Fig. 3 — The ewe on the left received supplement cobalt cost- 

 ing approximately one-fourth cent per year; the ewe on the 

 right received the same ration with the exception of cobalt. 

 Note the difference in the size of the animals arid 

 the condition of the fleeces. 



compare the nutritive value of tim- 

 othy hay cut at three different stages 

 of maturity, and a second cutting 

 of ladino-red clover hay. While all 

 analytical work is not yet complete, 

 the protein balances show that clo- 

 ver hay supplies twice as much pro- 

 tein as late-cut timothy hay. 





Fig. 4 — The cobalt-deficient animal 

 often chews wood. 



With regard to metabolizable ener- 

 gy, the early cut timothy hay sur- 

 passed the second cutting clover hay 

 by over 5 per cent and the late cut 

 timothy by 12 per cent. 



These results show the tremendous 

 importance that stage of maturity 

 plays in the value of the roughage, 

 especially in the Northeast where 

 more emphasis should be placed on 

 home-grown roughage in dairy cat- 

 tle feeding. 



N. F. Colovos, A. E. Teeri, 



H. A. Keener, and J. R. Prescott 



Cobalt Studies with Livestock. 

 Early in 1944, workers at the New 

 Hampshire Agricultural Experiment 

 Station found that a nutritional de- 

 ficiency which had been affecting 

 cattle, sheep, and goats in parts of 

 New Hampshire for well over 100 

 years could be prevented or cured 

 by feeding very small amounts of 

 cobalt. This deficiency was char- 

 acterized by loss of appetite, loss of 

 flesh, rough hair coat, anemia, weak- 

 ness, decreased milk production, 

 abortion, or even death. A marked 

 improvement was usually observed 

 within a week after the feeding of 

 a very small amount of cobalt was 

 started. The deficiency was found 

 to be causing heavy loss over much 

 of the State. 



Because of results obtained by 

 this and other agricultural experi- 



13 



