ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 993 



Average coegicients of digesiiljiUty of alfalfa— Experiments with steers. 



Alfalfa hay, 10 lbs., nearly... 

 Alfalfa hav, Ki lbs.; corn meal, 



hlbs..." 



Alfalfa hav, Kilbs.; eorn meal, 



r)lbs., aiid -2 tablesiioonfiils 



Inlenialion.-il Stdck Vtnnl .. 

 Grei'U alfalfa, third euttiiig, 



421bs 



Alfalfa hay, Ki lbs.; barley 

 meal, ."") Ib.s., and mangels, 

 15 lbs 



Dry 

 matter. 



Per cent. 



GO. 70 

 CO. iV> 



Per cent. 



75. .38 



(-.7. .V.) 

 71.0.") 



Ether 

 extract. 



Per cent, 

 h^. 88 



27. (1 1 

 as. 12 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Per cent. 

 71. 8{) 



7S. '14 



72. 12 

 71.7:{ 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Per cent. 

 57. 57 



■19. .')7 

 12.11 



A.sh. 



Per cent. 

 .■il.'lO 



■I'.). 815 

 ■10. 00 



Energy of 

 digestible 

 material. 



Per cent. 

 r.4.41 



(;i.20 



(i2. 81 

 GO. 51 



"Alfalfa hay is e(|iial in digestibility to vv(\ clover. It, is iiiorc dige.'^tililc when fed 

 Avith corn or barley meal than when fed alone. . . . When fed green, alfalfa shows 

 a slightly lower digestibility than when fed as dry hay. This is probably due to 

 the more laxative effect of the green food, which gives the digestive fluids less 

 time to act on the food. A comparison of the two trials of the digestibility of alfalfa 

 hay when fed with corn meal with the addition of a condimental food in one case, 

 shows a remarkable difference in favor of the ration without the condimental food." 



In the experiment with green alfalfa, according to the authors, the liquid and 

 solid excreta contain 94 i^er cent of the nitrogen of the food, nearly 75 per cent of 

 this quantity l)eing contained in the urine. The fertilizing value of alfalfa is briefly 

 discussed. 



The digestibility of hog millet, H. Snyder and J. A. HuMMEr. [Minnesota Sta. 

 Bnl. 80, pp. 178-180). — The digestibility of hog-millet seed, ground and fed with 

 water, was tested with a pig weighing about 180 lbs., the details of the experiment 

 being attended to l^y C. P. Taylor. The test covered 17 meals, both the liquid 

 and solid excreta l^eing collected, the feces being marked with charcoal accord- 

 ing to the method commonly followed in experiments with man. The following 

 coefficients of digestibility were obtained: Dry matter 72.75, protein 68.36, ether 

 extract 58.86, nitrogen-free extract 91.56, crude fiber 33.H6, and ash 19.17 per cent. 

 The available energy was calculated to be 70.60 per cent. The feed contained 0.905 

 lb. nitrogen, the urine 0.48 lb., and the feces 0.29 lb. Therefore, there was a gain of 

 0.14 lb., equivalent to 0.88 11). of i)rotein. During the test the })ig gained 10 lbs. in 

 weight. 



According to the authors, the experiment indicates that hog-millet seed is equal in 

 digestibility to barley, wheat, and shorts, but is not as digestible as corn meal or oil 

 meal. 



The available energy of timothy hay, II. P. Akmsbv and J. A. Fkies [Proc. 

 Sac. Pro)n. Agr. ,Sci. 1002, ]ip. 0H-109, dgiii. 1). — Cooperating with the Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry of this Department respiration calorimeter exi)eriments were made at 

 the Pennsylvania Station with steers. The author briefly discusses some of the 

 results obtained when timothy hay was fed with especial reference to what he terms 

 the metabolizable energy— that is, the energy of the food minus the energy of excreta. 

 The tentative conclusions follow: 



"The nutritive value of timothy hay, either for maintenance or production, was 

 not measured by its metabolizable energy, but was in every case materially less. In 

 other words, the digestible nutrients of the hay did not replace body tissue in iso- 

 dynamic proportions. The work of digestion and assimilation in the case of timothy 

 hay appears to be so great that at, or even below, the maintenance recpiirement the 

 heat production of the animal is in excess of the amount needed for the maintenance 

 of body temperature. 



