668 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.36 



summers of 1914 and 1915 the average gain in weight per ewe was 37.2 lbs. 

 for lot 1. 33.52 for lot 2, 23.91 for lot 3, and 26.45 for lot 4. 



It is concluded that " alfalfn hay at $15 per ton is too expensive as a sole 

 roughage for breeding ewes of these types. Alfalfa hay with a grain mixture 

 of 0.25 lb. per ewe daily produces vigorous lambs, results in a greater growth 

 of wool, and stimulates a greater milk flow than a ration of corn silage. a)falfa 

 hay, and grain. When alfalfa hay is fed without grain to breeding ewes prior 

 to lambing the lambs are weak at birth and the ewes give less milk than with 

 grain. ... A ration of alfalfa hay, corn silage, anfi a limited grain mixture is 

 more economical by 15.6 per cent than alfalfa as a sole roughage, and is satis- 

 factory for pregnant ewes. 



" Ewes fed no grain prior to lambing produced stronger lambs and gave 

 more milk [when silage supplemented alfalfa hay]. Except for the 1915 crop of 

 lambs, when no grain was fed prior to lambing, the lambs of lots 1 and 3, fed nl- 

 falfa hay as a sole roughage, carried a higher condition of flesh and made more 

 rapid gains than those in lots 2 and 4, respectively. ... A greater amount 

 of manure was produced by ewes fed alfalfa hay as a sole roughage. . . . 



" The lambs produced by the Delaine- Merinos were heavier at birth than 

 the Shropshire lambs, due to a small proportion of twins. The Delaine- 

 Merino lambs were hardier at birth and the ewes required less care than did 

 the Shropshires. The cost of maintenance per ewe decreases with the in- 

 crease in number of ewes in a flock to a unit of at least 40 ewes. . . . .Shrop- 

 shire lambs are worth from 50 to 75 cts. more per 100 lbs. live weight than 

 Delaine-Merino lambs. . . . 



"A high percentage of good market lambs is the most important factor in 

 profitable sheep raising. Exercise and care of breeding ewes are as important 

 as feeds in increasing the percentage of lambs. . . . Feed racks which pre- 

 vent seed and chaff from getting into the fleece increase the value of wool 

 from 1 to 2 cts. per pound." 



Of the average income that was realized from the four lots during the last 

 three years of the experiments when 100 per cent lambs were raised, 65.6 per 

 cent was for mutton and 34.4 per cent for wool. 



Poultry breeding and management, J. Dryden (Neio York: Orange Judd 

 Co., 1911, pp. XIV-\-lt02, figs. 188). — This book, which contains a large number 

 of illustrations and is of special interest to students of poultry culture and to 

 poultry farmers, treats of the subject under the following chapter headings : His- 

 torical aspect, evolution of modern fowl, modern development of the industry, 

 classification of breeds, origin and description of breeds, principles of poultry 

 breeding, problem of higher fecundity, systems of poultry farming, housing of 

 poultry, kind of house to build, fundamentals of feeding, common poultry 

 foods, methods of feeding, methods of hatching chickens, artificial brooding, 

 marketing eggs and poultry, and diseases and parasites of fowls. 



The behavior of chickens fed rations restricted to the cereal grains, B. B. 

 Habt, J. G. Halpin, and E. V. McCJollum (Jour. Biol. Chem., 29 (1917), No. 1, 

 pp. 57-67, pi. 1).- — The experiments reported in this paper include observations 

 extending through two years. 



It was found that chickens started at half the normal weight could make 

 slow growth, maintain themselves, and produce fertile eggs on rations limited 

 to corn meal, gluten feed, and calcium carbonate, or wheat meal, wheat gluten, 

 and calcium carbonate. These results are in marked contrast to those with 

 swine or rats where these rations resulted in loss of weight and cessation of 

 oestrum, and with wheat to a condition resembling polyneuritis. 



" It is apparent that the mineral requirements at least, and possibly the re- 

 quirements for the other normal nutritive factors, are not the same for chickens 



