BUREAU OP ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 91 



DAIRY EXPERIMENT FARM. 



INBREEDING. 



Experimental work has been continnocl at the Dairy Division ex- 

 periment farm at Beltsville, Md. Inbreeding, commonly believed 

 to cause weakened or deformed oifspring, is recognized as being also 

 a very potent factor in the improvement of live stock. An investi- 

 gation was begun in 1912 to determine the practicability of obtain- 

 ing rapid improvement in common dairy stock by breeding the 

 daughters of vigorous, well-bred, registered bulls to their sires. So 

 far only one bull has been used, and 16 of his 34 daughters have 

 dropped calves. Four calves were deformed, having an upward 

 curvature of the spine, and wore dead at birth or died shortly there- 

 after. The work has not progressed far enough for the results to be 

 conclusive, and other bulls are being tried in the same manner. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH CALVES. 



In view of the emphasis that has been placed upon vitamins as 

 necessary for proper growth and development in young animals, pre- 

 liminary experiments in feeding calves have been started to test the 

 value and effect of these substances. 



Phosphorus and calcium, already demonstrated as having an im- 

 portant effect upon the milk production of cows, are being fed in 

 various combinations to determine their effect upon the growth and 

 development of heifer calves. 



In order to free as much whole milk and skim milk as possible 

 for human food, studies have been carried on to determine the 

 minimum quantities necessary for successful calf raising. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH COWS. 



Fish meal, a by-product of the fish canneries, when used in a ra- 

 tion for milk production proved to be worth from 20 to 25 per cent 

 more than cottonseed meal and had no ill effect upon the flavor of 

 milk. Potato silage was found to be as palatable as corn silage 

 and of equal feeding value, pound for pound; peanut meal from 

 unhulled nuts was inferior to cottonseed meal; and 128 pounds of 

 potato meal equaled 100 pounds of corn meal as a feed for dairy 

 cows. 



HOUSING DAIRY CATTLE. 



A warm barn, commonly deemed essential for large milk produc- 

 tion during the winter months, proved to be less satisfactory than the 

 open shed. In experiments extending over three years, the cows 

 Jioused in the open shed consumed a little more feed, required more 

 bedding, and the trouble of stalling them twice daily slightly in- 

 creased the labor cost; but, because more milk was produced and 

 on account of the lower cost of housing, the open shed proved some- 

 what more economical. In the latitude of Beltsville at least the 

 open shed offers advantages that may well be considered by the dairy 

 farmer. 



