591 



(5) Between the period of <rlaziii<j and full ripening of corn there was a large 

 increjisii in amount of sugar and .'•lartdi. 



(C) For the greatest anionut of niitriiucnt, considi-rcd from a elicmical standpoint, 

 corn should not he cut hefore it lias well ripened. 



(7) The Burrill and Whitman corn ean not, in ordinary culture, l)e matured in this 

 latitude. 



Cattle foods and feeding rations. — A reprint of liiilletin No. 17 (new 

 series) of the station (see Exi)erinient Station IJeconl, Vol. T, p. 2(;G). 



Ficdin() experiments. — An experiment was made witli four 2-yeiir old 

 jjrade Ilolstein Shorthorns " for the purpose of comparinj^- the relative 

 feedin.t;- values of a nitroj^euous vs. a carbonaceous ration with growinj^ 

 and fatteiiini;- animals." The animals were divided into two lots, each 

 containiiif^- two steers and two heifers. The coarse fodders (hay, silage, 

 roots) were the same for both lots, aud all received wheat bran aud 

 corn meal, but in the case of lot 1 a part of the corn meal fed lot 2 was 

 rei)laced by either linseed meal, gluten meal, or cotton-seed meal. The 

 entire feeding trial lasted from November 11 to April 23, 163 days; 

 but from February 19 lo March 9 a chnnge was made iu order to 

 determine the digestibility of the food used, which manifested itself in 

 the following period (March lO-April 23). The tabulated data include 

 the amount of food coiisumed i)er lot during the whole experiment. 



The gain made during the entire experiment was 13 pounds in favor 

 of the two animals in lot 2 (carbonaceous food), which consumed 390 

 pounds more of tligestible nitrogen-free extract and 197 pounds less of 

 digestible albuminoids than lot 1. In the 109 days from November 11 

 to February 19 lot 2 gained 20 pounds more in weight, and consumed 

 209 pounds more of digestible nitrogen-free extract and 110 pounds less 

 of dig<'stil)le albuminoids than lot 1. From February 19 to AjumI 23, 

 during which time the digestion experiment was carried on and the con- 

 ditions slightly modified, lot 1 (nitrogeneous ration) gained 7 pounds 

 more than lot 2. 



We must then conclude that, so far as this experiment goes, the substitution of 

 nitrogenous foods, like cotton-seed meal, etc., for corn meal and a small quantity of 

 ])ran, was not followed by any advantage as a fattening ration so far as the increase 

 in live weight indicates. 



In general appearance lot 1 looked much the better, having a cleaner, brighter coat 

 of hair. » » * The photograi>hs of the meat show little, if any, difference in the 

 proportion of fat and lean. 



The meat for the animals fed the more carbonaceous ration was 

 thought to be "much the tenderer and sweeter." 



Digestion experiments. — Six trials were made in connection with feed- 

 ing experiments, the object being to determine the digestibility of the 

 following single materials and rations: (1) alfalfa hay; (2) mixed hay; 

 (3) hay and turnips; (4) the nitrogenous ration fed in the feeding 

 ex|)eriment described above, i. e. hay, wheat bran, cotton-seed meal, 

 an.d corn meal ; (5) the carbonaceous ration fed in the same experiment, 

 hay, corn meal, aud wheat bran j aud (G) a ration made up of hay, oats, 



