FOODS ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 269 



corn, while the normal insoluble starch amounted to nearly one-third of 

 the whole amount of constituents. Girard believes that under similar 

 conditions of temperature, pressure, and moisture the same results 

 would have been obtained by ensiling potatoes with clover and with 

 corn. 



The crushed potatoes when removed from the silo lost weight very 

 rapidly on exposure to the air, and formed a hard mass containing only 

 15 to 20 per cent of water. In this condition they could be kept for a 

 long time. When required for feeding purposes they were soaked in 

 water, which they readily absorbed, and thus regained their softness 

 and digestibility. 



Courmouls Houles ensiled chopped raw potatoes with about 2 lbs. of 

 salt per 1,000 lbs. of potatoes, under pressure of 2,500 lbs. per square 

 yard. The total cost of washing, chopping, putting in the silo, and 

 weighting 50 tons of potatoes was about $15. The potatoes were put 

 in the silo in the latter part of November. When the silo was filled 

 the material was 5i ft. deep. Sixty-two days later the silo was opened 

 and the mass had sunk to a little over 3 ft. The temperature of the 

 silo when rilled was 39° F. and when opened it was 50°. The ensiled 

 potato pulp was white, but became blackened on exposure to the air. 

 Cattle ate this pulp greedily alone or mixed with cotton-seed cake. 



De Mouicault ensiled beet roots and potatoes by surrounding them 

 with corn fodder. On opening the silo it was found that the appear- 

 ance of the beets and potatoes was unchanged. The potatoes were 

 somewhat soft, as if they had been boiled in water. On analysis the 

 beets were found to contain 1.5 per cent sugar. Distillation gave no 

 alcohol. In the experimenter's opinion, about two-thirds of the sugar 

 of the beets had been lost by the process of ensiling. Neither soluble 

 starch, dextrin, glucose, nor alcohol were found in the potatoes. Ensil- 

 ing appeared to have caused a loss of water without really cooking the 

 potatoes. 



Steer feeding, J. H. Connell and J. W. Carson {Texas Sta. Bui. 

 41, pp. 877-910, dgms. 4). — These experiments were in continuation of 

 work previously reported in Bulletin 27 of the station (E. S. R., 5, p. 

 602). The bulletin contains a summary of this work since 1888. 



Two tests are reported which were made to learn in what proportions 

 cotton-seed meal and hulls should be fed to steers to make the greatest 

 and cheapest gains in weight for long and short periods, and to ascer- 

 tain whether cotton-seed meal and hulls can be fed in such quantity 

 as to cause blindness or "fat sickness" in cattle under healthy sur- 

 roundings. 



The first test began December 1, 1894, and covered 120 days. Eight 

 selected steers were divided into 4 lots of 2 each. The steers were 3 

 or 4 years old and showed Shorthorn blood. They were dehorned at the 

 beginning of the trial. All the steers were taken from the range several 

 weeks before this time to accustom them to their surroundings. Lot 1 

 was fed a minimum amount of meal and a maximum amount of hulls 



