56 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 174. 



The puinpkiu had a tendency to increase temporarily the fat percentage 

 in the milk, due evidently to the oil contained in the seed. 



5. The seeds appeared to be free from any injurious effects upon the 

 animals when fed in the amounts found in the entire fruit, contrary to 

 the notion prevalent among many farmers. In foreign countries they are 

 often dried and ground, and serve as a very nutritious and harmless food, 

 if not fed in too large amounts. 



6. It is not considered good economy to grow pumpkins exclusivel}^ as 

 a food for either cows or pigs, because of their high water content and 

 poor keeping quality. For the latter reason it is advisable to feed them 

 in the late fall or earlj'^ winter. In one instance a yield of 9 tons is reported 

 when they were grown exclusivelj^, on which basis they would yield about 

 2,000 pounds of actual food material (digestible organic matter plus fat 

 multiplied by 2.2) as against 3,000 pounds derived from corn. Their 

 place in the farm economy seems in a way to have been discovered 

 by the farmer, namely, in their limited cultivation together with corn. 



7. They may be fed cut reasonably fine at the rate of 30 to possibly 50 

 pounds per head daily, in place of 6 to 10 pounds of hay, in addition to 

 hay and a reasonable amount of grain. It is not advised to feed them 

 with other watery foods such as roots and silage. 



The}' also may be fed (cut fine) to pigs, mixed with a combination of 

 equal parts, by weight, of corn meal and fine wheat middlings, or with a 

 mixture, by weight, of 95 parts corn meal and 5 parts of digester tankage. 

 It is doubtful if it pays to cook them. If fed in too large amounts daily 

 they furnish too much bulk but insufficient nutriment, and as a result 

 the animals are likely to lose in flesh. 



