670 EXPERIMENT STATIOK RECORD. [Vol.38 



to 3.5 ft. The filling was made in September and the silo opened in January. 

 The first 5 ft. was spoiled and the remaining silage was of a dark brown color 

 and strong acid odor. On being exposed to the air for a few hours it turned 

 darker and developed a very unpleasant odor. When substituted for corn 

 silage young stock and dry cows ate it fairly well. On a ration of 10 lbs. of 

 alfalfa hay and 10 lbs. of the silage daily young heifers lost 10 lbs. each in 10 

 days and appeared to be hungry most of the time. This silage ean not be said 

 to be a good feed. 



Sheep feeding. — VII, Fattening western lambs, 1916-17, J. H. Skinner 

 and F. G. King (Indiana Sta. Bui. 202 {1917), pp. 3-20; popular ed., pp. 7).— A 

 continuation of work previously reported (B. S. R., 36, p. 568), and made to 

 obtain further data on fattening lambs. The experiments include a compari- 

 son of various roughages alone and in combination, as alfalfa hay, clover hay, 

 and corn silage; the value of cottonseed meal and gi-ound soy beans as sup- 

 plements; and the influence of shearing and of sheltering on fattening lambs. 

 Western lambs from Colorado were used, divided into nine lots of 25 each, and 

 the tests continued from November 2 to March 2. 



I. Corn silage alone v. com silage and dry roughage for fattening lamhs. — 

 In this comparison the lambs in one lot on corn silage were given a feed of 

 clover hay every fifth day to maintain their appetites. This was found neces- 

 sary in former experiments where the lambs developed fickle appetites when 

 fed on corn silage alone. The different lots were fed a basal ration of shelled 

 corn and cottonseed meal (7:1). The lot with corn silage in addition as 

 roughage (lot 1) gained an average of 17.5 lbs. per head at a cost of 15.43 cents 

 per pound. The lot on corn silage as roughage with a feed of clover hay every 

 fifth day (lot 6) gained 28.6 lbs. per head at a cost of 10.97 cts. per pound. 

 The lot with clover hay and silage roughage, each as wanted (lot 7), gained 



36.5 lbs. per head at a cost of 9.92 cts. per pound. 



The silage-fed lot ate less grain than the other two lots. When finished they 

 were valued at 13.5 cts. per pound and returned a profit ©f 83 cts. per head. 

 The lot on silage with clover every fifth day was valued at 13.9 cts. per pound 

 and returned a profit of $2.23 per head. The lot with silage and clover hay at 

 will was valued at 14.25 cts. per pound and returned a profit of $3.18 per head. 



II. Clover hay v. alfalfa hay as roughage for fattening lambs.— -This experi- 

 ment, comparing clover hay with alfalfa hay, is the fourth carried out for this 

 purpose. In two of these trials clover has produced the best results and in 

 two others the alfalfa. Where there was a difference in the quality of the hays, 

 the better one, regardless of kind, produced the best results. While the ani- 

 mals consumed larger quantities of the poorer hay, the rate of gain was in 

 every case in favor of the higher quality. 



The lambs in this experiment on shelled corn and clover hay of medium 

 quality (lot 3) gained an average of 34.4 lbs. per head at a cost of 9.71 cts. 

 per pound. Those on shelled corn and alfalfa hay of excellent quality (lot 4) 

 gained 36.6 lbs. per head at a cost of 9.12 cts. per pound. The clover-fed lambs 

 were valued at 13.75 cts. per pound and returned a profit of $2.69 per head, 

 while the alfalfa-fed were valued at 14 cts. per pound and returned a profit 

 of $3.22 per head. 



III. Alfalfa hay v. alfalfa hay and corn silage for fattening lambs. — Lambs 

 fed shelled corn, alfalfa hay, and corn silage (lot 5), gained an average of 



34.6 lbs. at a cost of 9.85 cts. per pound. The lambs wei-e valued at 14.1 cts. 

 per pound and returned a profit of $2.99 per head. This lot is compared with 

 that in the previous experiment (lot 4) receiving shelled corn and alfalfa hay, 



IV. Ground soy beans v. cottonseed meal as supplement to ration for fatten- 

 ing lambs, — In this experiment the ground soy beans and cottonseed meal were 



