19161 ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 479 



good results and at less cost than where grain alone is fed. The greatest advan- 

 tage to be gained in feeding hay in winter is a saving of grain and the lower- 

 ing of the cost of feeding. 



In another experiment, during the winter of 1915-16, 40 sows were fed alfalfa 

 hay with a limited grain ration, while 10 others were fed the same grain ration 

 without alfalfa. The idea was to get the sows to eat all the alfalfa they would 

 and to feed just enough grain to keep them in satisfactory breeding condition. 

 Observation of the sows was made during the winter months and during the 

 month of March while they were farrowing. It vpas found possible to replace 

 one-third of the grain ration for brood sows with alfalfa hay, 1.04 lbs. of alfalfa 

 hay replacing 1 lb. of grain. The feeding of alfalfa afforded an excellent means 

 of getting the sows to take more exercise than they do when fed grain alone. 

 No trouble was experienced by any of the sows in farrowing, and the sows fed 

 alfalfa hay farrowed as large, strong, and uniform litters of pigs as did the 

 sows not receiving it. The sows fed alfalfa appeared to milk better and nurse 

 their pigs a little better than did those not receiving hay. The results obtained 

 in this trial indicate that it is practical and advisable to feed as much alfalfa 

 hay to brood sows in winter as they will eat, so regulating the additional grain 

 ration as to keep the sows in proper condition. 



There is included a general discussion of alfalfa, sweet clover, rye, oats, bar- 

 ley, rape, and Canada field peas as pasture for hogs. 



Concentrates for growing' chicks and for laying stock, M. A. Juxl (Jour. 

 Amer. Assoc. Instr. and Invest. Poultry Hush., 2 (1916), No. 9, pp. 66-70). — In 

 experiments at Macdonald College three lots of 65 White Leghorn pullets were 

 fed a basal ration of bran, corn meal, middlings, and oatmeal, 2:1:1:1, lot 1 

 receiving fish scrap and lot 2 a prepared mineral food in addition. 



The birds in the fish-scrap pen ate 2 lbs. more feed than those in the check 

 pen. Those in the prepared mineral-food pen ate the same amount as the check 

 pen. The prepared mineral- and fish-scrap-fed pens laid about an equal num- 

 ber of eggs, the check pen not laying half as much as the other two pens. 



In a second test to determine the value of dry ground-bone meal, fish scrap, 

 a prepared mineral food, and beef scrap for growing chickens and winter egg 

 production five pens were fed a basal ration as above with the respective sup- 

 plements. The final order of merit, considering food consumed, weights, eggs 

 laid, and profits realized, was beef scrap, prepared mineral food, fish scrap, 

 bone meal. 



This work brings out very strongly the value of mineral elements in a soluble 

 condition in making an economical use of the feeds consumed in digestion, for 

 in the second test less feed was taken to produce 1 lb. gain in live weight in 

 the case where prepared mineral food was fed than with any of the other con- 

 centrates. Still, beef scrap ran the prepared mineral food very close in this 

 respect, which may be due to the fact that the great success of animal feeds 

 for growing chickens is because of the mineral elements found in them. The 

 bone-meal concentrate was found in both tests to be of little nutritive value for 

 young chickens, which confirms the belief that its mineral elements are in an 

 unavailable state, especially for young poultry. It was found in the first test 

 that a comparatively small percentage of mineral matter upset the birds, which 

 made it imperative to drop the amount of prepared mineral food fed from 10 per 

 cent to 5 per cent of the mash. 



The birds receiving fish scrap did not lay tainted eggs, nor did their meat 

 possess an unfavorable taste. Therefore, there is believed to be no danger from 

 this source when 10 per cent of fish scrap is fed in the mash. 



Skim milk for laying hens, H. R. Lewis (Jour. Amer. Assoc. Instr. and 

 Invest. Poultry Eu^h., 2 (1916), No. 9, p. 72)- — In experiments conducted at the 



