l6z 



THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



The Kansas station realized $11.90 per acre from rape 

 pasture and $24.10 per acre from alfalfa pasture in ninety- 

 eight days. These results were obtained from the follow- 

 ing experiments, which were begun July 25 and con- 

 cluded October 31. 



Thirty shoats, averaging fifty-two pounds in weight, 

 were divided as nearly equally as possible into three Tots 

 of ten each. Lot I was fed on a grain mixture of shorts 

 one-half, corn meal one-fourth, and Kafir corn meal one- 

 fourth, in a dry lot. The other two lots were fed the 

 same grain ration, but one received rape pasture and the 

 other alfalfa pasture in addition. Each lot was gi^en 

 what grain the hogs would eat up clean, and each had 

 access to water and ashes. The weights of grain con- 

 sumed and gains made are as follows: 



Feed. 



Grain consumed, 

 in pounds. 



Total gain, in 

 pounds. 



Grain consumed 



per 100 lbs. gain, 



in pounds. 



I. No pasture. 



II. Rape pasture. ........ 



Ill, Alfalfa pasture 



3,801 

 3,244 

 3,244 



1,023 

 1,076 

 1,078 



371 



301 

 300 



The gains of the three lots are very nearly equal. The 

 dry lot consumed 557 pounds (or seventy pounds for 

 every 100 pounds of gain) more grain than the pasture 

 lots. The lot on rape required one acre of pasture, while 

 the alfalfa lot used a trifle less than one-half acre. 



The lot without pasture required 3.71 pounds of grain 

 to produce one pound of gain. Assigning the same value 

 to the grain fed the hogs on rape pasture, we have 877 

 pounds of pork credited to the grain and 199 pounds 

 credited to the rape. At six cents per pound, the 



