174 EXPERIMENT STATIOIiT EECOED. 



Rabbit culture and standard, W. F. Roth and C. T. Cobnman {Seller sville. 

 Pa.: Poultry Item Press, 19U, pp. 95, pis. 12, figs. 6).— This booklet deals with 

 the various breeds of rabbits and their feed, care, and management. 



DAIRY FARMING— DAIRYING. 



Cattle-feeding experiments in Denmark, H. E. Annett {Agr. Jour. India, 

 10 (.1915), No. 1, pp. 63-75). — This reviews the general plan of conducting 

 cattle-feeding experiments in Denmark. The experiments are largely co- 

 operative and carried on with considerable care. Feeding trials were begun 

 in 1887 and have been continued to the present time, more than 4,000 cows 

 having been utilized. 



The general results of the trials have shown that wheat, com, and bran 

 give much the same results in milk production, while oil meal is slightly better. 

 One lb. of wheat, corn, or bran has been found to be equivalent to 0.75 lb. 

 sunflower cake, 0.07 lb. cottonseed cake, 1.2 lbs. molasses, 2.5 lbs. hay, 5 lbs. 

 straw, or 10 lbs. mangel wurzels. The experiments have indicated that 

 changes of feed have practically no effect on the chemical composition of either 

 the fat or the milk. Variations in the composition of the milk are caused, to 

 a much gi-eater extent, by the individuality of the animal. 



Experiments have also been conducted to determine to what extent mangel 

 wurzels can take the place of concentrated feed in the ration. The results 

 indicate that the protein requirements, as determined by the Wolfl:-Lehmann, 

 Kellner, and other tables, are too high, and that it is possible to substitute 

 during the winter less expensive feeds, such as mangels, for expensive feeds 

 such as cottonseed cake, without decreasing the milk yield or endangering the 

 health of the cattle. 



Feeding experiments in Denmark with dairy cattle, W. Helms {Agr. Oaz. 

 N. S. Wales, 26 {191S), No. 1, pp. ^1-47, fig. i).— The author gives data col- 

 lected by him during a visit to Denmark. Two lots of six cows each were put out 

 on grass and tethered within large measured circles, and at the end of the day 

 the grass left within the circle was cut and weighed. This method of investi- 

 gation occupied 14 days. 



It was found that the quantity of grass consumed by cows was about 155 lbs. 

 per head per day. It varied somewhat, not only as between cows but also 

 in the individual cow from day to day. This variation was not entirely de- 

 pendent on weather conditions, such as wet, cold, or very warm weather, when 

 the consumption was smaller, but also independently of such conditions. The 

 cows consumed about the same quantity whether they were dry or in milk or 

 whether giving a smaller or greater milk yield. A reduction in the milk yield 

 took place in time, even when the grass was young and fresh. 



From these and later trials it is concluded that " feeding with, and on, grass 

 alone, quite apart from the loss sustained by letting the cows themselves decide 

 how much grass to consume, can not give us the most profitable results with 

 dairy cattle, and even if other fodder be added to the grass feed a loss of 

 nourishing organic matter can hardly be avoided. 



" On account of the varying quality of the grass, especially as it gets older 

 and its digestibility alters, it is difficult to recommend any certain fodder com- 

 position when grass also is given. The feeding in summer time must be even 

 and based on similar systematic principles to the winter feeding, viz, in pro- 

 portion to the condition and milk production of the various cows in the various 

 periods between 'in calf and 'calving.' On no account must the change from 

 paddock feed to stable feed, or vice versa, be too sudden." 



