874 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.38 



those on alfalfa hay gained 2.16 lbs. daily at a cost of 21.77 cts. per pound. The 

 animals on clover were valued at $11.75 per 100 lbs. and returned a profit, not 

 including that of pigs follov?ing, of $10.85 per head. Those on alfalfa were 

 valued at the .same price and returned a profit of $7.74 per head. 



With clover hay and silage in the ration the animals consumed slightly more 

 grain and hay but less silage than with the ration of alfalfa hay and silage. 

 With the clover-silage ration the steers gained an average of 2.5 lbs. daily per 

 head at a cost of 17.51 cts. per pound, while those on alfalfa-silage gained 

 2.01 lbs. daily at a cost of 21.36 cts. per pound. Valuing the two lots at $12 per 

 100 lbs. when finished, the clover-silage lot yielded a profit, not including that 

 of pigs following, of $20.93 per head compared with $13.84 for the alfalfa- 

 silage lot. 



Digestion of starch by the young' calf, R. H. Shaw, T. E. Woodward, and 

 R. P. Norton (U. S. Dept. Agr., Jour. Agr. Research, 12 (1918), No. 9, pp. 575- 

 578, fig. 1). — This investigation was undertaken by the Dairy Division of this 

 Department to ascertain how early in life the calf can utilize starch or starch- 

 containing feeds. 



Digestion experiments were conducted with two male calves. Beginning at 

 4 days of age each calf received 40 gm. of ordinary cornstarch per feeding, mixed 

 with the milk, for a period of 3 days. Following this starch-feeding period the 

 calves were fed whole milk solely for about 5 days, after which the starch was 

 again fed for 3 days. The experiment continued until one calf was 39 days 

 old and the other 31 days old. 



From 4 to 7 days of age one of the calves digested 22.02 per cent and the 

 other 20.3 per cent of the starch consumed. When calf 1 was 12 to 15 days old 

 the percentage of starch digested had more than doubled, and when 3 weeks old 

 it had nearly tripled, while at 4 weeks, in the case of calf 1, and 3 weeks, in calf 

 2, the percentage of starch digested was well over 90. 



" While it is quite probable that a calf but a few hours old can not digest an 

 appreciable amount of starch, it can readily be seen that the quantity of starch- 

 splitting enzyms must increase very rapidly in the first few days of life, for 

 the calves under experiment, when only 3 to 4 weeks old, were able to digest a 

 ration nearly 10 per cent of the dry matter of which was starch. These results 

 indicate that the milk ration of a calf but a few days old may be supplemented 

 with a starchy food, and that the starchy material may be rapidly increased as 

 the calf grows older." 



The agricultural situation for 1918. — X, Wool. — War makes more sheep 

 and wool necessary (U. 8. Dept. Agr., Off. Sec. Circ. 93 (1918), pp. ^7/).— This 

 circular points out the effect of the war upon the requirements and supplies of 

 wool, and gives reasons and plans for the immediate increase of sheep raising 

 in the United States, especially on the ordinary farm. It is stated that before 

 many decades have passed the United States should possess three or four times 

 the present number of sheep, that a doubling of the present number within four 

 years is possible, and that it would be of most valuable assistance to our war 

 interests if such a result could be produced in a shorter time. 



[Feeding experiments with pigs], G. S. Templeton (Alabama Col. Sta. Circ. 

 S8 (1918), pp. 29, SO). — In a cooperative experiment in Bullock County 60 head 

 of pigs were grazed on peanuts for eight weeks during the fall of 1917. Follow- 

 ing the peanut-pasture period 45 head were divided into three lots of 15 each 

 and fed the following rations for five weeks on dry lot : Lot 1, two weeks on 

 corn and tankage and three weeks on corn and cottonseed meal (2:1) in self- 

 feeders; lot 2, corn and velvet beans (4:1) ; and lot 3, corn and tankage in a 

 self-feeder. The three lots were classified by the packing company to which 

 they were sold as medium soft, indicating that tlie finishing period increased the 



