ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 13 69 



The question of these different hay rations was further studied with 5 lots 

 of IS steers each for a period of 120 days beginnins December 1 and con- 

 tinuing 4 months. No grain was fed in addition to the hay. On the cane hay 

 ration there was an average daily loss of 0.533 lb. per head and on the prairie 

 hay ration of 0.1.5 lb. per head. On the other rations there was a gain ranging 

 from 0.51 lb. on alfalfa and prairie hay 1 : 1 to 0.70 lb. on alfalfa and cane 

 hay 1:1. The total gain made by the cattle during the winter was 2,75-t lbs. 

 It is stated that during the next 6 mouths they gained 22,130 lbs., the cost of 

 a pound of gain in the 2 cases being IG.IT and 1.73 cts. per pound, respectively. 



I'.rief notes are given regarding a duplication of the ]\\st 2 tests referred to. 

 Quotations from the author's geueral conclusions follow: 



•'Alfalfa hay produces much larger and cheaper gains than prairie hay or 

 cane hay when each is fed alone to cattle. 



"A ration one-half alfalfa and one-half prairie hay or one-half alfalfa and 

 one-half cane hay gives approximately the same gains as a full ration of alfalfa. 



" Yearling steers will not hold their weight during the winter on prairie hay 

 or cane hay alone, but will make fair gains on a ration of one-half of either 

 of these and one-half alfalfa. 



"For wintering cattle it is more profitable to feed a mixed forage ration 

 than to feed any single kind of forage. 



" If we consider steers worth .50 cts. per hundredweight more in the spring 

 than in the fall previous, they will pay a good profit on the food consumed 

 when this ration consists of alfalfa hay, or of one-half alfalfa hay and one- 

 half either prairie hay or cane. When either prairie hay or cane is fed alone, it 

 makes a small loss at the price charged in this experiment for hay and cane." 



Fattening' steers for export, G. E. Day (Ann. Rijt. Ontario Agr. Col. ami Expt. 

 Farm, 3.J {I'JOl), pi). 1.57-161). — The relative merits of long and short periods 

 of feeding were tested with 2 lots of 8 steers each, both lots being fed hay, 

 mixed grain, roots, and silage. 



With the lot fed 09 days the average daily gain was 2.21 lbs. per head and 

 the cost of a pound of gain 7.15 cts. With the steers fed for 126 days the 

 average daily gain was 1.95 lbs. per head and the cost of a pound of gain 7.25 

 cts. 



" In the case of the steers used in this exi)eriment, the short keep steers were 

 worth 4G cts. per hundredweight more than the long keep steers, to buy as 

 feders. . . . The lighter and thinner the steer, the less he is worth per pound 

 to buy as a feeder." 



When 8 steers fed tied were compared with 4 fed loose in the stall, it was 

 found that the average gains of the 2 lots in a 69-day test were 2.21 and 2.62 

 lbs. per head and the cost of a pound of gain 7.15 and 6.59 cts., respectively. 

 " The loose steers made larger gains and cheaper gains than the tied steers. 

 The loose steers consumed more meal in proportion to their live weight than 

 file tied steers, and apparently made better use of what they consumed. The 

 loose steers always had good appetites and were not so easily put off their feed 

 as the tied steers. The results this year are in harmony with last year's re- 

 sults [E. S. R., 19, p. 68], but the experiment is being repeated." 



Inverted starch for calf feeding (Deut. Laiidiv. Presse, 34 {1901), No. 88, 

 p. 6f)8). — A very l»rief note on the experimental use of starch inverted with 

 diastasoliu. 



Indian cattle in Jamaica, B. S. Gosskt (West Indian BuL, 8 {1901), No. 3, 

 pp. ^.i9-i-'i()). — Breeds of Indian cattle, their value as draft, dairy, and meat 

 animals, and similar toi)ics are discussed ; information with reference to the 

 success obtained with these cattle in Jamaica is summarized, and the possibili- 

 ties of this race of cattle under local conditions are pointed out. 



