310 THE BOOK 03? ALFALM 



ton, the bales weighing 150 pounds. Alfalfa hay sold for 

 $12 per ton in 1890, and is now selling for $2.50; seed 

 sells for ID to 12 cents per pound. For cattle, alfalfa 

 hay leads all others; for work animals, it is a little 

 "washy," but we use nothing else; for pasturing hogs, 

 one acre of alfalfa is worth two of clover, and it is found 

 satisfactory for horses and sheep; alfalfa will pasture 

 more cattle than clover, but is more productive of bloat, 

 especially on windy days. The best remedy for bloat 

 is to get the foreparts of the animal on high ground 

 and splash cold water on its back; when all else fails, 

 apply the knife to the left side. We prefer unirrigated 

 hay, which seems firmer and less "washy." Affalfa 

 leaches its best yields about the third year, and will last 

 20 years; it is not difficult to kill; it is similar to Red 

 clover for turning under for green manure. All cattle 

 here are fed on alfalfa hay alone. I have fed cattle in 

 open yards in December, January, and February, and 

 made them gain 160 pounds per steer in three months. 

 If beef on the Pacific coast would bring 3 cents, there 

 would be no better investment than alfalfa. In 1892, 

 we sold hay for $60 per acre; to-day it will not sell for a 

 third of that. 



WEST VIRGINIA. 



Prof. /. H. Stewart, Director West Virginia expert^ 

 ment station. — ^Very little alfalfa is grown in West Vir- 

 ginia. Within the past four or five years some stimulus 

 has been given it by current publications, etc., but exten- 

 sive growth has not obtained as yet. The attempts to 

 grow it on our small farm at the experiment station have 

 in fact been failures. However, there are a few small 



