1917] ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 167 



On the " best " values of the constants in frequency distributions, Kir- 

 STiNE Smith {Biometrika, 11 (1916), No. 3, pp. 262-276, figs. 2). — This is a 

 comparison of the methods of moments and least squares in determining the 

 values of constants in frequency distributions. It is concluded that if the 

 definition of the " best " is made somewhat arbitrary the use of the method of 

 moments is justified. 



Berseem as a forage plant, J. B. Piot (Bui. Union Agr. Egypte, 14 {1916), 

 No. m, pp. H-22, fig. 1). — Successful experiments are reported in feeding ber- 

 seem, or Egj'ptian clover, to cattle in Egj-pt, resulting in material gains. 



Silos and silage, E. W. Sheets (West Virginia Sta. Bui. 157 (1916), pp. 

 313, figs. 4). — Notes are given on the advantages of silage, the essential fea- 

 tures of a good silo, dimensions of silo to build, and tj'pes of silos in the State. 



Unpublished experiments at the station have shown that in wintering steers 

 wheat straw and cottonseed meal are superior to timothy hay as supplements 

 to silage. The cost of producing silage in different parts of the State was 

 found to vary from $23.43 to $35.60 per acre while the yields varied from 10 to 

 10.3 tons per acre. The cost of producing timothy or mixed hay varied from 

 $7.04 to $8.35 per acre, and the yields from 1.2 to 1.3 tons per acre. It is stated 

 that the greatest value of silage is that it reduces to one-third the crop land 

 necessary to feed or winter a given number of animals. 



Pea-cannery refuse, M. Rosby (Country Gent., SI (1916), No. 30, p. 1403, 

 fig. 1). — A general discussion of the feeding value of pea-cannery refuse. The 

 vines may be preserved either by stacking or by ensiling. It is stated that 

 pea-vine silage is superior in some ways to corn silage, being higher in protein 

 content and but slightly lower in carbohydrate content. Excellent results have 

 been secured in feeding this silage to sheep, a rapid growth and fine quality of 

 mutton being claimed. 



Commercial feeding stuffs and registrations for 1916, C. S. Cathcakt 

 ET AL. (Xcw Jersey Stas. Bid. 295 (1916), pp. 95). — Tabulated results are given 

 of analyses of 1,102 samples of feeding stuffs inspected during 1915, including 

 alfalfa meal, blood meal, brewers' dried grains, buckwheat feed, buckwheat mid- 

 dlings, buckwheat offal, coconut meal, copra cake meal, cottonseed meal, corn 

 bran, corn meal, gluten feed, gluten meal, corn and cob meal, distillers' grains, 

 dried beet pulp, feeding flour, fish scrap, hominy meal and feed, linseed meal, 

 malt sprouts, meat scrap, oat hulls, peanut meal, rye bran, rye feed, rye mid- 

 dlings, screenings, wheat bran, wheat feed, wheat middlings, and mixed and 

 proprietary feeds. A list of manufacturers who have registered feeding stuffs 

 for sale during 1916 is included. 



[Animal husbandry work] (Kansas Sta. Rpt. 1915, pp. 34-38). — At the Fort 

 Hays substation during the winter of 1914-15 100 high-grade yearling heifers 

 were wintered in four different lots to determine the comparative value of 

 Sudan hay, Kafir corn stover, damaged alfalfa, and sorghum butts. The ani- 

 mals had access to wheat straw at all times. All of the feeds proved to be 

 satisfactory roughages when fed in connection with a small amount of linseed 

 meal. The cost of wintering for 120 days varied from an average of $6.84 to 

 $7.53 per head for the different lots. 



During the same winter 64 mature beef cows were fed Kafir corn silage, Kafir 

 corn butts, wheat straw, and alfalfa hay supplemented with linseed meal or 

 cottonseed cake. The average cost per head for wintering these cows was 

 $8.36 and they furnished a market for a large amount of feed which would 

 otherwise have gone to waste. 



Two lots of 30 high-gi-ade Hereford heifer calves each were placed on an ex- 

 periment in the fall of 1913. One of these lots was so fed as to produce a maxi- 

 mum growth and the other lot was maintained in ordinary range condition. At 



