768 EXPERIMENT STATION BECOEO. [Vol.35 



final period. The urine was analyzed in 24-hour periods on all of the days and 

 in short periods (three to four hours) on three bathing and on three nonbathing 

 days. 



" In agreement with former results the progress of the bathing period was 

 attended by increased nitrogen and salt excretion, which, in this case, however, 

 persisted through the final period. The three-hour period during and immedi- 

 ately following the bath showed a considerable increase (15 to 50 per cent) in 

 nitrogen and salt excretion as compared with the same period on days when 

 no bath was taken, indicating that the bath had an immediate influence as well 

 as a prolonged effect. 



"A constant and uniform parallelism between nitrogen and chlorid variations, 

 noted also in earlier work, is not understood. Decreased perspiration through 

 the cooling of the skin by the bath can account in only small measure for the 

 greater salt and niti'Ogen excretion in the urine follo^A^ng the bath." 



The patholog'ical and therapeutic bearings of the elimination of body heat, 

 J. B. Nichols (Med. Rec. [N. Y.], 00 (1916), No. 12, pp. 492-495).— In this 

 article a number of factors are considered which influence the rate of elimi- 

 nation of body heat. 



A respiration calorimeter, partly automatic, for the study of metabolic 

 activity of small magnitude, C. F. Langwobthy and R. D. Milner ( U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Jour. Agr. Research, 6 (1916), No. 18, pp. 703-720, pis. 4).— This article 

 describes in detail the construction and operation of a small respiration calo- 

 rimeter, which has been briefly noted in earlier publications ( E. S. R., 27, p. 568 ; 

 29, p. 462). 



The results are reported of electric and alcohol check experiments, which 

 show that the heat and the products of respiration generated in the chamber 

 may be determined with a high degree of accuracy in this respiration calo- 

 rimeter. 



ANIMAL PEODUCTION. 



Bape as material for silage, A. R. Lamb and J. M. Ewabd ( U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Jour. Agr. Research, 6 (1916), No. I4, pp. 527-533). — Experimental silage was 

 prepared at the Iowa Experiment Station from r;ipe alone and from mixtures 

 of rape with various other materials, such as alfalfa, red clover, sweet clover, 

 potato tubers, timothy, Sudan grass, sorghum cane, and blue grass, with the 

 purpose of determining the most satisfactory combination. 



The rape used was quite mature but still succulent. The rape leaves were 

 cut off at the main stalk, and the entire plant was cut 3 in. from the ground. 

 The alfalfa was cut just before blooming. The corn, Sudan grass, and sorghum 

 cane used were mature. The other plant materials were cut just before ma- 

 turity. All the forage was cut by a silage cutter into half-inch lengths. The 

 material was tightly packed into glass jars of about 1-gal. capacity. The jars 

 were closed with metal caps, which were not too tight to prevent the escape 

 of excess gases. 



The jars were opened four months after filling and the condition, appearance, 

 odor, and taste of the silage noted. With very few exceptions it was in a 

 perfect state of preservation, of excellent texture and color, with a pleasant, 

 somewhat aromatic odor, and generally of an agreeable taste, though quite sour. 

 It was succulent without being too moist. 



In order to ascertain its palatability to swine, a representative number of 

 the various mixtures and some of the pure rape silage were fed to three lots 

 of pigs. At first the animals, which were on a ration consisting mainly of corn 

 and tankage, tasted the silage rather hesitatingly and seemed surprised by the 



