NOTES. 99 



A paper entitled Composition of Steers at Various Stages of Growth from 

 Birth to 1,500 lbs., was presented by T. L. Haecker, in which he stated that in 

 seven years' experiments at the Minnesota Station it was found that the percent- 

 age of water in the body of growing steers decreased very rapidly with a corre- 

 sponding increase in the fat content. The percentage of ash remained practi- 

 cally the same, while there was a slight decrease in the percentage of protein. 



The optimum amount of cotton-seed meal for beef cattle as determined by 

 experiments at the Tennessee Station was discussed by C. A. Willson. F. G. 

 King stated that from the results of experiments at the Indiana Station it was 

 evident that the efficiency of a ration for fattening steers was not materially 

 affected by the nutritive ratio so long as this ratio was within reasonable limits, 

 about 1 : 7, but that succulence and palatability of feed were very important. 



J. W. Hammond discussed the studies carried on at the Ohio Station on the 

 Inheritance of wooling ability iu sheep, and the effect of rations of high, low, 

 and medium nutritive ratio upon the quality and yield of wool. 



A paper by T. F. Trowbridge gave data as to comparative weights and com- 

 position of various parts of the bovine fetus, and showing the percentages of 

 flesh, of hair and hide, of skeleton, and of internal organs to the live animal. 



L. D. Hall of this Department outlined the work of the Office of Markets in 

 its efforts to facilitate the distribution of animal products, and to minimize the 

 waste incident to transportation. Cooperative and other systems of market- 

 ing are being studied with a view to supplying meat producers with definite 

 information on the most efficient methods to be practiced. 



In discussing the milk records of the dairy herd of the North Carolina Station 

 J. C. McNutt stated that he attributed the marked improvement in yield in the 

 past four years to the use of cotton-seed meal. This, he said, had had no dele- 

 terious effect upon cows, but instead appeared to be highly efficient. 



E. S. Savage told of his efforts to harmonize the various feeding standards, 

 and discussed the importance of animal husbandmen adopting some uniform 

 feed values. He preferred the Armsby standard for accuracy and simplicity. 



J. M. Evvard discussed the efficiency of the self-feeder in the feeding of swine 

 as determined by several years' trials at the Iowa Station. 



L. W. Fetzer of this Office presented a paper entitled Some Pathological 

 Aspects of Animal Nutrition, in which he discussed the pathological influence 

 of various feeds such as cotton-seed meal, molasses, and spoiled feeds upon the 

 animal organism. He emphasized the importance of selecting animals for the 

 experimental feed lot that were free from disease, and described methods of 

 testing for tuberculosis, abortion, and other diseases that might materially 

 affect the feed lot results. 



From cattle feeding trials conducted at the New Mexico Station, F. W. 

 Christensen concluded that thei'e was no superiority of one age over another 

 as to digestive ability. Per 1,000 lbs. live weight there was no relation in the 

 amount of food consumed for the different ages, and submaiutenance periods 

 of some of the cattle appeared not to impair their digestive ability. 



Methods of feeding sugar beet products, their feeding value, and pathological 

 effects were treated in a paper by G. E. Morton. H. S. Grindley reviewetl 

 Bulletin 165 of the Illinois Station (E. S. R., 30, p. 309), discussing methods 

 of improving the ordinary feeding standard. 



The importance of protein in egg production was discussed by H. R. Lewis 

 in which he showed that a protein from an animal source was superior to that 

 from a vegetable source for maximum production, and that the size and weight 

 of eggs was materially affected by such feeding. 



E. W. Morse of this Department spoke on the necessity for standardizing 

 feeding tests, and stated that while metabolism experiments are important in 



