68 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



To ih'tcriiiiiie whi-ther it if< more satisfartory in fatteniiij^ stc.ei>j to Imy inorlerately 

 lieavy aniinalH and fee*! tluMii for a nliort jieriod or ligliter, tliinner animals and con- 

 tinue feediiiji them for a lonj^er j)eriod, 7 lar^e nteers were fed for 119 days and (i 

 smaller steerH for 174 days, the larger animals ))eing jiiven 0.9-4 and the smaller ani- 

 mals 0.59 11). of grain per day per 100 lbs. live weiglit. The heavy steers gained 1.88 

 lbs. jx'r head ]>er day, consuming Ki.lo lbs. dry matter ])rr pound of gain. Similar 

 values for the other steers were l.H lbs. and 1.S.52 lbs. 



The author notes that although the results were markedly in favor of the longer 

 feetling j>eriod it would be unsafe to draw conclusions from a single test and proposes 

 to make further trials. 



In connection with the feeding experiments reported the relative gains made l)y 

 3-year-old and 2-year-old steers on the same ration were noted. The 8 older animals 

 made an average daily gain of 1.87 lbs. per head for 119 days and the 4 younger ani- 

 mals of 1.S2 llis., the dry matter required per pound of gain in the 2 cases V)eing 

 16.95 ll)s. and 15.74 lbs. "While the 8-year-old steers made slightly the larger gains, 

 they i'e(juired more food for a pound of gain than the 2-year-old steers." 



Phosphates for cattle, E. Ryley {Agr. Jam: ftnd Min. Rcc, 6 {190.3), No. 4, pp. 

 130, lol). — Directions are given for preparing a mixture of phosphates and other 

 salts for use as a cattle lick. 



Sheep breeding at the Agricultural College, J. Mahon ( (iueeiiduud Ayr. Jour., 

 12 {1903), Xo. 5, pp. 313, 314)- — Brief notes regarding the breeding and manage- 

 ment of sheep at the Queensland Agricultural College. 



Fattening Iambs, G. E. Day {Ontario Agr. Col. and Expt. Farm ]\pl. 1902, }>. 

 71). — Using 2 lots of 10 lambs each the comparative merits of roots and silage sup- 

 plementing a ration of liay with 1.5 lbs. mixed grain per head was studied in a test 

 covering 15 weeks. The roots and silage were fed with the hay in the proportion of 

 2:1. The average gain per lamb per week on the root ration was 2.12 lbs. and on 

 the silage ration 1.81 lbs., the dry matter required per pound of gain in the 2 cases 

 being 11.1 and 12.94 lbs., respectively. 



Pig feeding experiments with cotton-seed meal, R. R. Dinwiddie {Arkansas 

 Sta. Bui. 7>), pp. 133-14S) . — With a view to securing information regarding the liariii- 

 ful effects observed when cotton seed is fed to pigs, a number of tests were under- 

 taken in which this material constituted a larger or smaller part of the ration. In 

 the first series, which included 12 i^igs, averaging from 30 to 50 lbs. in weight, 9 of 

 the animals died in from 34 to 54 days when given a daily allowance per head of 0.6 

 to 0.8 lb. cotton-seed meal mixed with ground bran or corn. Three pigs fed bran 

 and corn chops 1:3 only remained in good health, gaining 0.9 lb. per day for 56 days. 

 It was noted that when mixed with wheat bran or wheat chops the cotton-seed meal 

 was less dangerous than when mixed with ground corn. It is suggested that possibly 

 this is because the corn mixture is not bulky enough. It is pointed out that the 

 ration containing wheat bran or wheat chops, though the more satisfactory, is badly 

 balanced and therefore wasteful. 



In a later test with more bulky feed 14 pigs were given a mixture of cotton-seed 

 meal, wheat bran, wheat chops, and cut cowpea hay for a period of 6 months with- 

 out evident harmful effects, the quantity of cotton-seed meal eaten per day averaging 

 from 0.8 to 1.4 per cent of the body weight, or from 0.4 to 0.7 lb. for a pig weighing 

 50 lbs. In one test cotton-seed meal in the same proportion was fed to a sow during 

 the last 80 days of pregnancy without harm to mother or progeny. 



It has been suggested that the harmful effects following cotton-seed feeding are 

 due to the oil contained in the seed; therefore 8 pigs were fed for 20 weeks a ration 

 of corn meal and wheat bran 1:2 (with some green feed during a part of the time) 

 with from 1 to 4 oz. of crude cotton-seed oil added, an amount which is greater than 

 that contained in a quantity of seed which proved fatal. No evil effects were noted 



