270 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



"Forty per cent of the pliosphoric acid, 25 per cent of the potash, ami 4S 

 per cent of the nitrojj;en, being 42 per cent of the fertilizing value of the feeding 

 stuff, were excreted in the solid excrement. 



"About 53 per cent of the total fertilizer value of these feeding stuffs passes 

 into the iirine. 



" In feeding a ton of cotton-seed meal having a fertilizer valuation of $2;).50 

 to fattening animals, that portion of its fei'tility which passes into the solid 

 excrement has a valuation of about $12.40, and that which passes into the lu-ine 

 of about .$15."' 



Silage for fattening' cattle, B. E. Carmichael (Ohio Sta. Bill. 193, pp. l.'i'.)- 

 166). — ^A test of the relative merits of corn silage and corn stover was carried 

 on with live lots of seven each and one lot of six steers. On full feed the three 

 lots fed silage received 25 lbs. per head per day, with 17 lbs. of corn and 2.5 lbs. 

 of cotton-seed meal, and the dry-fed lots received 20 lbs. of shelled corn and 2.5 

 lbs. of cotton-seed meal. The steers were given all the dry coarse fodder they 

 would eat up clean, corn stover being used in the early part of the test and hay 

 of different sorts later. In the 140 days of the test the average daily gain of 

 tile steers on silage was 2.333 lbs. and on dry feed 2.313 lbs., the cost of a pound 

 of gain being 9.04 cts. and 10.21 cts., respectively. 



Data are recorded regarding the shrinkage in shipment and the manure pro- 

 duction of the lots. From two to four pigs followed each lot of cattle, the 

 average gain of those folhiwing the silage-fed steers being 1.027 lbs. per head 

 and of those following the dry-fed steers 1.1S7 lbs. Some of the lots were fed 

 one-third of a pound of tankage per day per pig. The average daily gain in 

 these cases was 1.406 lbs. 



"The results of this experiment indicate that silage may be used to good 

 advantage in the fattening of cattle, when stover and hay are high in price. . . . 



" No difference in the finish of the two sets of cattle was apparent. This was 

 shown by the fact that, although when the cattle were at market one pen con- 

 tained only silage-fed cattle and another only dry-fed cattle, a buyer of wide 

 experience, without knowing how the cattle had been fed, purchased both lots 

 at the same price. Other expert cattlemen failed to note any difference between 

 the two lots of cattle. 



" It is not to be expected that silage alone or silage and other rough feed will 

 produce a high finish in a short feeding period, since not enough grain is present 

 in the silage for this purpose. Less shelled corn was required, however, by the 

 steers that received silage than by the ones that received only dry feed." 



" High-priced feeds do not always prevent fair profits from being secured 

 from feeding operations. Besides, the valuable by-product, manure, remains 

 for use on the farm." 



The results are not regarded as final and the experiments will be continued. 



Feeding experiments with molasses, S. Wkiser and A. Zaitschek {Landw. 

 Jahrl)., 37 (1908), Xo. /, pp. 130~l.'i9). — In experiments with steers, the authors 

 conclude that satisfactory results were obtained when 7.64 to 8 kg. of molasses 

 per 1,000 kg. live weight was fed as an addition to a basal ration of 4 kg. 

 alfalfa hay, 2 kg. meadow hay, 3 kg. wheat chaff, and 5 kg. of clover or alfalfa 

 seed screenings. The digestibility of the ration was studied. 



In tests with horses. 2.3 kg. molasses fed in addition to 3.25 kg. maize, 3.2 

 kg. clover, and hay ad libitum gave very satisfactory results. The authors state 

 that the animals remained in the best of condition and left nothing to be 

 desired with respect to work performed. They did not sweat nuich even in 

 the hot summer months. Four kg. of molasses per 1,000 kg. live weight was 

 also well tolerated. When 5 to 5.5 kg. was fed for a long time no disturbance 



