170 THE book: of alfalfa 



that it will come to be considered all-sufficient, and then 

 trouble is liable to follow. But fed with judgment it is 

 the best of all protein foods, and will enable the farmer 

 to feed wisely and well many of the unmarketable rough 

 foods he raises, like straw and corn stover, the one bal- 

 ancing the other." 



Here and there are horses with digestive apparatus not 

 suited for the best use of alfalfa, but they are rare except- 

 ions rather than the rule. 



PRODUCES RAPID GROWTH. 



One of the foremost horse breeders in America, who 

 constantly maintains upwards of one hundred head of 

 various ages, writes the author this : 



"In my experience of twenty-five years in pasturing 

 horses on alfalfa, results have convinced me that it pro- 

 duces more bone, muscle and blood in horses in less time 

 than any other pasturage with which I am acquainted. 

 But I believe it profitable in raising the best horses to 

 also use a moderate grain ration, to stimulate rapid 

 growth and early development; my horses, however, have 

 shown no ill effects from pasturing on alfalfa without 

 grain, or other feed, and I have found such pasturing 

 conducive to health and prolificacy, maturing animals 

 equal for service to any reared otherwise. I have raised 

 three-year-olds grown on alfalfa and a light grain ration 

 to exceed a ton in weight, carrying all the good qualities 

 of the breed to which they belonged. Further, I find 

 using alfalfa as a horse pasture a much more economical 

 method of raising horses than any other." 



