The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-05-20
BEST TIME TO CUT ALFALFA
AS DEVELOPED BY SCIENCE
According to ". T. Headden the Stage
Of Full Bloom Gives Best
General Results.

There is such wide diversity of opin-
ion as to the proper time to cut alfalfa,
that the following extracts from Bulletin
No. ID, written by w. p. Headden and
published by the agricultural station at
Fort Collins, Colo, should be read with
interest by all grower. of the standard
stock food of the Yakima valley:
There is very generally accepted
notion that there is considerable differ
ence in the value of the respective cut
tings of alfalfa for feeding purposes, the
third receiving the preference for mich
cows, especially if it was made Without
the plants having been touched by frost,
the first and third for sheep feeding, and
so on. That there should be diversity
of opinion is quite natural, and gener-
ally prevailing notion among intelligent
persons, whose financial interests are
touched by their daily practice, is usually
based upon something more definite than
their notions. But the judgment of in
dividuals is almost as varying in regard
on any possible subject, and the testi-
mony of the people when taken individu-
ally leaves one in a quandary as to
whether they are not nearly all equally
good. The more explicit question as to
the best time or stage of development of
the plant to cut it for hay is the one
which is most often raised, without spec
ial reference to the first, second or third
cutting. 1t is this question that | shall
try to answer, somewhat fully for the
first, and more briefly fer the second
"There are two means of investigating
this subject. The first is by the study
of the chemical composition of the
plant, the second by feeding expert
ments. Both methods have been en-
ployed, but the series of experiments in
feeding have not been so extensive as is
desirable and the results so far obtained
justify tentative conclusions only.
off we take the chemical composition
as our basis for judging, there are
number of considerations which we must
take into account. The purpose for
which the hay was to be used would
make some difference. MANY farmers
consider the weight of hay that can be
made fronran acre in preference to the
quality. The judgment again will vary
with the purpose that the party has in
view, whether he intends to feed it to
his farm horses, to isteers, to sheep or to
mich cows. Popular opinion recognizes
that alfalfa hay varies in its value for
different purposes, and it is probable
that there is some good reason for this
opinion, whether the analysis shows it
or not. The eating of the pudding,
however, is the proof thereof
$50 far as the composition is con-
cerned, the bet time to cut alfalfa would
be at that period when it would produce
the greatest number of pounds of the
respective food elements expressed in
some common standard.
zone of the merits of hay of this
class - hay made from logumenous
plants-is that they are rich in nitrogen,
whose percentage we multiply by 6.25
and put down the product as proteid..
AS alfalfa is characterized by its richness
in proteids, we will say more about them
than any of the other classes of food
elements.
"When we express results in percent
ages We do not give the actual amounts
produced per acre unless we also state
the weight OF hay prod uced. This is an
important factor and one which we must
take into account. We usually assume