7lO EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



().:!:!0 111.; aiiil lot i\, nn a liniitnl aumunt <if beet pulp {<S to 50 l])S. ]<rv lot daily) and 

 the same grain mixture as tho prea'(liii<,' lot, 0.214 lb. The cost of a i)ound of gain 

 rangi'd fro!u 2.94 cts. with lot 5 (pulp ad lil)ituni and grain) to 4.22 cts. witli lot (5 (a 

 liiniti'd auiouiit of pulp and grain), being on an average for all the lots ;}.5() cts. 



Disoussing this and the earlier tests the author points out that with not far from 

 () lbs. of alfalfa hay, :}.87 lbs. of wheat screenings were recjuired per pound of gain. 

 With the other grains tested the amounts were a little higher. Under similar con- 

 ditions 17.86 lbs. of beet pulp were required per i^ound of gain in adilition to 7.97 

 lbs. of alfalfa hay. Feeding bran and screenings diminished the amount of both 

 alfalfa hay an<l pulp re(iuired per pound of gain. When beet-sugar molasses formed 

 a part of the ration 1.42 lbs. of this material and 1.5 lbs. of bran, together with 

 8. 1 lbs. of alfalfa liay, were required i)er pound of gain. 



"The cheapest gains were made on the rations in wliich an excess of pul]) was 

 fed, and there is but slight difference in the cost of one pound of gain wliether grain 

 was fed or not with the pulp. In either case it was below 3 cts. Tlie ration that 

 came next in cheapness of gain was that in which molasses was fed. . . . 



"In considering the profits to be obtained from any ration, yet another jioint must 

 be kept in mind; that is, the value of the finished product. Our experience last win- 

 ter showed that a full grain ration fattened the lambs more rapidly, and in a given 

 time gave a finished animal that was worth more per pound. AVe thus obtained 

 more for the original weight of the lambs as well as for the gains made. We received 

 one-fourth cent per pound more for the grain-fed lambs, 'fhis would mean 14 cts. 

 on the original weight of 56 lbs. per lamb, or $14 on a hundred lambs, an important 

 consideration. 



"Viewed in tiiis light, the ration of lucern and mixed grain, or screenings, with or 

 without beet pulp, proved the most profitable ration in fattening landjs." 



Analyses are reported of the feeding stuffs used. 



Sheep feeding-, F. B. Linfield {Montana Sla. Bui. 47, pp. 32, ])I. 1). — The com- 

 parative value of different grain rations (wheat screenings, wheat, oats, barley, and 

 a mixture of equal parts of wheat, oats, and l)arley) supplementing clover hay in 

 finishing sheep for market was studied with 5 lots of landjs and 5 lots of wethers. 

 Two of the lots of wethers contained 23 animals and all the other lots 22 animals 

 each at the beginning of the trial. The test covered 95 days in the winter of 1902-3. 



The comparison was so arranged that each ration was tested with both lambs and 

 wethers, the maximum amount of grain fed being I lb. per head daily. In the case 

 of the lambs the gains ranged from 0.22 lb. per head per day on oats to 0.287 lb. on 

 wheat screenings. With the wethers the gains ranged from 0.19 lb. on mixed 

 grain to 0.287 lb. on barley. Considering the test as a whole the lambs made an 

 average daily gain of 0.263 lb. at a cost of 4.49 cts. per pound and required 8.03 IIjs. 

 clover and 3.11 ll)s. grain per pound of gain. In the case of the wethers the average 

 daily gain was 0.238 11). per head, the cost of a pound of gain 6.3 cts., and the feed 

 required per pound of gain 13.49 lbs. clover and 3.38 lbs. grain. 



The lots were marketed in Chicago, the dressed weight of the lambs and wethers 

 being respectively 54.8 and 51.1 per cent of the live weight. When kept for 12 hours 

 without food or water the lambs shrank 2 per cent in weight and the wethers 3 per 

 cent. The author states that considering this test and other results obtained in the 

 last 2 or 3 years, the shrinkage in shipping lambs has been 8.3 per cent and in the case 

 of wethers 7.8 per cent, while on an average it has cost 78. 66 cts. per head to ship and 

 sell lambs and $1,165 to ship and sell wethers. Making allowance for the labor 

 involved in feeding there was a profit in the test reported of $2.09 per lamb and 

 $2.55 per wether. 



Sheep-feeding experiment, O. C. Higbee {Nebraska Farmer, 35 {1903), No. 43, 

 p. 1136).~0n the basis of a test with 2,600 old sheep, the details of which are briefly 

 reported, the feeding of cooked corn is recommended. The author believes that 



