1022 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



the starch coald accomplish if burned outside the body. This result is the average 

 of many experiments with different diets. 



"The horse requires for his maintenance in weight while at rest a certain daily 

 supply of albuminoid substance, which must never fall below a certain quantity ; 

 but the extra food given when work is to be performed may consist indifferently of 

 any digestible combustible substance, whether albuminoids or not. The horse 

 keeper is thus at liberty to select from a wide range of foods, and is not obliged to 

 give a preference to those which are specially nitrogenous. It should, however, be 

 borne in mind that what has just been said applies strictly only to horses which are 

 already in good working condition. Horses which are low in condition, and must 

 gain in weight of muscle before they are fit for hard work, must, of course, receive 

 a more nitrogenous diet." 



The autlior finds it impossible to state exactly the nutritive ratio of 

 the rations fed by street railway companies in England, as the compo- 

 sition of the foods fed is not known definitely; but from the rations 

 published he fixes the ratio at from 1:7 to 1:8. 



Poultry, W. P. Wheeler [New York State Sta. Rpt. 1893, pp. 214- 

 219). — The plan is given of a breeding experiment which has now been 

 in progress for 2 years at the station, and a detailed statement of 

 the cost of raising young fowls. About 130 Cochin and Leghorn 

 chickens were hatched by the natural method, for the special purpose 

 of obtaining pullets for use in a feeding experiment. Of the Coeliin 

 eggs set 40.1 per cent produced healthy chicks, and of the Legliorn 

 eggs 75.2 per cent. Counting eggs at 24 cts. per dozen, and the food 

 eaten by the sitting hens at local prices, the cost of each chick when 

 hatched was 4.05 cts. for the Cochins and 2.82 cts, for the Leghorns. 

 The hens were kept with the chickens from 5 to 6 weeks. Thefood of the 

 growing chickens was cracked wheat, skim milk, desiccated beef, finely 

 cut fresh bone, and mixed grain, which was varied from time to time. 

 The chickens remained entirely healthy, and only a few were lost from 

 accidents. The sexes were separated when the Cochins averaged 109 

 days old and the Leghorns 84 days. At that timethe Cochins averaged 

 4.05 lbs. and the Leghorns 1.83 lbs. The average total cost per chick 

 (including hatching) amounted to 24.36 cts., or 6.01 cts. per pound, for 

 the Cochins, and 12.59 cts., or 6.88 cts. per pound, for the Leghorns. 



The pullets of both breeds were fed 11 weeks longer, at an average 

 cost per fowl of 20.07 cts. for the Cochins and 13.09 cts. for the Leg- 

 horns, at which time the Cochin pullets averaged 5.53 lbs. and the 

 Leghorns 2.81 lbs. Deducting from the total cost to date the local 

 market value of the cockerels at the time the chickens were separated 

 gives the net cost of the Cochins at 13.24 cts. each and of the Leg- 

 horns 16.78 cts. 



"The sexes were about equal with the Cochins, but there was an unusual excess 

 in the number of pullets among the Leghorns hatched (37 per cent more pullets than 

 cockerels), so that the poultry value of the cockerels represented a lesser proportion 

 of the value of food consumed. Had the sexes been equal, at the same propor- 

 tionate cost for growing, and considering the poultry value of the cockerels, the net 

 cost of Leghorn pullets would hare been 13.55 cts. apiece, nearly the same as that 

 of the Cochins." 



