66 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 174. 



The above data indicate that on the basis of substantially the same 

 water content, 2,000 pounds of pumpkins contain some 9 pounds more of 

 digestible crude protein, 16 pounds more of digestible fiber, 43 pounds less 

 digestible extract matter, and some 27 pounds more digestible fat than are 

 contained in a like amount of mangels. Mangels, then, are richer in car- 

 bohydrate matter, but less rich in protein and particularly in fat than is 

 the pumpkin. The pumpkin contains more digestible protein than the 

 ruta baga, about the same amount of fiber, rather less carbohydrate 

 matter and noticeably more fat. On the basis of total digestible nutrients, 

 allowing for the increased energy value of the fat, the two roots appear 

 to have about 20 per cent, less feeding value than the same weight of 

 pumpkin. These figures, of course, cannot be taken too literally. It is 

 doubtful if the computation of net energy values — because of the scan- 

 tiness of the data — would throw any additional light on the relative 

 values of the several feeds. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH PUMPKINS. 



A number of experiments are recorded relative to the value of pump- 

 kins as a feed for cows and pigs. Hills ^ fed three cows in three periods of 

 fifty-four days each on hay, silage, a grain mixture and pumpkins. Dur- 

 ing the first and third periods the cows received the hay, silage and grain, 

 and in the second period, hay, silage, grain and pumpkins. Two and one- 

 half pounds of pumpkins with 90.1 per cent, of water were substituted 

 for 1 pound of silage, with apparently like results. 



In a second experiment with four cows, feeding pumpkins in the second 

 of three periods at the rate of 40 pounds per cow daily, he concluded that 

 6^ pounds of pumpkins with 87.9 per cent, water were equal to 1 pound 

 of hay. 



French ^ fed six Berkshire pigs that were eight months of age on a ration 

 of wheat shorts and field pumpkins (cooked) with the seeds removed. 

 The experiment covered five periods of eighty-four days each, and in the 

 last two periods the pigs consumed an average each of 26 pounds of pump- 

 kins per day. The average daily gain in live weight was 1.5 pounds, and 

 the results were considered quite satisfactory. 



Burkett ' fed several lots of three pigs on combinations of skim milk, 

 corn meal and pumpkins cooked and uncooked; also on milk and raw 

 pumpkins versus milk and corn meal; and on milk, pumpkins and apples, 

 half and half, cooked, versus milk, corn meal and bran, half and half. 

 The general conclusion was that cooking did not increase the feeding 

 value of pumpkins, and that a combination of skim milk, corn meal and 

 pumpkins gave the most satisfactory results. 



Pott * reports that in England pumpkins are quite generally fed to fat- 



» Already cited. 



* Oregon Experiment Station, Bui. No. 53, p. 22. 



* New Hampshire Experiment Station, Bui. No. 66. 



* Handbuch der tierischen Ernahrung, etc., II. Band, pp. 424, 425. 



