184 THE BOOK OF ALFALFA 



with which they are mixed. It is reasonable to believe 

 that a rich feed like ground alfalfa has even a greater in- 

 fluence when mixed with corn meal. The more intimate 

 the mixture the greater the benefits from alfalfa, and for 

 this reason ground alfalfa is far superior to the whole hay. 

 ''Grinding alfalfa hay reduces the power needed to 

 digest and assimilate it. It takes power for an animal 

 to chew the feed, digest it and bring about the chemical 

 changes that convert it into flesh or milk. All this energy 

 is taken from the actual food material in the alfalfa. 

 Experiments show that a much larger amount of food 

 value is used up in this way with coarse feeds than with 

 concentrated fine feeds. In corn, a concentrated feed 

 easily worked up in the animal's body, three-fourths of 

 the protein found in the feed is digested and used by the 

 animal; while in timothy hay, a coarse feed, only half 

 the protein actually in the hay is digested ; and in straw, 

 a still coarser feed, only one-tenth. Forty-eight per cent 

 of all the energy in coarse hay is used up in chewing and 

 digesting it, while only twenty per cent of the energy in 

 oats is used in these processes. This shows the value of 



preparing feed in such a way as to require the least effort 

 on the part of the animal to use it. 



"In a well constructed mill it requires one horse-power 

 ten hours to grind alfalfa sufficient for a month's ration 

 for a dairy cow in full milk. This indicates what a sav- 

 ing the grinding of alfalfa makes in its effective use by 

 an animal % 



"Experiments show that good alfalfa hay and wheat 

 bran have practically the same value in feeding for milk. 

 In a test made of bran and alfalfa meal, two lots of cows 



