Show alfalfa for pasture we have two inquiries from pennsylvania concerning alfalfa its as a i pasture grass rass says the If hoards oarda dairyman the conditions there bong that a t t the e p carlies a arti s w wish to sa favri v 0 ii g tri acl ea toe lie fi first t crop r to tor r hay y a and u uce tl the i e fields ields the abi remainder of the season for or pasture the best information on an this subject at our command is in in a report of the kansas state board of agriculture compiled by secretary F D coburn and issued in december 1891 that report rt which makes a book of over pages is ia devoted exclusively to alfalfa and in it is the following from the pen of I 1 B F shuart of oberlin 0 who had ten years years exi aj ermence with alfalfa in alo montana tana alfalfa is ia not safe as pasture for either cattle or sheep I 1 tested this thia matter with sheep under various precautionary conditions condition 8 until forced reluctantly to conclude that the only safe way was to keep my triv herds off the alfalfa fields entirely ti rely it is is true bo however rever that both sheep and cattle will sometimes feed on alfalfa pasture for days together t without ill consequences q quen tien ces but sooner cr later the e lightning strikes and it may hard I 1 had a neighbor in montana tan who bo had a little band of sheep which he turned on to alfalfa pasture with apparent impunity until tie he became convinced that it involved no danger dancer whatever and who freely pooh bob the idea of its being unsafe one day however he noticed that something wits was wrong and hastening to the field he found them all inflated like balloon while several of them were already already dead lie ile afterwards told in me 1 that as he hustled them off to the corral they dropped so fast that thai he thought they would all be dead before it wag wa reached I 1 have heard many tLe theories ories as to the conditions under tinder which sheep might bo be pastured on alfalfa but subject ed to practical test thy all faiet ail d nor did I 1 ever succeed in paving a sheep after it was once down with bloat As pasture for cattle while alfalfa is not safe I 1 found it to ba lees dangerous than for sheep I 1 considered my alfalfa meadows too valuable to be trodden up by heavy stock and therefore did not ot allow cattle on them very much mu eh one season I 1 allowed calves and yearnings yearlings year linga lings to feed on the aftermath and while some of them got hoven almost daily none of them died when I 1 discovered them I 1 would make an opening into ino the paunch on the left side with my iny pocket knife which gave immediate relief and in a short time they would get up and re sume aume eating they most frequently have recovered however with waltrut such assistance |