101f>] AXIMAL I'ltoDUGTIOX. 471 



to August Bl, 1 1» i t. four lots of id hoga each averaging about 106 lbs. In weight, 

 were used in ;ni alfalfa pasture test. As tin- season was backward and the 

 alfalfa was damaged by grasshoppers, pork production was below normal. Bach 

 lot received a daily ration () f corn approximately equal to 2 per cent of its 

 weight until the last month, when it was Increased to :', per cent Lots 1 and L' 

 each had access to 1 acre of alfalfa, that of lot 1 being cut for hay every 

 days, while that of lot i! was divided for alternate pasturing and < nt every 1." 



days. The other 2 lots each had <K7> acre, one of which was also divided for 

 alternate pasturing, hut no hay was cut. The difference between lots 1 and 

 2 at the end of the summer was trifling, The acre belonging to lot l yielded 

 0.69 (on of hay, and to the second lot, 1.02 tons. Each of these lots consumed 

 practically all of the forage on 1 acre pastures. The other two lots made pom 

 gains owing to overpasturlng. The divided pasture, however, produced more 

 forage. 



Casual observations in previous years had seemed to Indicate a preference 

 on the pari of the bogs for Turkestan alfalfa over the common variety. Experi- 

 ments planned to study this point confirmed the observation, in one of these 

 experiments a field containing a quarter acre of Turkestan and 1A acres of 

 common alfalfa was fenced into one pasture. Ten sows and their litters wore 

 turned in when the alfalfa was about 10 in. high. Previous to this time it had 

 not been possible to detect the dividing line between the two varieties, but after 

 the hogs had been on the pasture only two days the line was very distinct. The 

 Turkestan was soon eaten close to the ground, although to get to it from their 

 house the hogs had to wade through common alfalfa over a foot high. 



The pasturing of hogs on the third-year alfalfa plat of one of the irrigated 

 rotations (E. S. R., 39, p. 173) was continued in 1917, and a summary of results 

 together with the averages for 5 years are given. In the early pari of the 

 grazing season fall hogs were used, but later were replaced by spring Im^. a 

 2 per cent ration of shelled corn was also fed. The total gains were 2.644 lbs. 

 per acre in 1917. the five-year average being 3.107 lbs. The corn fed per pound 

 of gain was 2.71 lbs. On the price basis used in previous years the hogs paid 

 the equivalent of $22.03 per ton on the 1917 hay crop, the five-year average bein-' 

 $25.10. 



In one of the corn plats of this rotation the corn was harvested by bogs. 

 Three spring shotes were turned into this 0.25-aere plat and after 40 days had 

 gained at the rate of 732 lbs. per acre. On the estimated yield of the corn 

 plat, it required 4.48 lbs. of corn to produce 1 lb. of pork. 



Eight lambs were also pastured on a 0.65-acre alfalfa field and received no 

 other feed. In 139 days they made a gain equivalent to 278 lbs. per acre. On 

 this basis 1 acre of alfalfa should carry 12 yearling lambs through the summer 

 in a thriving condition. It is noted that lambs pastured on the second year's 

 growth of sweet clover made a gain of 312 lbs. per acre. 



A test with 4 heifers pastured on 1.32 acres of sweet clover for varying 

 periods is also briefly noted. 



Chopped soapweed as emergency feed for cattle on Southwestern ranges, 

 C. L. Forsling {U. S. Dept. A fir. Bui. 11,5 {1919), pp. 20. /)/•«. $).— Satisfactory 

 results from feeding soapweed (Yucca data) to cattle on the Jornada Range 

 Reserve, N. Mex., in 1918 are reported. The plants, which have very thick 

 stems, are cut down with an ax and run through a chopping machine. The 

 cost of preparation and transport to the placing of feeding was $2.27 per ton. 

 It was fed with cottonseed meal in the proportion of 15:1. the daily ration 

 for healthy cows being from 15 to 20 lbs. per head. A large number of cows in 

 process of starvation because of the scarcity of forage on the range after the 



112S74 — 19 6 



