ANIMAL PKODUCTION. 69 



"and it is jiroliahle tiiat tiie harmful effects of overfeeding with cotton-se*^d meal are 

 not attril)utable to the oil whicli it contains." 



In all cases post-mortem examinations were made of the pigs which died after 

 consuming a ration containing cotton-seed meal. "The characteristic post-mortem 

 feature of cotton-seed-meal poisoning in all our cases Avas an acute dropsy of the 

 pleural and heart sacs with intense congestion (prol)al)ly secondary) of the liver and 

 kidneys, [the] immediate cause of death being suffocation from compression of the 

 lungs." . . . 



"The economy of feeding cotton-seed meal to pigs is a question which our experi- 

 ments were not especially designed to solve, except in so far as this is influenced by 

 the mortality of the feeding animals. Unless the percentage of deaths can be reduced 

 to insignificant proportions, it is obvious that cotton-seed meal never can be an 

 economical food. After a method of feeding has been evolved which secures this 

 end, the comparative value of the food from an economic standpoint may be deter- 

 mined by approjiriate tests. 



"As we have seen, the maxinnnn amount in which cotton-seed meal can l)e fed to 

 hogs is alxjut one-half jjound per day to [young] pigs, and for larger animals prol)ably 

 about 1 lb. It can therefore only form a small proportion — one-sixth or so — of any 

 purely grain ration fed, but even in this proportion may prove to l)e of economic 

 value since it contains the most expensive elements of the ration. . . . 



"As to the length of time which [a small quantity of] cotton-seed meal can be fed, 

 it appears to ])e, if not indefinite, at least long enough to secure any economic advan- 

 tages which this food could supply. A condition of relative immunity is probably 

 acquired since none of our experimental animals died if they survived the first two 

 months. On the other hand the poison of cotton-seed meal, when it produces symp- 

 toms at all, is evidently cumulative in its action, its effects being latent during the 

 first month or more, abrupt and violent when they do appear." 



Experiments with swine, G. E. Day {Ontario Agr. Col. and Expt. Farm Rpt. 

 1902, pp. 12, 7^).— Continuing earlier work (E. S. R., 13, p. 1078) brief notes are 

 given on the comparative merits of pasturing and soiling pigs, the green materials 

 used being vetch and later rape. The grain fed in addition consisted of barley and 

 middlings 3:1 during a greater part of the time. The pigs on pasture required 5.45 

 IVjs. of grain per pound of gain and those fed in pens 5.47 11)S. Taking into account 

 the fact that the pigs fed on pasture were superior at the start, the author concludes 

 that inside feeding gave rather more economical gains. 



"In each of 2 years, hogs pastured on rape, with a liberal allowance of meal, and 

 hogs fed in pens, with a small allowance of rape, in addition to a full meal ration, 

 gave bacon of excellent quality as to firmness. 



"There seems to be no doubt that a moderate allowance of succulent food, such 

 as clover, rape, vetches, or roots, has a beneficial influence upon the firmness of 

 bacon." 



The feeding of hay to pigs, A. E. MacLeod {Agr. SfudenW Gaz., n. ser., 11 

 {1903), Xo. S, pp. 86, 86). — The author states that he successfully employed chopped 

 hay mixed with grain in feeding pigs in West Virginia. Wheat seeded down with 

 timothy and clover or with clover alone, the latter being preferred, was followed by 

 cut clover, and this by maize, the last crop in the rotation being oats. 



The range hog as a forest problem, C. H. Shinn {Foresiry and Irrig., 9 {1903), 

 No. 6, pp. 295-297, Jig. 1). — According to the author range hogs injure the seedling 

 trees and pasturage in the Sierra forest reserves. The different plants eaten by the 

 hogs are discussed. 



Bacon curing as carried out at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College 

 {Queendand Agr. .Jour., 12 {1903), No. 5, pp. 827, 328).— Dry curing and brine cur- 

 ing of bacon are described. 



