ANIMAL I'KODUCTIUN. 879 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



Concentrated commercial feeding stuflfs in Pennsylvania, \V. Frp:ak {Penn- 

 sijU'ania Dipt. Agr. Ihil. SI, }>i>. l.i'>). — Cotton seed, liu.^wil, wheat, rye, tiarley, oat, 

 corn, and Inickwheat products arc discussed, together with special poultry feeds and 

 condinientiil feeds. The l)ulietin also contains information of a general nature 

 regarding different feeding stuffs, reprints a table of the composition of a immVjer of 

 feeding stuffs, and sunniiarizes the laws which have been enacted in various States 

 regulating their sale. 



Analyses of commercial feeding stuffs, J. L. Hills, C. H. Joxes, and B. O. 

 White ( Vermont SUi. Bid. SS, pp. 16) . — In the execution of the State feeding-stuff 

 law 386 samples of feeding stuffs collected in 1901 were analyzed. These included 

 cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, gluten meal, gluten feed, oat feed, corn-and-oat feed, 

 corn-and-oat provender, calf and poultry feeds, corn and oats, ground oats, wheat 

 bran, wheat middlings, and mixed wheat feed. 



"No cases of adulteration were found among the cotton seed or gluten products, 

 although some brands do not grade as high as others and are open to improvement. 

 In many cases the guaranties of the manufacturers were not made good. One linseed 

 meal was found to be adulterated. 



"Some brands of oat feeds, corn-and-oat feeds, provenders, and the like were 

 found to contain considerable quantities of oat hulls, more than they should carry 

 were the goods made from ' pure grains ground together.' A few brands were found 

 to be extremely low in protein. Such feeds are of inferior quality, and their pur- 

 chase is of doubtful advisability. Two adulterated mixed (wheat) feeds were found. 



" It is thought that on the whole the grade of goods, particularly the provenders, 

 is better than it was prior to the enactment of the law." 



The composition of molasses made from light-colored peat, H. Borntrager 

 {Ztschr. Anabjt. Chem., 40 {1001), No. 1^, pp. 757-7<S'9) .—Molasses made from peat is 

 briefly described and 3 analyses reported. 



Pepton feed, A. Shmid {Fuhlmg'.s Landw. Ztg., 50 {1901), No. 22, pp. 808-811).— 

 Feeding tests with horses and draft oxen are reported, which the author believes 

 show the high feeding value of "pepton feed." 



The harmful effects of cotton-seed meal as a feeding stuff, L. NAMi:cHE 

 {L'Ing. Agr. Gembloux, 1900, p. 71^; abs. in Centbl. Agr. Chem., SO {1901), No. 5, pp. 

 328, 329) . — Experiments with young cattle, rabbits, a goat, cow, and pigs led the 

 author to the conclusion that cotton-seed meal in itself is not harmful. He attributes 

 the poisonous properties which have been observed to carelessness on the part of the 

 feeders, ignorance in the use of cotton-seed meal, or a lack of cleanliness. 



Removing spines from prickly pear {Agr. Gaz. New South Wales, 12 {1901), 

 No. 6, p. 697).— In a brief note on the subject it is stated that when prickly pear is 

 ensiled, the spines soon become soft and harmless. The silage is regarded as nutri- 

 tious and paIataV>le. 



Ricinus-oil cake, O. Nagel {Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., 21 {1902), No. 1, pp. 30, 31).— 

 The author proposes the following method for removing the poisonous properties of 

 castor pomace, which is based upon the fact that ricin or riciniu is soluble in 10 per 

 cent cold solution of sodium chlorid, and is precipitated out of this solution by heat- 

 ing: Mix the powdered castor pomace with 6 to 7 times its weight of 10 per cent salt 

 solution and allow to stand for 6 to 8 hours, with thorough stirring. Remove the 

 solution by means of a filter press, washing with 10 percent salt solution until a sam- 

 ple of the filtrate heated in a test tube shows no precipitate. Remove the cakes from 

 the filter press and dry. The filtrate is heated to boiling to precijiitate the ricin and 

 the filtered salt solution may be used again. Attention is called to the fact that ricin 



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