would 

 go to show that $1,000,000 more wealth would be added 

 to the state if wheat shorts or alfalfa were substituted for 

 one-fifth of the corn fed." 



CUT ALFAIiFA EARLY FOR HOGS. 



It is especially important that alfalfa intended to be 

 fed to hogs should be cut early. An experiment at the 

 Kansas station showed that a ton of early cut and well- 

 cured alfalfa, fed with grain, produced 868 pounds of 

 pork while a ton late cut and poorly cured, fed with grain, 

 produced only 333 pounds. For fattening hogs it is well 

 to feed about one ton of well-cured alfalfa hay with each 

 250 bushels of grain. 



Farmer's Bulletin No. 215 of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture declares that alfalfa is an ideal pas- 

 ture plant for hogs. "There is no danger from bloat and 

 with a limited number of hogs there is practically no 

 injury to the alfalfa field. Vigorous alfalfa will support 

 15 to 25 head of pigs per acre. It is best to limit the 

 number of pigs to that which will be insufficient to keep 

 down an alfalfa field. Cuttings of hay may then be made 

 at intervals and the growth thus rejuvenated. On the 

 average pigs weighing 30 to 60 pounds in the spring will 

 make a gain of about 100 pounds each during the season. 

 Although pigs may be grown and fattened upon alfalfa 

 alone, it is best to combine the alfalfa with some kind of 

 a grain ration. Alfalfa by itself is too rich in protein to 

 give a balanced ration. Where pigs are pastured upon 



