1918] ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 371 



tested. The gains were satisfactory, alttiougli the amounts of meals fed were 

 smaller than the usual practice in the locality. A larger proportion of the 

 gram was needed in the earlier periods of feeding. 



Emerg'sncy cow feeds, H. K. Gayle {Mississippi Sta. Bui. 181 (1917), pp. 6). — 

 Experiments in utilizing various waste forages for wintering cattle are 

 reported. The forages were fed to breeding beef cows, divided into six lots of 

 four cows each, with 1 lb. of cottonseed meal additional per head per day. 

 The feeding lasted 28 days. 



Pasture grass hay made up of native grasses, mostly overripe^ was fed at 

 a cost of $2.60 per ton. The cows consumed, besides the cottonseed meal, an 

 average of 28.53 lbs. of the bay per head daily and gained 17.65 lbs. each in 

 weight during the feeding period. The cost of the ration was 5.7 cts. daily. 

 On a ration including oat straw, valued at $5 per ton, the cows gained an 

 average of 52.1 lbs. each for the period. They consumed 24.8 lbs of straw daily 

 and the entire ration cost 8.2 cts. daily. On forage cut from the corn fields, 

 made up of cornstalks, grasses, and weeds put in the stack at a cost of $1.32 per 

 ton, the animals used an average of 38.06 lbs. daily at a ration cost of 4.5 cts. 

 daily. They lost 32 lbs. each during the period. 



Cotton stalks from a field practically destroyed by the boll weevil were cut 

 before the leaves had fallen and stacked at a cost of $2.30 per ton. The ani- 

 mals cleaned up an average of 27.48 lbs. per day and lost during the period 

 10J5 lbs. each. The cost of the ration was 5.2 cts. per day. 



Silage was made from cotton heavy with leaf that was cut from a field 

 severely damaged by boll weevil. It yielded at the rate of 4.5 tons of silage 

 per acre and at an expense of $2.70 per ton. The animals consumed a daily 

 ration of 38.68 lb«. and gained 38.7 lbs. for the period. The cost of the ration 

 was 8.9 cts. daily. 



Another field of cotton ruined by the boll weevil was cut and put in the silo 

 in alternate loads with sorghum. The mixture was by weight h cotton and § 

 sorghum, and was worth $2.90 per ton. The animals consumed an average of 

 49.9 lbs. of the silage per head daily and gained 13 lbs. each for the period, at 

 a ration cost of 9.2 cts. daily. 



A statistical study of body weights, grains, and measurements of steers 

 during the fattening period, B. O. Severson and P. Geklaugh {U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Jour. Agr. Research, 11 (1917), No. 8, pp. 38S-S94, pls. 2).— It is the 

 purpose of this paper to establish some relation between body measurements of 

 beef cattle and the gains in weight during fattening which might possibly prove 

 a more scientific method of judging cattle than certain formula and rules now 

 followed. The animals under observation were those fed in various experi- 

 ments during three winters at the Pennsylvania Experiment Station. 



As the process of fattening is the deposition of fat and muscular growth, the 

 regions of the body most heavily covered naturally show the greatest develop- 

 ment; also, the most valuable parts of the animal from a beef standpoint are 

 most affected in the fattening process. 



The usual measure of gain in steers is the increase in live weight. From the 

 correlation of 338 steers fed at the Pennsylvania Station there was no relation 

 in the daily gain which might be expected in weights of animals of close rela- 

 tion as to age and condition. 



From the trials made it appears that the circumference of chest and rear 

 flank, the width of hip joints, and the distance from hip to buttock indicate the 

 closest relationship between measurements and gains in weight. The circum- 

 ference of chest and rear flank are of more importance in indicating gains than 

 feeding capacity as indicated by the circumference of the paunch. 

 45967°— 18 6 



