REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 51 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Thii'ty-six feeding' eattle were bought in October, three heifers were sold for the 

 Christmas market, two steers were shiughtered, one because of reaction to tuberculin 

 test and one unthrifty for some undiscovered cause. Of the remaining thirty-one, 

 twenty-five made an average gain per liead of 277 pounds in the 136 days, almost 

 exactly 2 pounds per head per day; and six dairy type steers gained 229 pounds iu 

 the 136 days, or Iji pounds per head per day. 



A calf feeding experiment was started March 1 ; sixteeen calves divided into f our 

 pens of four calves each were fed. Pen 1 was fed on whole milk, pen 2, skim-milk and 

 a meal and oilcake mixture, pen 3, Blatchford's Calf Meal and water, Pen 4, Blnloh- 

 ford's Calf Meal and skim-milk. The gain averaged approximately 50 pounds per 

 head for tlie month in all pens but No. 3, which was only 27 pounds. The cost per 

 pound of gain on whole milk was 7-7 cents, on skim-milk and meal mixture 2-8 cents, 

 on Blatchford's Calf Meal and skim-milk 5 cents, and on Blatchford's Calf Meal alone 

 8-3 cents. This experiment will be continued to June 1. 



Eighteen young pigs were put in temporary quarters on September 15 at from 

 three to four weeks old to utilize dairy waste and unmarketable potatoes. They, 

 dressed 80 pounds on the average December 30, after 3^ months' feeding and at about 

 4i months of age. 



POULTRY. 



The year was started with four small flocks of thirty Barred Plymouth Rocks, 

 thirteen White Wyandottes, twenty-one Rhode Island Reds, and nineteen 'White 

 Leghorns. The plant consisted of three colony houses, two incubators of 250-egg 

 capacity each and one of 120 eggs, and two out-door brooders. One hundred and nine 

 chicks w^ere successfully incubated and reared in April, and 136 iu May. Care was 

 taken to incubate eggs from the best laying hens, and a number of fine birds resulted. 

 Du.ring the summer, two permanent houses to accommodate 100 hens each were 

 erected, and later a poultry administration building with incubator cellar. In this 

 was placed a 1.200-egg incubator. A brooder house was later built and a coal-heated 

 brooder installed. During the summer, autumn, and early winter, a number of both 

 old and young birds were sold for breeding purposes and for table use. The winter 

 was entered upon with 296 birds of all kinds; 45 additional pullets were purchased 

 in December, giving 270 hens and pullets in all. These birds laid during January, 

 February, ai:d March, ,5,914 eggs, some individual birds making exceedingly good 

 records and some very poor. Care is being taken to select for hatching only well-formed, 

 perfect-shelled eggs from the best laying hens. 



AlMAllY. 



On June 9 an apiary was started with five colonies of black bees in eight-frame 

 Langstroth hives. The season was cold and backward, consequently they did not do 

 as well as might be expected in a normal season. 



jSTo. 4 hive threw a swarm on July 20, an.d No. 5 on July 28. These were hived 

 iu eight-frame Langstroth hives. On September 9 the queens in these hives were 

 destroyed and a day later imported Italian queens were successfully introduced by 

 the smoke method. 



The principal honey plants in this district are alsike, apple, aster, buckwheat, 

 dandelion, fireweed, goldenrod, harebell, and wild raspberry. 



The total production of honey for the season was 147 pounds extracted, and 59. 

 sections. 



16— 4i 



