676 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. [Vol. 38 



a variety of concentrates. The average cost of feed during the first period 

 was 3.8 cts. per day and during the second period 12.4 cts. per dtiy. 



At Kentville, N. S., the average cost of feeding six work horses from April 1 

 to December 1 was 44.98 cts. per horse per day, and from December 1 to April 1, 

 32.52 cts. 



At Cap Rouge, Que., from a summary of experiments for five years, from 

 1911, it is stated that idle horses can be wintered on a daily ration of 1 lb. of 

 rough hay, 1 lb. of oat straw, and 1 lb. of roots (swedes or carrots) for each 

 100 lbs. of live weight. With hay at $7, straw at $4, and roots at $2 per ton, a 

 horse of average weight (1,280 lbs.) and idle can be kept for 9.5 cts. per day. 

 At this station it was found that, while it took more feed to winter horses out- 

 side, the larger cost was more than compensated for by the continued good 

 health of the animals in the open air. 



At Lennoxville, Que., two mares were wintered on a ration of 20 lbs. of 

 roots and 27 lbs. of hay each at a cost of 17.5 cts. per head per day, while two 

 others were wintered on a ration of 4 lbs. of oats, 2 lbs. of bran, and 27 lbs. 

 of hay at a cost of 21.5 cts. per day. Although the light grain ration made a 

 little larger gain in weight than the root ration, the latter is recommended for 

 the more economical wintering of horses. 



At the Brandon, Man., experimental farm seven working horses were suc- 

 cessfully wintered in a corral with an open shed for shelter. They were fed 

 4 lbs. of grain daily with straw for roughage. 



At Indian Head, Sask., one lot of idle hor.ses fed on bran and oat chop with 

 the run of a straw stack during the day and stabled at night were wintered 

 at a cost of 5.2 cts. per horse per day. Others fed the same ration and hay 

 in addition, and stabled, cost 10.75 cts. per day. With light winter work the 

 cost of keeping horses on the same ration was 26.75 cts. per head per day. 



At Scott, Sask., the cost of wintering mature horses from 9 to 12 years old 

 was 5.6 cts. per day, rising 4-year-olds, 6.8 cts., and rising 3-year-olds, 7.9 cts. 

 The cost of feeding a pair of geldings at work during the winter was 13.9 cts. 

 per horse per day. 



At Lacombe, Alta., the horses are largely wintered in the open and fed on 

 hay and grain at a cost of 11.47 cts. per day. The straw stack in the corral 

 has not given as good returns as the straw stack in the open field where the 

 horses have access to grass also. 



The physiological effect upon work horses of alfalfa hay cut at different 

 stag'es of growth (Kansas Sta. Rpt. 1916, pp. 16, 17). — A continuation of work 

 previously noted (E. S. R., 36, p. 171). 



The leaves of alfalfa contain from two to tv/o and one-half times as much 

 protein as the stems, v.-hile the latter contain two and one-half times as much 

 crude fiber as the leaves. The loss of leaves in harvesting increases with 

 maturity. The largest yield per acre was obtained when the alfalfa was cut 

 while in full bloom. The percentage of ash and protein decreases as the plant 

 matures, while the crude fiber and nitrogen-free extract increase. There was a 

 sufficiently greater amount of protein in the alfalfa cured in the sun to more 

 than offset the larger loss of leaves over that cured in the shade. 



Corn silage as a part ration for horses of various ages, E. A. Tkowbkidge 

 and E. H. Hughes (Missouri Sta. Bui. 151 (1911), pp. 26, 27, fig. i).— Mature 

 light mares and growing light horses were maintained 84 days on a daily ration 

 of 5 lbs. alfalfa hay and all the silage they would eat. The four mares consumed 

 an average of 15.11 lbs. of silage daily and lost 35 lbs. each for the feeding 

 period. The growing horses, including yearlings and two and three year olds. 

 consumed 15.9 lbs. silage daily and lost slightly in weight. From the results it 



