384 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



sheep's burnet arc valuable. For summer and autumn feeding, lucern, cowpeas, 

 and stubble paddocks furnish the bulk of the food. By such practice it is possible 

 to keep the ewes and lambs in good condition, and also allows of the lambs being 

 marketed at profitable prices." 



Feeding farm animals, T. Butler and B. \Y. Kilgoee {Bui. N. ft Bd. Agr., 25 

 (1904), No. 11, Sup., pp. 36). — The composition and digestibility of feeding stuffs 

 and related questions are discussed with special reference to the feeding of farm 

 animals under local conditions. 



To simplify the calculation of rations a table is given showing the amount of 

 digestible nutrients furnished by different quantities of a number of feeding stuffs. 

 Feeding standards are quoted, and rations suggested which meet the requirements of 

 the standards. For a horse at light work a ration of. 12 lbs. corn fodder, 2 lbs. cow- 

 pea hay, 5 lbs. corn, and 1 lb. cotton-seed meal is suggested, and for severe work 

 10 lbs. corn fodder, 5 lbs. cowpea hay, 10 lbs. cone, 2 lbs. cotton-seed meal. 



"The horse is not able to digest coarse dry foods to the best advantage, and, more- 

 over, large quantities of hay are objectionable where the horse is to do severe or 

 fast work, because an overfull stomach interferes with respiration, which must be 

 increased as the work is increased. In the opinion of the writer, therefore, both the 

 rations for horses, given above, would he improved by slightly decreasing the hay 

 and increasing the grain. 



" Any difficulty experienced in getting a horse to eat the cotton-seed meal, when 

 he lias not been accustomed to doing so, may usually be overcome by grinding the 

 corn and mixing the corn meal and cotton-seed meal. Cotton-seed meal is used in 

 these rations to supply the necessary protein to repair the worn-out muscles instead 

 of increasing the pea- vine hay for the reason given above and because any of the 

 leguminous hays seems to cause too great a looseness in the bowels of hard-working 

 horses. It is used in preference to oats and wheat bran because it is much cheaper." 



For milch cows the authors believe that 5 lbs. of cowpea hay can replace 4 lbs. of 

 wheat bran, since locally the wheat bran is expensive. As regards pig feeding it is 

 stated that, "when a field of cowpeas, alfalfa, or peanuts is not available it will 

 probably pay to balance the corn ration with wheat middlings or dried blood if 

 either can be purchased at a reasonable price, unless some other protein food is avail- 

 able or the fattening period is to be an extremely short one." 



Present methods of beef production, V, H. W. Mumford and L. D. Hall (Illi- 

 nois Sta. Circ. 94, pp. 4)- — The principal deductions which were drawn from replies 

 to a list of questions sent to a number of Illinois cattle feeders regarding the breed- 

 ing of beef cattle for market are as follows: 



Only 12 per cent of the cattlemen represented raise all the cattle they fatten and 

 but 35 per cent raise a part and buy the remainder. " With reference to the cattle 

 involved, only 16 per cent are marketed by men who raise all the cattle they sell 

 and 1$ per cent by those who raise part and buy part of their cattle." Pure-bred 

 sires were kept by 87 per cent of the correspondents who it is stated raise their own 

 cattle, while the remainder report the use of grade bulls. Pure-bred cows were kept 

 by 19 per cent of the cattle raisers and grades by 35 per cent, while 46 per cent did 

 not state whether pure-breds or grades were used. 



F( irty-two per cent of the replies state that heifers are bred to produce market st< »ck 

 at 24 months. A number preferred 1 to 2 years and a very few more than 2 years. 

 "The spring season is chosen by four-fifths of the correspondents as a time for the 

 dropping of the principal crop of calves. The remainder are divided in their pref- 

 erences among the summer, winter, and fall seasons, and but 2 per cent plan to have 

 the calves dropped at 2 seasons, spring and fall. 



"One-fifth of those who reply castrate calves when less than 1 week old; one-half 

 castrate before the calves are over 1 month old; four-fifths castrate when less than 3 

 months old. Only 5 per cent of the correspondents delay the operation later than 6 



