76 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



tions as the black mau. In the Tropics the black animal is more liable to 

 " blow up," as the teamsters say. 



Examples are cited to show that white-skinned animals can not survive in 

 places where the light is excessive. The horse is not a tropical animal at all 

 and does not thrive where it is hot unless the air is dry. Black-haired horses 

 are never found in nature but are the product of artificial selection, and that 

 a poor one, as they require protection in all seasons. A black skin is neces- 

 sary in the Tropics, but a white, yellow, or red hair is also necessary in 

 order to prevent rapid absorption of heat. The Filipinos prefer buckskin 

 horses with a stripe down the back. 



Other things being equal, bulk is an enormous advantage in keeping warm in 

 cold climates, while slenderness and small size are advantages in keeping cool 

 in hot climates. The Percheron is wholly out of place in the Tropics, and the 

 effort to breed up big beef cattle is liable to fail. There seems to be some 

 unknown relation between color and nervousness, for on " review " as a rule 

 the gray troop is phlegmatic, the sorrel quiet, the bay is excitable and restless, 

 and the blacks are the most excitable of all. Nervousness is so harmful in the 

 heat that as a matter of selection the Arab breed has developed into a quiet, 

 gentle, and sensible animal. The white is more trainable and is always selected 

 for trick horses. " Some genius will some day find a cross as fit for our cavalry 

 as the European stock is fit for foreign troopers, but it will not be a permanent 

 type, and moreover it will be suited to only one of our innumerable climates. 

 "We cannot get a horse fit for every place." 



It is pointed out that what is needed are more carefully compiled statistics 

 of horses which died or were disabled in the various climates of the world, 

 and including data as to the influence of age, color, where bred, and how long 

 in the new climate before they are disabled. " Cities should furnish valuable 

 information as to the best colors for the Tropics, as a very hot wave in the 

 summer in Chicago, for instance, kills the least fit at the rate of 300 to 500 a 

 day, and it is safe to predict that on investigation the dark colors will 

 predominate." 



Monograpli of the Belgian draft horse, H. de Theulogoet (Monographie du 

 Cheval de Trait Beige. Brussels, 1911; abs. in Deut. Landw. Tierzucht, 15 

 {1911). No. 37, p. 451). — ^A treatise on the origin of the domesticated horse and 

 the varieties and characteristics of Belgian horses. 



Fattening poultry, A. R. Lee (U. 8. Dcpt. Agr., Bur. Anini. Indus. Bui. 1^0, 

 pp. 60 pis. 4, figs- 2). — This bulletin describes methods of feeding poultry on a 

 large commercial scale, and presents figures on the cost of such feeding. It 

 contains complete data on the feeding of over 100,000 chickens during 1910, and 

 partial data on the feeding of 200,000 others. 



From the results of feeding 1.120 birds in batteries or crates from 6 to 14 

 days, it was found that in general Leghorns made much poorer gains than 

 Plymouth Rocks, though the results were not entirely consistent. Individuals 

 of the same breed vary greatly in their ability to put on flesh, and directions 

 are given for the selection of birds suitable for fattening. 



Practically all the special feeding in this country involves the use of milk, 

 thus producing " milk-fed " chickens. The feeding period usually is 17 days or 

 less. Fattening by the cramming machine has not become a common practice 

 in this country, though some feeders have used the method successfully. In 

 cramming the birds are fed from 7 to 14 days from the troughs, and are then 

 crammed twice daily for from 7 to 10 days, until they begin to go off feed, 

 when they are marketed. 



In crate fattening, which is the method usually adopted in this county, from 

 6 to 10 chickens are placed in the crate or battery. Many large poultry feeders 



