68 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



Stock feeding, W. H. Dalrymple (Louisiana Stas. Bill. lJf8 (1914), PP- 3- 

 56). — ^This bulletin gives general instructions on the balancing of rations, feed- 

 ing standards, computing of rations, and systems of feeding, and includes tables 

 giving the composition and digestibility of the principal feeding stuffs, sample 

 rations, etc. 



Paille finne grass, S. M. Tracy {Louisiana Stas. Bui. l/f7 (191If), pp. 3-1). — 

 A preliminary reconuoissance survey in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry of this Department and the Louisiana Conservation Commission indi- 

 cated an acreage in the State of nearly 2,000,000 acres of paille finne grass 

 {Panicuin hcmitomum). Analyses given show a protein content which varies 

 from 5.94 per cent to 9.87, carbohydrates from 41.21 to 45.58, fat from 1.49 to 

 2.22, fiber from 31.39 to 39.55, and ash from 4.46 to 6.26. The high protein 

 content makes it especially adaptable to stock feeding, and it is used widely 

 by the planters and stock growers in southern Louisiana, who have found that 

 steers may be fattened in six months without having i-eceived any grain feed, 

 the pasture alone being sufiicient to put the animals in good marketable condi- 

 tion. As a liay it is preferred to timothy and is deemed nearly equal to alfalfa 

 hay in nutritive value. 



Coconut meal, J. B. Lindsey {Massachusetts Sta. Bui. 155 {1914), PP- 182- 

 190). — The composition of coconut meal used in these experiments was as 

 follows : Water 9, protein 19.35, fat 9.12, extract matter 48, fiber 8.64, and ash 

 5.89 per cent. In digestion experiments with two sheep the following coeffi- 

 cients of digestibility were obtained : Protein 90, fat 100+, extract matter 87, 

 fiber 23, and ash 64 per cent. Gluten feed contains about 100 lbs. more digesti- 

 ble nutrients per ton than the coconut meal. The coconut meal contains 88.4 

 therms of net available energy and the gluten feed 82.7 therms, the difference 

 being due to the higher percentage of fat in the former. 



In feeding experiments with 10 dairy cows, in which hay and wheat bran 

 constituted the basal ration and gluten feed and coconut meal the supplement- 

 ary feeds, substantially the same results in milk yield and slightly more butter 

 fat were obtained from the coconut meal than with the gluten feed ration. In 

 amounts of from 3 to 4 lbs. daily per head, coconut meal is considered to be a 

 desirable dairy feed. 



Kafir for feeding, G. K. Helder {Kansas Sta. Bui. 198 {19U), pp. 627-632).-— 

 In experiments conducted at the Fort Hays substation, four lots of beef cows 

 wintered during a 100-day period were fed a daUy ration as follows: Lot 1, 

 Kafir corn fodder 27.2 lbs., wheat straw 10.28, and cotton-seed cake 1 ; lot 2, 

 Kafir corn silage 35.63, wheat straw 14.2, cotton-seed cake 1 ; lot 3, Kafir corn 

 stover 25.6, wheat straw 10.79, cotton-seed cake 1; and lot 4, Kafir com silage 

 20.05, wheat straw 17.18, cotton-seed cake 1, costing $9.91, $6.30, $5.61. and $4.44, 

 respectively, per cow. Average daily gains were made of 0.5. 1.34, 0.35, and 

 56 lbs. per cow. The estimated value of Kafir corn silage was $2.66, Kafir corn 

 fodder $5.00, and Kafir corn stover $3.00 per ton. The yields of the feeds were 

 Kafir corn silage 8.5 tons per acre, Kafir corn fodder 3 tons, and Kafir corn 

 stover 2 tons. 



Five lots of 10 beef steers each, wintered at Manhattan during a 100-day 

 period, were fed as follows : Lot 1, corn silage and cotton-seed meal ; lot 2, 

 Kafir corn silage and cotton-seed meal ; lot 3, sweet sorghum silage and cotton- 

 seed meal ; lot 4, corn silage and alfalfa hay ; and lot 5. corn stover, shelled 

 corn, and alfalfa hay. Average daily gains were made per head of 1.5, 1.62, 

 1.58. 1.5. and 1.62 lbs., resi->ectively, and costing $5.50, $5.50, $5.49, $5.75, and 

 $5.96, respectively, per head. 



