ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 585 



scrapers. Several of those who use coal cinders for filling muddy portions of the Lot 

 state that they should be covered with Btraw . cornstalks, or other bedding matt -rial 

 in order to prevenl injury to the feel of the cattle. 



The authors note the wide divergence of wpiiii.ui among practical feeders as to the 

 kind and amounl of shelter necessary for fattening cattle. About half the corre- 

 spondents state that sheds are used; about one-third, including most of those who 

 irrd in spring and summer, use pens, Lots, or open fields, where cattle usually have 

 access to shade of one sort or another; and aboul LO per cenl feed in barns. Two 

 individuals stair that they practice stall feeding, while a fe\* depend upon wo 

 and straw stacks for shelter. 



A few feeders reporl thai they find the shelter unnecessary even in winter. Two- 

 thirds of the correspondents stand that in their opinion better results would be 

 obtained if the steers had arc.-- to a closed shed or warm barn and in manj i 

 point cut that the barn or shed should he well ventilated and lighted, and that the 

 Bteers must not be confined too closely. Twenty-eighl of the reports, principally 

 those from large feeders, state that self-feeders are used and practically all who dis- 

 cuss the advantages of this plan of feecling point out either the Bavingof labor or the 

 advantage of uniformly regulated feed. 



The circular also contains brief descriptions of cattle yards, feedingand watering 



devices, cat tie shelters, and a .-elf-feeder which experience has show to he satisfactory. 



Flaxseed for fattening- lambs, G. E. Morton (Ranchman's Reminder, : 1905 . 

 No. 8, />/>. J!>, 20, figs. .'i. -In a comparison of ground flaxseed and barley fed with 

 alfalfa and turnips to lambs, it was found that on flaxseed the average gain in the 

 It; weeks of the tesl was 26 lbs. per head and on barley 33 lbs. The cosl of a pound 

 of grain was. however, greater on the barley than on the flaxseed ration. 



The test as a whole is regarded as satisfactory since it shows that ••raw flaxseed 

 may be used successfully without cereal grains or corn in finishing Lambs for market." 

 Apparently flaxseed increased the flow of urine, as has been thought to he the case. 

 The manure, however, was not of abnormal consistency. 



Bacon pig's in Canada, J. 11. Geisdale (Canada Cent. Expt. Farm Bui. -''J, pp. 

 61, pi. 1, figs. .;, dgms. 8) . — Breeds, housing, feeds and feeding, care and management, 

 causes of soft pork, and related questions are discussed, the work as a whole sum- 

 marizing the investigations of the Canada experiment stations, particularly the 

 Central Experimental Farm. 



Very good results are reported from Manitoba when sows and breeding Btock gen- 

 erally were wintered in pens constructed of a low framework of poles on posts covered 

 with a large amount of straw, the entrance on the south side being a passage of 

 similar construction to the pen. The pigs were, of course, fed outside the pens. It 

 is said that with a temperature of 30° F. below zero the pigs remained in good health. 



The various investigations which are summarized have been noted from time to 

 time as they have appeared in the publications of the Canada experiment stations. 



The effect of body movement upon the digestion and absorption of nutrients 

 in the horse, A. Scheunebt | Arch. Physiol. [Pfluger], 109 ( 1905), S>>. ■>'-!■. pp. 1 '/■'•- 

 198). — The horses were \<->\ under uniform conditions. In some of the t«>t- they 

 were allowed to rot for 1 to 5 hours after feeding, and in others they were driven 

 for like periods. They were then slaughtered and the contents of the digestive tract 

 examined with a view to determining the effect of muscular work on digestion and 

 assimilation of nutrients. 



In general, the conclusion was reached that body exercise considerably increased 

 ligestion and assimilation of tin- nutrients of food. The passage of stomach contents 



into the intestine begins very soon, probably while the f 1 is being eaten, and is 



accelerated by exercise. Exercise increases the amount of gastric juice, and also its 

 enzyni and hydrochloric-acid content. 



