WISCONSIN. 263 



phate fed in grains or clovers. The experiment will be conducted 

 through several generations to confirm these results. 



In the comparison of nutrients from single-plant sources and from 

 different plants on the development of cattle, it was observed that 

 while the rate of growth was not greatly dissimilar, the physical 

 conditions of the different groups varied widely. The animals in 

 this experiment were reared on a ration balanced in accordance with 

 the regularly accepted standards, but derived from single-plant 

 sources — wheat, oats, corn, and a mixture of the three. The lots fed 

 corn and its products continued thrifty and gave large, strong 

 progeny (PI. X) ; while those fed on the products of wheat alone 

 showed low vitality, low milk production, and weak, under-sized 

 calves (PI. XI). The oat lot gave results more nearly like the corn 

 lot, while those fed equal parts of corn, wheat, and oats resembled 

 more nearly the wheat- fed animals. It was further found that 

 a mature corn-fed animal can not be changed to a wheat ration 

 without resulting shortlv in death, while a wheat-fed animal can 

 pass to a corn ration with improvement. The study of the 

 role of acid in cheese production showed that by the use of 

 commercial acid time may be saved without diminishing the 

 quality of the cheese. To overcome defects in the milk, how- 

 ever, pasteurization was resorted to, and the combination of 

 pasteurization and the use of commercial acid was found to bring 

 the milk into uniform condition as to bacterial content and acidity. 

 The absolutely uniform process gave greater reliability and uni- 

 formity of product and eliminated to a certain extent the skill of 

 the maker. After this method was established a test for a long 

 period on a factory scale was inaugurated. It was further shown 

 that the cheese made by this process may be cured at the temperature 

 of the ordinary uncooled curing room. Curing at a medium or 

 warm temperature gave better results than curing in the cold. 



Investigations continued by the dairy department on the purifica- 

 tion of creamery and cheese factory sewage led to the conclusion 

 that such sewage can be thoroughly reduced if the material can be 

 held for a sufficient period of time in a closed septic tank. The 

 decomposition processes in the tank do not completely purify the 

 sewage, but render it sufficiently soluble for ready purification when 

 turned intermittently onto sand or soil. 



The work on the loss of phosphorus on heavily manured soils, as is 

 especially found in tobacco, asparagus, and cabbage culture, was 

 continued. Marked losses in the leaching of soluble phosphates were 

 observed, showing that the excess of phosphorus did not accumulate 

 in the soils u ruder test. The results of studies on the forme of 

 phosphorus in the soil showed that nearly one-half of the soil phos- 

 phorus is bound up with organic matter in such a way as to render 



