ANIMAL IMJoDTCTION. 689 



meal, but a better finish was secured, which caused the cattle to Bell for L5 cents 

 more per hundred. . . . 



■• Alfalfa i- much superior to prairie hay when the grain consists of corn alone. It 

 also proved to be a cheaper source of protein than oil meal. . . . 



•• Bright, well-cured corn stover tV<| w ith an equal weighl of alfalfa, the grain con- 

 sisting of (torn alone, gave slightly Larger gains than corn and alfalfa, and proved the 

 most economical ration in the experiment. The addition of corn stover may have 

 improved to some extent the corn and alfalfa ration by furnishing greater variety 

 and by its tendency to check scours sometimes caused by alfalfa. 



"Sorghum hay returned a value of S4.»i:; per ton in comparison with prairie hay 

 at $6, each being U'>\ with com 90 per cent and oil meal l<> per cent. . . . 



'• While the profit was small, the steer- returned a good price for the rough feeds at 

 the market values quoted high enough to make them profitable crops to grow on 

 the farm. Had the feeds been sold, these values for roughage would not have been 

 secured on the average Nebraska farm, nor would the manure have been left to make 

 the next crop larger." 



From this and similar work with yearling steers previously reported I E.S. II.. 16 

 p. 586) the following general deductions are drawn: 



"• Alfalfa hay is pronouncedly superior to prairie hay for beef production, and the 

 more rapid the extension of the area of land devoted to the production of alfalfa, 

 supplanting the less valuable and lower yielding native hay, the more rapid will 

 he the production of wealth from our soil. 



"Native prairie hay, if for any reason it is most available for feeding purpose-, 

 Bhould not he d'<\ with corn alone, but rather with corn supplemented with a small 

 quantity of some protein food, such as oil meal, to give more nearly a balance of 

 nutrients in keeping with animal requirements. 



"Cornstalks cut and put in the shock immediately after the ears ripen possess a 

 food value which can not consistently be ignored by the farmer, and existing land 

 values warrant the larger utilization of this roughness by the adoption of methods of 

 harvesting that will make such material more valuable for feeding purposes." 



Cattle and cattle raising in Brazil, H. von Jhering (Separate from Jahrb. 

 Deutschsprech. Kolon. Sao Paulo, 1 (1904), pp> 97-113, figs. 6, map 1). — In a discus- 

 sion of the problems of cattle raising in Brazil, Cuyabana, Caracu, Franqueiro, 

 Torino, Zebu, and China cattle are described, as the author considers these breeds 

 of especial importance for the local cattle industry. 



Highland cattle, J. Roberts (U. S. Dept. Agr., />'"/-. Anim. Indus. L'j>f. 1904, 

 pp. 227-241, pis. /'). — The origin and history of highland cattle, characteristics and 

 various points <»f the breed, feeding and management, and related questions are dis- 

 cussed. The author calls attention to the fact that there are not many representa- 

 tives of this breed in the United States and gives some information regarding tin' 

 whereabouts of the few American herds. 



Ration experiments with lambs, 1904-5, G. E. Mobton ( Wyoming Sta. Bui. 68, 

 pp. 23, pis. 8). -The comparative value of alfalfa and native hay, of barley and corn, 

 and of tlaxseed | ground without expressing the oil i was studied with 3 lots of 20 lambs 

 and 2 lots of 3 lambs each. In addition to grain and hay all the lots were fed turnips. 



At first the flaxseed used was mixed with the turnips, as otherwise the lambs would 

 not eat it owing to it- strong taste. After a time, however, it was eaten more readily. 

 With all the rations containing alfalfa hay the nutritive ratio wa- about 1 :5; w ith the 

 Dative hay ration it was I : L0.5. 



In the L6 weeks of the test the gains made on corn and alfalfa hay and barley and 

 alfalfa hay were 31.2 ami :;:;. 1 lbs. per head; on corn and native hay, 20.7 lbs.; on flax- 

 seed, corn, ami alfalfa hay, 31.8 lbs. ; and on flaxseed and alfalfa hay. 25.7 lbs. Elating 

 turnips at $2 per ton the cost of a pound of gain ranged from 4.68 cts, on corn and 

 alfalfa hay to 6.08 cts. on corn and native hay. 



