32 
ALFALFA 
AVERAGE PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF ALFALFA AND OTHER FORAGE CROPS. 
Kind of forage 
Number 
Water 
Ash 
Protein 
Crude 
fiber 
Nitrogen 
free 
extract 
Ether 
extract 
(fat) 
Fresh alfalfa . 
r “ 23 
71.8% 
2.7% 
4.8% 
7.4% _ 
12.3% 
1.0% 
Fresh clover. 
43 
70.8 
2.1 
4.4 
8.1 
13.5 
1.1 
Alfalfa hay. 
21 
8.4 
7.4 
14.3 
25.0 
42.7 
2.2 
Clover hay. 
38 
15.3 
6.2 
12.3 
24.8 
38.1 
3.3 
Timothy hay. 
68 
13.2 
4.4 
5.9 
29.0 
45.0 
2.5 
Cowpea hay. 
8 
10.7 
7.5 
16.6 
20.1 
42.2 
2.2 
thing absolutely necessary for the produc¬ 
tion of stock or milk. While dairymen are 
bankrupting themselves buying bran and 
cottonseed meal to get this necessary pro¬ 
tein, they could feed just as much and make 
enormous saving by growing alfalfa on 
their own farms. Alfalfa has three times 
as much protein as corn, but in fat and 
carbohydrates is decidedly inferior. 
The market price of alfalfa hay is gov¬ 
erned simply by supply and demand. The 
number of cuttings which may be made in 
one season has been as high as eight and 
even nine in the Southwest. In favorable 
years in the North three are possible, but 
two are most common in the eastern part 
of the country. Thirty or forty days of 
hot weather are usually all that are neces¬ 
sary to mature a crop. A good yield 
amounts to two tons to the acre. 
CUTTING BEFORE IT BLOOMS. 
Shall the farmer cut the alfalfa before 
it comes to bloom, or while it is in bloom, 
or wait until the blossoms are all gone? 
This is a matter of decided concern to the 
beekeeper, since his crop of honey depends 
upon it. If the stand is mown before 
bloom, the bees get no nectar at all, and 
the beekeeper may find his colonies starv¬ 
ing in the midst of miles of alfalfa. 
The old rule with alfalfa-growers was to 
cut hay when the stand was about one- 
tenth in blossom. Arizona growers claimed 
that the alfalfa is richer for milk produc¬ 
tion at that time than at any other, but for 
horses and mules it is more nourishing if 
cut in full bloom. The Utah Experiment 
Station after a series of investigations 
reached this conclusion: “To insure a 
large yield of dry matter and the largest 
amount of albuminoids, lucerne should be 
cut not earlier than the period of medium 
bloom, and not much later than the first 
full flower.It is a more serious 
matter to cut too early than to cut too 
late.” On the same point the national bul¬ 
letin says: “The general rule is to cut al¬ 
falfa just as it is coming into bloom. Feed¬ 
ing experiments show that the feeding 
value is highest when alfalfa is cut in 
early bloom.” 
Of late years a new rule has taken the 
place of the old. Authorities now advise 
alfalfa-growers to mow when the shoots of 
the new growth at the base of the plant 
are just showing. In Ohio this comes about 
June 1. When the shoots appear it is time 
to cut immediately. If this is done too soon 
the second growth is retarded; if too late a 
great many of the leaves are lost, and in 
them lies much of the food value. Danger 
of winterkilling is also increased. The net 
result, so far as the beekeeper is con¬ 
cerned, is often more favorable under the 
new plan. 
Another fact to his advantage is the 
habit of men, whatever the rule, of being 
just a little late. In some places the prac¬ 
tice is to cut while the fields are well into 
bloom. The growers fear that if cut too 
early it will cause bloat in cattle, and is 
likely to powder in curing. The state of 
growth at which to mow the alfalfa also 
varies between one crop and another; the 
third cutting is often made when the plants 
are in full flower. 
Immediately after cutting, fields look 
brown and bare for the first few hours, but 
the plants soon rally, and are flourishing 
again in a surprisingly short time. The 
field should not be disturbed until the time 
for the second cutting. 
Making hay with alfalfa in the West is 
a struggle to get it stacked before the leaves 
dry so much that they drop off. In the 
East is a similar struggle to get it cured be¬ 
tween showers. On the ranches the farm¬ 
ers harvest a green hay which is practically 
impossible to get in humid regions. It is 
