572 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.37 



inverted. This was probably due to bacteria. Part of the raffinose can pass 

 unchanged through the intestinal wall and reappear in the urine. . . . 



"The sterilized feces of dogs and rabbits seems to contain a small amount 

 of raffinase, probably of bacterial origin. 



" Raffinose is devoid of food value until after its inversion. It may be that 

 raffinose-digesting bacteria occur more frequently in the large intestine of species 

 which consume foods containing raffinose and thus render the physiological 

 utilization moi'e probable for them." 



A bibliography is appended. 



ANIMAL PEODUCTION. 



The function of live stock in agriculture, G. M. Rommel {U. S. Dept. Agt. 

 Yearbook 1916, pp. ^61-Jtl5). — Tliis paper which was read at a meeting of the 

 Second Pan American Scientific Congress, Washington, t>. C, has already been 

 noted (E. S. R., 34, p. 305). 



[Japanese cane for steers], A. P. Kerb (Loumana Stas. Rpt. 1916, pp. 16, 

 17). — To determine the value of Japanese cane as a grazing crop 20 steers were 

 grazed for 60 days during the fall and winter of 1915-16. The steers were 

 practically maintained on this crop although the season was very cold and wet 



Progress in handling the wool clip: Development in the West, F. R. Mar- 

 shall {U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1916, pp. 227-236, pis. 4, fig. 1). — An account 

 is given of the moue businesslike methods of handling the wool clip in the 

 Western States during the past two seasons. In 1915 the wool growers began 

 to grade their wools before shipment, and in 1916 about 7,000,000 lbs., including 

 81 clips and representing about S70,tKMJ sheep in three far Western States, was 

 graded and baled at the time of shearing. This wool when shipped was ready 

 for final sale without the usual further handling undergone by most clips in 

 the dealers' warehouses before sale to manufacturers. 



Descriptions, with an illustration of fioor plan, are given of shearing sheds 

 which have been erected or remodeled to include the main features of the 

 Australian plan. The author describes tlie principal methods used in prepar- 

 ing the clips in 1915-16 and discusses the advantages of grading at the ranch 

 and the methods of selling ranch-graded wool. The new plan makes it possi- 

 ble for the flockmaster who studies his wool to appraise his clip closely when 

 considering offers, Ijut the full financial value of the system is not expected to 

 be obtained until the growers have made a more general use of the system, 

 thus securing wider competition for the purchase of their wools. 



The adaptability of the plan to other States is pointed out, and examples of 

 cooperative selling of wool in New York State and Louisiana are noted. 



The production of pork in the four-year rotation, A. P. Kebk (Louiniann 

 Stas. Rpt. 1916, p. n). — In a four-year rotation of corn and cowpeas, soy beans, 

 sweet potatoes, and mangels from 12 to 16 lbs. of pork were produced per bushel 

 of corn, the amount depending a great deal on the crop of cowpeas in the corn. 

 In this test from 2.5 to 3 bu. of sweet potatoes were equal in feeding value to 

 1 bu. of corn. The yields of soy beans have been very variable but the crop 

 has proved a valuable one in the rotation as it is ready to graze between 

 the corn and cowpeas and the sweet potatoes. 



Stallion legislation and the horse-breeding industry, C. C. Glenn (U. S. 

 Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1916, pp. 289-299, pis. J,, fig. i).— The author notes that 

 progress in horse breeding has not kept pace with that of many other agricul- 

 tural lines. He attributes this condition largely to the too general use of stal- 

 lions lacking in quality of breeding and to the failure on the part of owners of 



