FOODS ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 747 



"The nitrogen-free extract appears to show a greater difference of digestibility 

 than other portions of the plant, and it is here that we mnst look for at least a par- 

 tial explanation of the fact under discussion. . . . 



" Several examinations of the feces in these experiments have failed to show the 

 presence of sugars or starch, the diastase test being employed for the latter. These 

 carbohydrates being entirely soluble in the digestive fluids, as it was reasonable to 

 expect, their presence in these foods in greatly varying quantities must certainly 

 cause corresponding variations in the digestibility of the nitrogen-free extract, and 

 consequently of the total dry matter, other things being equal. That this is so is 

 easily seen from the figures presented." 



Steer feeding, A. A. Mills ( Utah Sta. Bui. 35, pp. 25).— Three lots of 

 4 steers each were fed alike on mixed hay from November 29 to Decem- 

 ber 20. From then until April 11 lot 7 had mixed hay alone; lot 8, hay 

 with straw, alfalfa, or clover, and 3 lbs. grain per head for 1 month ; and 

 lot 9 had hay and 3 lbs. grain (bran, wheat, and barley) per head daily. 

 In the finishing period, April 11 to May IG, all received alike 3 lbs. ol 

 grain (bran and wheat) per head, 10 lbs. roots, 3 lbs. straw, and hay 

 ad libitum. 



The steers were kept in yards with open sheds. The gains in 

 weight, food eaten, and financial results are tabulated. From Novem- 

 ber 29 to April 11, lot 7 (mixed hay) gained^74 lbs. in all ; lot 8, 270 lbs., 

 and lot 9 (hay and grain), 252 lbs. During the final period lot 7 gained 

 39 lbs. ; lot 8, 11 lbs., and lot 9, 91 lbs. For the whole trial the average 

 cost of food per pound of gain was 7.2 cts. for lot 7, 10.71 cts. for lot 8, 

 and 8.51 cts. for lot 9. With steers at 2^ cents per pound there was a 

 loss with all the steers, which was least with lot 9. 



Steers fed moderately well for 12 tveeks. — Six lots of 3 steers each 

 which had been used in an experiment with alfalfa, reported in Bulletin 

 31 of the station (E. S. R., 6, p. 203), were fed from February 21 to May 

 16 variously on hay with silage, roots, or straw, and 4 lbs. of grain per 

 head daily; or hay and roots with 4, 6, or 8 lbs. of grain. The grain 

 was a mixture of bran, barley, and wheat. The coarse fodder was fed 

 ad libitum. The gains, food eaten, and financial results are tabulated. 



" Of the 3 sets of steers fed either roots, silage, or straw as an appetizer, those 

 fed the roots gained most, with straw second and silage third. 



" Of steers fed 4, 6, and 8 lbs. of grain per day, respectively, the gain increased as 

 the amount of grain fed was increased; the cost of the daily ration increased like- 

 wise : while the cost of 1 lb. of gain decreased as the amount of grain fed increased." 



Feeding experiments ■with co-wrs, W. H. Jordan {Maine Sta. Bpt. 

 1893, pp. 66-82). — Relative feeding value of Southern corn silage and 

 Maine field corn silage (pp. 66-73). — The object of this experiment was 

 to compare silage from native Maine corn and from large Southern 

 corn grown in Maine. Five cows were fed in 3 periods of about 1 

 month each. In the first and last periods about 40 lbs. of Southeri> 

 corn silage was fed per day, and in the second period about 30 lbs. of 

 native corn silage. The other foods consisted of corn meal, bran, 

 gluten meal, and cotton-seed meal, with barley hay in the first 2 

 periods and timothy hay in the last. The digestible food material in 



