266 



EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 

 Digestion coefficients of timothy hay. 



" Corrected data supplied by author. 



To test the palatability, hay from each cutting was put into separate com- 

 partments of a long rack. Steers receiving no other feed preferred the hays 

 in the order in which they were cut. When the steers and also Jersey cows 

 were given supplementary rations they did not show so decided a preference 

 for any one of the early cuttings, but did discriminate against the last 2 cut- 

 tings. Fat wethers that were given all the corn they would eat, when turned to 

 a rack containing the 5 cuttings ate one with apparently as much relish as the 

 other. These tests indicate that the earlier cuttings were more palatable and 

 more completely digested. 



In the matter of convenience of harvesting, however, the greener the grass 

 when cut the longer the time required to cure it and the more easily it is 

 damaged by showers and dews. In the Mississippi Valley it is more convenient 

 to postpone harvesting timothy because the farmer is busy cultivating corn 

 when the hay harvest is at its best, whereas the farmer of the Atlantic Sea- 

 board, who grows relatively more timothy and less corn, can more readily har- 

 vest his timothy earlier without neglecting the corn. Apparently this accounts 

 for the difference in practice between the East and the West in respect to 

 making hay, both practices being considered rational. 



Late cutting has a favorable influence upon the permanency of stand, as the 

 bulbs are better supplied with food for the next season's growth than if cut 

 earlier. The author gives an account of how timothy is reproduced by the bulb, 

 and is of the opinion that a permanent meadow of timothy can be maintained 

 indefinitely without re-seeding by having a proper regard for this method of 

 maintaining the stand. 



Animal production, A. Koiiler and F. Mach (Jahrcihcr. Agr. Chcm., 3. ser., 

 13 {1910), pp. 340-^51). — This is the usual annual review of literature on 

 analyses of feeding stuffs, nutrition, milk production, and dairy products. 



Feeding' stuffs, F. Mach {Ber. G-rossh. Bad. Landic. Vers. Aii.st. Augustenl)., 

 1910, pp. 17-30). — ^Analyses are reported of cotton-seed and peanut-cake meals; 

 coconut, linseed, poppy, palm, sesame, and soy-bean cakes; wheat, barley, speltz, 

 oat, and peanut brans; brewers' grains; distillery slop; molasses and molasses 

 feeds; beet chips; dried beet leaves; barley; oats; maize; meat meal; tomato 

 meal ; and mixed feeds. 



A sample of tomato meal consisted principally of the seeds and skins of the 

 fruit and gave the following composition : Water 9.5, protein 21.44, fat 19, 

 nitrogen-free extract 17.44, fiber 25.7, and ash 6.92 per cent. The composition 

 of dried beet leaves was as follows : Water 18.57, protein 6.99, fat 0.94, nitrogen- 

 free extract 43.01, sugar 16.89, fiber 9.08, mineral matter 21.41, and sand 7.31 

 per cent. 



Investigations of feeding stuffs, E. Hase*hoff {Jahresber. Landw. Vers. 

 Stat. Harleshausen, 1910-11, pp. 7-11). — ^Analyses are reported of cotton-seed, 



