1104 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



should be studied and that the degree of acidity which may be permitted without 

 harm should be determined. 



Cost of maintenance and growth of ruminants, A. Gouin and P. Andouard 

 (2. Cong. Internal. Aliment. Ration. Betail, 1905, Baps., pp. 115-121). — On the basis 

 of experimental evidence, the authors conclude that the energy required for a kilo- 

 gram of gain in body weight is about 1,200 calories per square meter surface area. 

 Powdered bone is considered an important aid in practical feeding. 



Western feeds for beef production, J. G. Haney and 0. H. Elling (Kansas 

 Sta. Bui. 132, pp. 21-52, figs. 9). — Using 64 grade Shorthorn and Hereford cattle 

 divided into 8 uniform lots, the value of corn-and-cob meal and Kafir corn meal with 

 alfalfa hay, with Kafir corn hay, and with sorghum hay was studied, as well as 

 ground wheat with alfalfa hay, and a mixed ration containing all the other feeding 

 stuffs enumerated. 



The greatest gain in the 152 days of the test, 338 lbs., was noted with the lot fed 

 corn-and-cob meal and alfalfa hay, and the smallest gain, 160 lbs., with the lot fed 

 ground Kafir corn and sorghum hay. Generally speaking, the lots fed the rations 

 containing alfalfa hay and the mixed ration made larger gains than the other lots. 



The cost of a pound of gain ranged from 5.13 cts. with the corn-and-cob meal and 

 alfalfa hay ration to 11.74 cts. on ground Kafir corn and sorghum hay. 



In the case of the lots fed ground grain and alfalfa hay the dressed weight was on 

 an average 60 per cent of the live weight in round numbers. In the case of the other 

 lots it was somewhat lower. Other data regarding the slaughter test are recorded. 



"For beef production, ground Kafir corn is about equal, pound for pound, to corn- 

 and-cob meal when alfalfa hay is fed with either of these concentrates. . . . 

 Ground wheat and alfalfa hay, fed together, is not an economical ration for beef on 

 account of the loosening effect of these feeds on the steers and the expensiveness of 

 the wheat. . . . 



"A matter of this experiment of considerable interest, especially to the western 

 farmer, is the part that the various roughages play in beef production. . , . One 

 bushel of corn-and-cob meal fed with alfalfa hay as roughage produced 11.8 lbs. of 

 flesh, while the same amount of corn-and-cob meal fed with sorghum hay as a rough- 

 age gave in return only 6.25 lbs. of flesh; thus, a difference of 5.5 lbs., or 88 per cent 

 in favor of the alfalfa hay ration. . . . 



"It is the opinion of the writer that the western feeds grown without irrigation 

 have the chief food constituents in a slightly different proportion from those grown 

 under more favorable conditions, though the nutritive ratio of the rations fed and 

 the profit per steer have a direct relation to each other. For practical work the results 

 would be little changed by this difference in composition." 



Highland cattle, J. Roberts ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Circ. 88, 

 pp. 227-241). — This is reprinted from the annual report of the Bureau for 1904 

 (E. S. R., 17, p. 689). 



Pigs and bacon (Jour. Jamaica Agr. Soc, 10 (1906), iVo. 3, pp. 108-110).— Data 

 are summarized showing that bacon curing may be profitably carried on in Jamaica 

 with local-grown pigs. The majority ol the local leeding stuffs, it is pointed out, are 

 very rich in carbohydrates and tend to produce fat rather than flesh. The pulp 

 remaining alter cotton-seed oil is expressed, peas, and cowpeas are spoken of as very 

 satisfactory feeds for pigs raised for bacon. 



Feeding- of horses, E. Lavalard (2. Cong. Internat. Aliment. Ration. Betail, 1905, 

 Baps., pp. 13-27). — A summary and discussion of recent horse-feeding experiments 

 in France, particularly those carried on upon a large scale. 



Influence of foods containing sugar upon the digestibility of rations of 

 horses, J. Alquier (2. Cong. Internat. Aliment. Ration. Betail, 1905, Raps., pp. 1-12). — 

 On the basis of experimental evidence it is stated that sugar did not appreciably 

 affect the digestibility of the nutrients of a ration even when as much as 5 or 6 kg. 



