772 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



On the effect of castration upon horn growth in Herdwick sheep, F. H. A. 

 Marshall {Jour. Physiol., J,6 {1913). No. 3, pp. XXIX, ZZX).— With ref- 

 erence to work previously noted (E. S. R., 27, p. 70) it is stated that there has 

 been no horn growth on the wethers siuce castration in 1911, thus substantiating 

 the contention that " the development of the horns was dependent upon a 

 stimulus arising in the testes." 



Lamb fattening-, T. W. Lonsdale {Jour. Agr. [Netv Zeal.], 6 {1913), No. 6, 

 pp. 586, 587). — In lamb fattening experiments at Moumahaki, New Zealand, 6 

 lots of 19 lambs each fed for 14 days produced the following average gains per 

 head : On lucern, 9.36 lbs. ; silver beets, 8.73 lbs. ; rape, 7.84 lbs. ; thousand-headed 

 kale, 6.63 lbs. ; chou moellier, 6.26 lbs. ; and Buda kale, 3.68 lbs. 



Reindeer in Russia, A. Tzvetinovitch {Pastoral Rev., 23 {1913), No. 9, 

 pp. 810, 891, 898, figs. 2). — A brief discussion of the reindeer industry of 

 northern Russia and Siberia. The domesticated reindeer takes the place of 

 the horse, the cow, and the sheep for the natives of these regions. 



The maintenance requirement of swine, W. Dietrich {Illinois 8ta. Bui. 

 163, pp. Jf09-Jf35). — "Pigs differing in age, breeding, and conformation were 

 used in 3 successive experiments, including 26 separate maintenance periods, to 

 determine the amount of feed and the respective nutrients required for main- 

 tenance. The rations were gradually reduced during several weeks' time until 

 quantities were reached that maintained a constant live weight. The coeffi- 

 cients of digestibility of the various nutrients were determined in most in- 

 stances. In the last experiment, the nitrogen balance and the consumption 

 and excretion of water also were determined to show whether the live weight 

 was maintained by the substitution of water for body tissue. 



" In the first experiment 4 pigs of mixed breeding were used in 4 separate 

 periods at 50, 100, 150, and 200 lbs. live weight, respectively. In the second 

 experiment 3 pigs were used: A Berkshire 3 years old, a Poland-China 1^ 

 years old, and a Poland-China 1 year old. In the third experiment, 2 yearling 

 Berkshire barrows were used which weighed 240 and 320 lbs., respectively." 



In the first experiment the feed consisted of ground corn, wheat middlings, 

 and skim milk. " The apparent maintenance requirement per day per 100 lbs. 

 live weight of the 50-lb. pigs was 0.121 lb. crude protein, 0.434 lb. carbohydrate, 

 0.02 lb. ether extract; of the 100-lb. pigs, 0.124 lb. protein, 0.517 lb. carbohy- 

 drate, 0.026 lb. ether extract; of the 150-lb pigs, 0.131 lb. protein, 0.633 lb. 

 carbohydrate, 0.033 lb. ether extract; of the 200-lb. pigs, 0.102 lb. protein, 0.549 

 lb. carbohydrate, and 0.033 lb. ether extract." 



In the second experiment the feed consisted of ground corn, wheat, bran, 

 wheat middlings, and tankage. " The apparent maintenance requirement per 

 day per 100 lbs. live weight of pig A (509 lbs.) was 0.139 lb. crude protein, 

 0.402 lb. carbohydrate, 0.032 lb. ether extract; of pig B (375 lbs.), 0.112 lb. 

 crude protein, 0.404 lb. carbohydrate, 0.032 lb. ether extract; of pig C (308 lbs.), 

 0.112 lb. crude protein, 0.401 lb. carbohydrate, 0.032 lb. ether extract." 



In the third experiment the feed consisted of ground corn, red dog flour, 

 tankage, and pork cracklings, and also included a fasting period of 8 days. 

 "The apparent maintenance requirement per day per 100 lbs. live weight of 

 pig A (415 lbs.) was 0.078 lb. protein, 0.228 lb. carbohydrate, and 0.029 lb. 

 ether extract; of pig B (320 lbs.), 0.084 lb. protein, 0.213 lb. carbohydrate, and 

 0.036 lb. ether extract." 



It is noted that the results of these experiments indicate that " the maintenance 

 requirement of pigs is variable, i. e., one and the same pig, under different con- 

 ditions, may maintain its live weight on distinctly different quantities of the 

 same combination of feeds. This variation seems to be due to the plane of 

 nutrition upon which the pigs have been maintained previous to the time of 



