The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1910-04-08
ALFALFA'SVALUE
AS HUMAN FOOD
Proving a Good Substitute For
Wheat Flour.
CHEAPER, MORE NUTRITIOUS.

Not White, but an Emerald Green.
Also Used as Remedy For Insomnia.
Alfalfa, which until comparatively
recently was considered as feed for
cattle, horses and hogs only, has been
discovered to have value as a food for
humans. The dry leaves are being
ground into meal and -four, mixed
with wheat -four and sold on the mar
ket as composition out of which
bread, biscuits. pancakes and pastry
are being made.
| Time was, and it was not so very
long ago, when you met a man on the
street and if you w2nted to crack a
real funny joke you remarked. You
can do so and so, but you can't eat
hay" Make that remark today to an
Omaha (Neb) man and about six
| times out Of ten he will tell you that
he is eating hay. In other words, at
the present time more than half of
| the families Of Omaha are eating hay.
| This hay eating is not confined to the
poor, but extends to the people who
are in comfortable circumstances, and
they all say they like it.
How the Alfalfa Meal Is Made.
To make the alfalfa meal and -four
the grass is cut early in June and at
time when it is in full bloom. 1t
Is cured in the sun and, If possible,
without being wet by rain. When
thoroughly dry the leaves are stripped
from the stalks and these leaves mix
ed with wheat at ratio of one-third
alfalfa and two-thirds wheat and
ground into coarse meal This meal
is used for cakes as well as for a
breakfast food. That desired for
bread and pastry is ground still finer
and bOlted and when placed upon the
market can be sold for about so cents
per sack Of fifty pounds. whereas a
good grade Of wheat -four will retail
at $i.50 to $1.75 per sack Of the same
weight.
So far the only thing that can be re-
garded as Objectionable about the al
falfa meal or -four is the color In
stead Of being white it is bright
emerald green. This color remains
through the cooking process. and
plate of hot biscuits or plate of cakes
comes to the table as green as the
grass Of the field
Medicinal In a Way.
So far as it is nutritious the alfal-
ia product has the wheat and corn
badly beaten, and experiments show
that man who eats alfalfa products
90 vnrl- all l,,,
encing less fatigue, than man who
makes a meal out Of meat. Then. too,
it is medicine in way, as il acts
upon the nerves, and Omaha doctors
have commenced prescribing it as
remedy for insomnia.
For the nerves the alfalfa hay comes
to the consumer in another form. The
blossoms are gathered just at the time
when they are in full bloom. Like the
hay, they are dried without moisture,
and when bone dry they are ground to
fine powder, which is light blue. |
This powder is made into tablets and |
constitutes q medicine that, while it |
will not cure all the ills, will play |
havoc with insomnia. indigestion and |
all manner Of stomach difficulties.
Alfalfa is a crop that can be raised |
on almost any kind Of land, but it |
thrives best where the soil is loose |
and porous, with a subsoil that Is |
of similar character. In other words, |
it will not do as we'll nor can the best |
results be obtained on clayey land or
land with a heavy and solid subsoil |
So far as investigation has been car
ried. the states Of Nebraska, Kansas, |
Wyoming and Colorado have been the |
most successful in the culture of the /
plant.
In the states named alfalfa will pro-
duce three crops of hay per year and |
will average one and one-half tons per |
acre per cutting. The first cutting is |
early in June, the second four to six |
weeks later and the third late in Au-
gust or early in September. 1t is cut |
and gathered the same as any other
hay, costing about $3.50 per ton to put
1t In the stack and 50 more per ton In
the event 1t is baled for shipment to
market On board the cars it is worth
good average of So per ton, making
the net profit per acre per year IN the
neighborhood of 500. Besides this.
after the last cutting. the stubble will
furnish grazing for CATTLE horses and
hogs until winter and until the field
is covered with snow.
While alfalfa will live and produce
good crop for at least twenty years,
the best results are attained by rotat.
ing with other crops. 1t is sowed and
cut three years. then plowed up and
the ground planted to corn or sugar
beets for a couple Of years, after which
1t is again sowed to alfalfa
Worldwide Church EoretoId