1919] 



ANIMAL PRODUCTIOlSr. 



167 



pasture charge was $9 an acre and the profit -$6.35 per head, with the same 

 margin as before. 



Corn silage for beef production, J. W. Wilson and B. L. Thompson (South 

 Dakota Sta. Bui. 182 (WIS), pp. 3-12, figs. 5). — Tests during two winters with 

 silage made from corn cut at different stages of maturity are reported. Four 

 lots of 5 steers were fed each season, yearling Aberdeen Angus grades being 

 used in 1917 and 2-year-old Hereford gi-ades in 1918. Silage was the only 

 feed given. The main results follow: 



Results of feeding steers ivith silage made from corn cut at different growth 



stages. 



Stage at which corn was cut. 



Year. 



Feeding 

 period. 



Initial 

 weight 



per 

 head. 



Dailv 



gain 



per 



head. 



Daily 

 silage con- 

 sumption 

 per 



head. 



S"'^?^ TsYance' 

 consumed ^„^^^X« 3 



pound 

 of gain. 



per 



pound. 



ofgain. 



Mature (frosted) 



Do 



Glazed stage 



Do 



Dough stage 



Do 



Milk stage 



Do , 



1917 

 1918 

 1917 

 1918 

 1917 

 1918 

 1917 

 1918 



Days. 

 119 



90 

 119 



90 

 119 



90 

 119 



Lbs. 

 709 

 945 



765 

 943 

 737 

 917 

 733 

 945 



Lbs. 

 2.18 

 2.00 

 1.94 

 2.61 

 2.01 

 2.54 

 2.01 

 1.86 



Lbs. 

 54.5 

 57.8 

 62.4 

 80.9 

 64.4 

 82.4 

 72.8 

 81.1 



Lbs. 

 24.9 

 28. 8 

 31.9 

 30.9 

 31.9 

 32.3 

 30.1 

 4.3.6 



Lbs. 



10.9 

 10.5 

 8.0 

 8.1 

 8.4 

 8.9 

 7.5 

 9.1 



It is concluded that silage made from corn cut when the kernels were glazed 

 produced the most satisfactory gains. Proximate analyses of the' eight dif- 

 ferent silages are tabulated. 



[Steer feeding experiments in Canada] (Canada Expt. Farms Rpt. 1918, pp. 

 67, 68, 111). — A continuation of te.sts at the Kentville, N. S., Experimental 

 Station (E. S. R., 40, p. 768) is reported by W.. S. Blair (pp. 67, 68). Two 

 lots of 12 steers each were fed from November 28, 1917, to March 31, 1918. 

 One lot, fed 35 lbs. of corn silage daily, gained at the rate of 1.7 lbs. per head 

 per day. The other, fed 45 lbs. of turnips, made a corresponding gain of 1.8 

 lbs. There was a hay ration, of 12 lbs. and a grain ration wlien in full feed 

 of 5 lbs. of a mixture of bran, cottonseed, and linseed meal. 



Two tests at the Brandon, Man., Experimental Farm are reported by W. 

 C. McKillican (p. 111). A lot of 11 steers made a gain of 140.6 lbs. per head 

 on silage, hay, and grain, at a cost of 13.4 cts. per pound of gain. A com- 

 parable lot in the same (undesignated) period made average gains of 143.7 

 lbs. each at a cost of 15 cts. per pound. In the second experiment, a §:roup 

 of high-grade steers gained 239.1 lbs. per head, while a group of ordinary 

 stockers gained 216.1 lbs. The cost per pound of gain was lower and the labor 

 income and profit per steer higher in the case of the grades. The labor in- 

 come and profit per $100 invested in steers and feed was higher in the case 

 of tlie stockers. 



Baising calves on farms where whole milk is sold, W. W. Swett (Missouri 

 Sta. Circ. 88 (1919), pp. IS, fig. i).— Where no skim milk is produced, the use of 

 calf meal gruel after a short period of whole milk feeding is recommended as a 

 makeshift. Methods of preparing gruel and feeding it are outlined. If, how- 

 ever, there is even a limited amount of skim milk available due t^ the separa- 

 tion of surplus whole milk, the problem, it is pointed out, is considerably sim- 

 plified. After two or three weeks skim milk can be substituted for whole milk, 

 and no calf meal need be used. 



