d of
it. Some growers do not feed any grain supplement to their swine when
grazing on alfalfa, but it is generally believed that, under average
conditions, it is wise to supplement the alfalfa pasture daily with a
light feed of grain, carbonaceous in character, as of rye, corn or
barley, and that this should be gradually increased with the advancement
of the grazing season. One acre of alfalfa will provide pasture for 5 to
15 head of swine, through all the grazing season, dependent upon the
degree of the favorable character of the conditions for growth in the
alfalfa, the age of the swine, and the extent to which the pasture is
supplemented with grain. But in some instances the area named will graze
at least 15 hogs through all the growing season without a grain
supplement.

Swine may be turned in to graze on alfalfa when well set, as soon as it
begins to grow freely in the spring. It should be so managed that the
grazing will be kept reasonably tender and succulent. For swine pasture
the plants should never be allowed to reach the blossoming stage. This
can be managed by running the field mower over the pasture occasionally
when the stems are growing long and coarse. Close and prolonged grazing
by swine will tend to shorten the period of the life of the alfalfa. The
extent to which this result will follow will depend upon soil and
climatic conditions and the closeness of the grazing. To avoid such a
result and also to secure the utilization of the food to the utmost,
some growers advocate cutting the alfalfa and feeding it to swine as
soiling. The advisability of handling it thus will be dependent to some
extent on the relative price of labor.

The best results, relatively, from growing alfalfa to provide pasture
will be found in the Western valleys, where alfalfa grows with much
vigor, and in certain areas of the South, where it grows freely and can
be pastured during much of the year. In areas eminently adapted to the
growth of clover, it is not so necessary to grow alfalfa for such a use.
In Western areas, where Canada field peas are a success, and especially
where artichokes are not hidden from swine by frost, pork can be grown
very cheaply, and without the necessity of harvesting any very large
portion of these crops, except through grazing them down by swine.

Such conditions would be highly favorable to the maintenance of health
in the swine, and the quality of the pork made would be of the best. In
some inst