The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-27
or THE ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC rssn rurn

overlooked that the poor acres absorb a large proportion of the profit earned by the better land. Can the owner af- ford to plant his poorest acres in cot ton without first growing on them |cowpeas, melilotus, velvet beans, or other restorative crop? Surely this is the year to devote the unprofitable acres to soil-improving crops.
 Alfalfa to Supplement Corn.
 Corn. alone as a finisher for pork, is becoming thing of the past in the corn belt. and 1t should not occupy the center of the stage where alfalfa can De raised. Feeding tests nave proven time and again the advisability of sup planting corn with alfalfa, but the fig ures have hitherto been hard to obtain Cheaper production of pork is possible where alfalfa Is fed to swine. It not only makes firmer flesh and solid fat, but 1t puts heaviness and strength of bone into the animal fed on 1t. At the Nebraska experiment farm, at Lincoln, Neb, two lots of pigs. uniform in size, condition and type. were fed, one on corn alone, and one with one-fiftn all falfa. The cost per hundred pounds of gain on the lot fed corn alone was $4.4s, and on the lot fed alfalfa in ad- dition to corn was $3.40. The alfalfa fed was leaves or chaff of the stem which was picked up from the now floor. Chemical analysis proved these leaves 40 per cent, richer in crude pro- tein than the entire plant. These leaves were mixed with soaked corn meal and fed in troughs. This ration made one pound of gain for every 5.S pounds of food consumed. Pigs are sure to make better gains on the combined ration than on corn, as the latter Is deficient in protein and min eral matter. Add these to pigs rations and the result is a better laid on qual- tty of lean meat, greatly bodily vigor and more blood and bone. After finish ing. the bulletin states. lone was se1ec- ted from the alfalfa fed lot to repre- sent the pigs that were supplied more protein. A pig twelve pounds heavier was selected from the corn-fed lot. These were both slaughtered and cross sections of the carcasses placed for examination. None failed to select the corn-alfalfa carcass because of its lean meat and thinner layers of fat
 The relation of alfalfa to dairying Is important in this connection, owing to the closeness with which these two in- dustries are so profitably worked to- gether. Where dairying Is profitable, there should also be hogs to take up the wastes and convert them into cash. Alfalfa is Indispensable to the dairy men in the corn belt and the hog-raiser as well. It Is then of the greatest i'm portance to the man who combines the two lines of husbandry. One dairy man whom we visited a few months ago said he would go out of the busi- ness If he could not have alfalfa for the pigs, calves and coAws. With a few oats and plenty of corn, he needs no other feeds. He keeps his cows on about $30 a year, and they average nearly $50 pounds of butter euch every year. and one certain year his herd of nearly fifty head averaged 356 pounds each. These cows are good cows, and their butter brings 30 cents the year round. Hundreds of tons of alfalfa are used by this dairyman every year. It's his salvation where land Is high. and it's the salvation of the man whose land Is low in price, too. Any Southern CT who wants better hogs, cheaper pas turage and hay that Is the best all- round hay obtainable, can do no better than plant a good acreage of alfalfa. It is revolutionizing agriculture whcr- ever sown. Once riited. no fears need be experienced that drought ST sun will kill 1t. and yet it Is one of the easiest to exterminate. Give 1t a chance. and 1t will double the productivness of your land in five years-D. A R. in Southern Agriculturist.