46 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



improved milk and butter-fat production and in better development 

 of the young animals. 



The Ilol.stein breeding circuit in North Dakota, in cooperation 

 with the State Experiment Station, has been conducted on the same 

 lines as heretofore. A year's record of all the cows was completed 

 January 1, and the approximate cost of the production of butter fat 

 determined. As a result several heifers have been placed in the 

 Advanced Kegistry. There are now 107 pure-bred Holstein cattle 

 owned by members of this circuit. 



POULTRY AND EGG INVESTIGATIONS. 



Poultry breeding for egg production and for general utility pur- 

 poses is going on in Maine (in cooperation Avith the Maine Experi- 

 ment Station) and at the bureau's experiment farm in Maryland. 

 A plan of selection is being practiced so as to secure strains which 

 breed true to certain definite standards of egg production. 



An investigation is being conducted into the conditions surround- 

 ing the handling and marketing of eggs in the great productive 

 sections of the Middle West, especially in Kansas, with a view to 

 determining the causes of the heavy losses from deterioration and to 

 preventing such losses. This work, in which State authorities are 

 cooperating, is expected to bring about great improvement in the 

 quality of the eggs marketed, to the advantage of both producer and 

 consumer. Some results of this work have been published as Bul- 

 letin 141 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, "The improvement of 

 the Farm Egg." 



ANIMAL NUTRITION. 



Animal nutrition investigations in cooperation with the Pennsyl- 

 vania State College have been in progress for a number of years. The 

 work is of a scientific character, much of it being done with the 

 respiration calorimeter. The determinations of the energy values of 

 feeding stuffs are to be continued, and it is planned to make further 

 respiration tests. 



BEEF AND PORK PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 



The beef-feeding experiments in cooperation with the Alabama 

 Experiment Station are yielding results of much value to southern 

 farmers. The work so far accomplished demonstrates that cattle can 

 be profitably fed in Alabama in summer. Pork-feeding investiga- 

 tions, also in Alabama, are likewise showing profitable results. There 

 is no doubt that the South afi^ords a favorable field for increasing the 

 country's meat supply, especially after the handicap of the cattle 

 tick has been removed. 



