ANIMAL PEODUCTION. 87]^ 



Caracul sheep, R. Wallace {Jour. Bd. Agr. [London^, 22 (1915), No. 5, pp. 

 m-W, pis. k, figs. Jt).—An account of the origin, development, breed dmr- 

 acteristics, and utility value of this breed of sheep, and of attempts in the 

 United States and in Europe to introduce the breed. 



On ovariotomy in sows, with observations on the mammary glands and 

 the internal genital organs, IV, L. J. J. Mackenzie and F. H. A. Maushall 

 (Jour. Agr. ScL [England], 7 (1915), No. 2, pp. 243-245).— In continuation of 

 work previously noted (E. S. R., 31, p. 870) examinations were made of the 

 mammary pigment of four sows of colored varieties, three being Large Blacks 

 and one a Berkshire. It was clearly proved tliat the dark pigment which 

 so frequently occurs in the mammary tissue in pigs of colored breeds, and which 

 has been found to exist even in the embryo, may be no longer present in sows 

 which have been bred from. It is thought that the removal of this pigment 

 takes place either during the progress of lactation or in the period of preg- 

 nancy when the mammary glands are being built up preparatory to the secre- 

 tion of milk. 



Harvesting crops with swine, C. E. Thorne (OJuo Sta. Bui. 286 (1915), pp. 

 244, 245). — Three lots of pigs were fed 30 days as follows: Lot 1 ear corn and 

 clover pasture, lot 2 allowed to hog down rye, and lot 8 ear corn and rape 

 pasture. In addition all lots were fed approximately i lb, of tankage daily 

 per pig. The respective lots made average daily gains of 0.82, 0.57, and 0.75 

 lb. per pig and consumed, aside from pasture, 2.66, 6.34, and 2.91 lbs. of feed 

 per pound of gain. Lot 2 was then put in with lot 1 on clover and lot 3 

 remained on the rape, where the pigs were fed for 26 days. The pigs on clover 

 made an average daily gain per pig of 0.75 lb., consuming 3.64 lbs. of feed 

 aside from pasture per pound of gain, and the lot on clover, 0.87 lb. gain, 

 consuming 3.16 lbs. of feed per pound of gain. 



Two 3-acre plats of corn were hogged down with 33 pigs, an average daily 

 gain of 1.76 lbs. being made. The pigs showed a return of 77 ct^. per bushel, or 

 $36.95 per acre for the standing corn, with hogs at 7 cts. per pound and no 

 charge for labor. 



[Report on animal husbandry work], B. Aune (U. S. Dept, Agr., Bur. Plant 

 Indus., Work Belle Fourche Expt. Farm, 1914, PP- 6-8, fig. 1). — In experiments 

 conducted in 1914 it was demonstrated that in pasturing alfalfa with fall and 

 spring pigs $11.23 per ton of alfalfa produced could be realized, whereas the 

 market price of alfalfa hay was $4.50 per ton. The average live weight kept 

 on the alfalfa pasture during the season wa^ at the rate of 1,815 lbs. per acre. 



In hogging down corn, pigs increased in value in 20 days at the rate of $40.72 

 per acre, bringing $1.17 per bushel of corn consumed. 



Probable error in pig feeding trials, C. Crowtheb (Jour. Agr. Sci. [Eng- 

 land], 7 (1915), No. 2, pp. 137-141). — A pig-feeding experiment is reported in 

 which ten 8- week-old pigs were fed for 24 weeks in identically the same man- 

 ner a ration consisting of bran, middlings, pea meal, and barley meal. It was 

 found that the probable error of one pig expressed as percentage of average gain 

 was for 3-week periods, beginning with the fourth week, as follows : Seven and 

 five-tenths per cent, 7.9, 5.8, 7.9, 5.4, 8.4, and 5.7, and the average for the whole 

 period was about 3.5 per cent. Attention is called to the extremely low degree 

 of variability between the individual records and the absence of any marked 

 tendency for the probable error (relative to increase) to fall as the feeding 

 progressed. 



These results are contrasted with those of other investigators (E. S. R., 30, 

 p. 369), and the desirability of a closer study of the possibilities of the pig as 

 an instrument for the measurement of small differences in nutritive value is 

 suggested. 



