102 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Aviieieby the Government had been given options on the foals. For 

 the IUl^O breeding season a service i'ee is charged, and the owners of 

 the mares lia\e been given the privilege oi' making \vhate\er disposi- 

 tion of the foals they may wish. In the second district, with head- 

 ciuarters at Front Koyal, Va., 12 stallions' were nsed, and 333 mares 

 wi're bretl to them up to June 30. In the third district, with head- 

 (piarters at Lexington, Ky., 12 stallions were used, to which 304 

 mares were bred up to June 30. In the first district, with head- 

 (piarters at Middlebury, Vt., the breeding season did not begin until 

 al)out flune i. 



Congress ha\iug made provision in the Army reorganization act 

 for the Army to take up the breeding of horses for military pur- 

 poses, the bureau's wodc in the second and third districts will l)e 

 transferred to the Army; but as the Army does not contemi)late 

 breeding Morgan horses, the bureau's work in the first district will 

 be continued during the next fiscal year. 



KKEWNG BARLKY TO FARM WORK HORSES. 



A test to compare the relative value of light-weight and heavy- 

 weight barley as feeds for farm work horses was made at the Belte- 

 ville farm. Eight Percheron mares were used in the test, two receiv- 

 ing light-Aveight barley, two heavy-weight barley, and four receiving 

 oats as a check. The test was continued 22 weeks, terminating June 

 19, 1920. The mares were used in all the routine work of the farm, 

 wdiich included the heavy field work of plowing, etc., during the 

 spiking months. The barley used was the commercial grade of heavy 

 barley (rolled) and light barley (rolled), the heavy barley weighing 

 50 and the light 37| pounds to the bushel. The relative gains or 

 losses in weights of the mares fed on barley and those fed on oats 

 were practically the same, and there was no indication that either 

 feed possessed outstanding merit over the other. The weights of the 

 mares fed on light barley remained more constant than the Aveignts 

 of the mares fed on heavy barley, and the former seemed to be sliglitly 

 more thrifty than the latter, although the advantage seemed slight. 



POULTRY INVESTIGATIONS. 



POULTRY FEEDING. 



In the poultry-feeding experiments much of the work previously 

 done is being repeated to verify former results. This includes the 

 feeding of rations containing Avheat products compared wdth a wheat- 

 less ration, the feeding of garbage, and experiments in the use of 

 high vegetable protein feeds, including soy-bean meal, peanut meal, 

 velvet-bean meal, and cottonseed meal. 



The results with wheat have confirmed previous tests showing that 

 just as good results can be obtained without wheat as with it in a 

 ration. The Rhode Island Reds in the wheatless pen averaged 140 

 eggs, while those in the pen receiving wheat averaged 134 eggs. Good 

 results were obtained with the use of garbage last year until the hot 

 weather began, when there w^as considerable mortality, due appar- 

 ently to the garbage spoiling. This work is being repeated this year 

 with much more satisfactory results, the garbage being fed in a 



