BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 117 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



Accurate feed records of 11 heifers to the a^e of 2 years, with feed 

 figured at current prices in Maryland, show a feed cost of $155.54, 

 thfis emphasizino' the need of first-chiss sires, close culling, and the 

 provision of cheap feed. 



A feed mixture for the raising of calves, costing at present prices 

 less than 6 cents a pound, has been developed. With this mixture a 

 total of only 300 pounds of milk is fed, and while the gains made are 

 not equal to those in calves fed on skim milk, the calves give evidence 

 of being well nourished and are not troubled with digestive disorders 

 to anv greater extent than are the calves fed on skim milk. 



Cows fed on Sudan-grass silage produced 11.8 per cent less milk, 

 and tliose fed sunflower silage 11.9 per cent less, than cows fed on 

 ■corn silage. As a feed for dairy cows dried sweet-potato meal showed 

 an approximate value of 90 per cent compared with corn meal. No 

 ■difference Avas noted in the palatability of the two meals. 



SILAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 



Corn planted alone yielded 11.5 per cent more silage than corn and 

 soy beans planted together. Sunflowers, on account of their stiff, 

 brittle stalks and their susceptibility to damage from Avind, are not 

 so readily made into silage as corn. 



DAIRY STATISTICS. 



The trend of dairying in this and foreign countries has been fol- 

 loAved with a continued compilation and study of production and 

 trade. Tlie' various sources of information are carefully followed and 

 new data added from time to time. Two bulletins were published, 

 one on " The Trend of the Cheese Industry " and the other on " The 

 Trend of the Butter Industry in the United States and Other Coun- 

 tries." Charts were prepared showing the trend of the dairy indus- 

 try, factory production of butter, cheese, and condensed milk, the loss 

 of purebred bulls, and other miscellaneous subjects. 



DAIRY ENGINEERING. 



Enoineering specialists of the Dairy Division prepared plans and 

 specifications for construction work and equipment as required by 

 the division and superintended construction at the Beltsville farm, 

 the drove City creamery, and other plants. In reply to inquiries, in- 

 formation was furnished on the construction of dairy buildings and 

 825 blue prints of plans for silos, barns, etc., were sent out. 



Special assistance was given in the installation of mac hinery and 

 the enlargement of tlie cheese-curing rooms at the (irove City plant 

 and in the construt^tion of a granary and a sewage-disposal system 

 and the installation of an electrical generating set at the Naval Acad- 

 emy dairy. Plans were prepared for remodeling the temperature- 

 control apjiai-atus of the experimental cheese-curing room of the 

 dairy researcli laboratories and for various otlier ai)paratus. Tempera- 

 ture-control systems for the Biochemic and Pathological Divisions 

 were designed and maintained, and assistance was given to other 



