1916] ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 477 



hay gained 27.4 lbs. per head as compared with 25.7 lbs. by lambs fed shelled 

 corn and alfalfa hay. Larger quantities or feed per pound gain were required 

 by the lambs fed alfalfa hay than by those fed clover hay. In lot 3, the gains 

 cost 8.62 cts. per pound and the lambs were valued at 8.6 cts. per pound and 

 returned a profit of 64 cts. per head. In lot 4, the gains cost 9.8 cts. and were 

 valued at 8.5 cts. per pound, with a profit of 26 cts. per head. 



Part 4 treats of cotton-seed meal as a supplement to rations for fattening 

 lambs, involving lost 6, 7, and 8. The addition of cotton-seed meal to a ration 

 of shelled corn, clover hay, and corn silage had practically no effect on the 

 appetites of the lambs for either grain or roughage, but increased the rate of 

 gain made by the lambs, slightly decreased the feed required to make a pound of 

 gain, and increased the selling value of the lambs. The lambs in lot 6 made 

 gains at a cost of 7.41 cts. per pound and returned a profit of $1.04 per head; 

 those in lot 7 made gain at a cost of 7.37 cts. per pound and returned a profit 

 of $1.15 per head ; and those in lot 8 gained at a cost of 7.17 cts. per pound and 

 returned a profit of $1.32 per head. 



Part 5 treats of the value of oats for lambs, involving lots 6 and 2. The 

 addition of oats to a ration of shelled corn, corn silage, and clover hay caused 

 a decrease in grain and hay consumption. Gains were more rapid when no 

 oats were fed. The cost of gain was 0.38 ct. per pound greater and the profit 

 was 17 cts. per head less when oats were fed. 



Part 6 is a comparison of open shed v. barn as shelter for fattening lambs, 

 involving lots 6 and 9. The lambs fed in a well-ventilated barn ate the same 

 amount of feed and made the same gains in weight as those fed in an open 

 shed, but were of softer flesh and were valued at 0.1 ct. per pound less. The 

 profit per lamb was 94 cts. per head in the barn as compared with $1.04 per 

 head in the open shed. 



"Wool studies: Washing before shearing; time of shearing, J. W. Ham« 

 MOND (Ohio Sta. Bui. 294 (1916), pp. S09-322, figs. S).— The object of this 

 experiment was to determine the influence of washing sheep on the yield of 

 grease and of scoured wool and on the rate of gain made by the sheep, and 

 the influence of the time of shearing on the yields of grease and of scoured 

 wool and on the rate of gain made by the sheep. 



The experiment extended over a little more than two years, so that during 

 its progress three clips of wool were removed, in 1911, 1912, and 1913. The 

 treatment of the four lots, of 25 Merino sheep each, with respect to washing 

 and time of shearing, was as follows: Lot 1, washed, shorn about April 12; 

 lot 2 unwashed, shorn about April 12 ; lot 3, washed, shorn about June 1 ; and 

 lot 4, unwashed, shorn about June 1. 



A short time before being washed in 1913 one-half of the sheep in lots 1 and 

 2 were shifted from one lot to the other, and a similar shift was made in 

 lots 3 and 4. 



The sheep were washed in a stream of sufficient swiftness to supply an 

 abundance of clean water. Each sheep was held in the stream separately and 

 the dirt squeezed out of the wool by hand. An attempt was made to do a 

 thorough job of washing, but, because of the density of the fleeces and the 

 large amount of yolk they carried, it is probable that the washed wool still con- 

 tained more foreign matter than is usually contained in washed wool from more 

 open-wooled sheep. After the sheep were washed, from seven to ten days were 

 allowed to intervene before they were shorn, to allow the wool to dry out 

 thoroughly. 



The scouring was done by the emulsion process, similar to that used com- 

 mercially. The wool was put through three scouring liquors containing potash 

 soap and potassium carbonate, of gradually diminishing strengths, and finally 



