568 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



value of aU'alfa hay with and without grain was studied with 2 h)ts of 5 steers. 



On alfalfa hay ad libitum with about one-third of a full ration of wheat and 

 bran 3:1 the average daily gain in 118 days was l.SU lbs. per head and each 

 pound of gain recjuired 9.12 lbs. grain and 1.12 lbs. alfalfa hay. Oh alfalfa hay 

 ad libitum without grain the average increase was 1.73 lbs. per head per day, 11 

 lbs. of hay being required per pound of gain. Reckoning alfalfa at $3.50 per ton 

 a poimd of gain cost 2.7G cts. on a ration containing grain and 1.92 cts. on 

 hay only. The calculated returns per ton of alfalfa hay in the 2 cases were 

 $7.38 and $8.3G, respectively. " If we tiike an average of the 3 years' feeding 

 tests we find that the lots receiving a grain ration made a slightly larger daily 

 gain per 1,000 lbs. live weight than did the lots receiving alfalfa hay only. It 

 required nearly 1 lb. more food for a pound of gain for those receiving alfalfa 

 hay only than for the grain-fed lot. The cost of 1 pound of gain was higher 

 when a grain ration was fed than when alfalfa was fed alone." 



Feeding prickly pear to stock in Texas, D. Gkiffiths (U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bur. Aiiiiii. Jiuliis. Bill. 91. pp. .i.i ) . — This bulletin, which supplements Bulletin 

 74 of the Bureau of I'lant Industry (E. S. R., 17, p. 05), contains notes on the 

 forms of prickly pear and gives the results of feeding tests with cows and steers. 

 The method of feeding this plant was that commonly employed upon ranches 

 in southern Texas wdiere the experiments were conducted. 



In tests with two cows prickly pear was compared with sorghum hay. The 

 complete data including weather observations are reported. " A full roughage 

 ration of pear with a constant grain ration appears to yield fully as good results 

 as a full roughage rati<m of sorghum hay. The records are really a little more 

 favorable to the pear ration." The prickly pear ration including 12 lbs. of rice 

 bran and 3 lbs. of cotton-seed meal cost 13.05 cts. per cow daily. This allowed 

 for the labor and gasoline required in singeing the cactus. It is stated that 

 prickly pear has been fed to a dairy herd for 2 to 4 months each year for 6 or 8 

 years with no complaint from customers which could in any way be attributed 

 to pear feeding. 



A lot of 27 steers was kept in a 4-acre feeding lot and fed chopped prickly 

 pear with cotton-seed meal. The largest and most woody plants available 

 were selected, chopped without singeing, and fed in troughs early in the morning 

 and about the middle of the afternoon. The cotton-seed meal was sprinkled 

 on the chopped prickly pear. The average daily gain in the 105 days of the test 

 was 1.75 lbs. per head, 55.03 lbs. of prickly pear and 2.5 lbs. of cotton-seed meal, 

 at a total cost of 3.48 cts., being required per pound of gain. When shipped to 

 market the average shrinkage per steer was 88.5 lbs. 



Notes on the prickly pear, E. A. Nobbs {Agr. Jour. Cape Good Hope, 29 

 {1906), No. 5, pp. 6,17-642)- — In connection with a discussion of the spread of 

 prickly pear in Cape Colony, the desirability of eradicating it, and related ques- 

 tions, the statement is made that in times of droughts singed prickly pear is 

 used as a feeding stuff for farm animals. 



On the whole, the author concludes, prickly pear is not a wholesome feeding 

 stuff and is at best only a makeshift during a time of drought. The fruit, 

 as pointed out, is used as human food and is also used in the manufacture of a 

 distilled spirit. 



A study of the metabolism and physiolog-ical effects of certain phos- 

 phorus compounds with milch cows, ^V. II. Jokuaa, E. B. Hart, and A. J. 

 Batten {New York State 8ta. Tech. BiiJ. 1. pp. 59; Amer. Jour. Physiol., 16 

 {1906), No. 2. pp. 268-813), — The experiments reported were undertaken with 

 a view to ascertaining the comparative value of different phosphorus compounds 

 occurring in feeding stuffs, particularly phytin, a phosi)horus -compound occur- 

 ring in bran in which an organic radical is coupled with calcium, magnesium, 



