24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND. 



appreciably increases the milk yield as compared with an 

 entire hay roughage. Under circumstances where the 

 accompanying depression of butter- fat content is not important, 

 the inclusion of the succulent in the dietar}^ of medium-pelding 

 dairy cows would be an advantage. 



PART III.— PRICKLY PEAR IN THE MAINTENANCE 



OF SHEEP. 



Cacti, cut by the machettes of ranchmen, in conjunction 

 with browse afforded by edible bush, are reported to be service- 

 able as a drought feed for sheep in Texas, while the succulence 

 of the plants in the Mexican desert is said to enable flocks 

 to remain as long as sixty days un watered (2). Locally O. 

 inermis in pasture has been regarded as of no value as sheep 

 feed, the animals either being injured by the prickle or becoming 

 addicted to fruit-eating with fatal results. The object of the 

 experimentation with sheep was to determine the value of 

 prickly pear as a maintenance feed when fed after preparation. 



Experimental. 



The sheep utilised were lightly woolled store six-tooth 

 ewes, crossbreds or merinos. The prickly pear was of 83-85 

 per cent, water content, sliced by machine and further finely 

 minced by hand implements. The prickly pear was variously 

 supplemented. The arrangement of the experiment is sh6wn 

 in Table 16 :— 



Table 16. — ^Feeding Trials with Sheep. 



The total time for which the sheep were fed prickly pear 

 was five months. 



The sheep were fed by groups in wooden troughs, and no 

 other feed was available than was given. The animals were 



