16 X. H. Agr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 313 



A suitable mask has been constructed so that similar experiments 

 are now underway to study the energy expenditure of the horse. A 

 series of experiments have also been begun to study the effect of 

 ingestion of pure sugars on the respiratory quotient of the ruminant. 



These problems relate not only to the best economic interests in 

 feeding of livestock, but also to nutrition as it affects health and 

 efficiency, so that a sound physiological background of the animal 

 organism as a transformer of energy has a potential significance in 

 its application beyond the particular species on which it has been 

 determined. (PutneU and Adams Founds and Carnegie Institu- 

 tion of Washington) 



Sheep Breeding 



The researches of E. G. Ritzman on heredity in sheep have of 

 necessity been divided into three successive phases: (1) inherit- 

 ance of conformation and of wool, (2) inheritance of milk as indi- 

 cated by accessory nipples, and (3) inheritance of fecundity as repre- 

 sented by twinning. The second phase (that is, breeding ewes 

 having four or more functional nipples) has now been completed and 

 accessory functional nipples may be regarded as a stable attribute 

 imposed on the original Southdown x Rambouillet hybrid type 

 developed during the first phase. It is now only in very exceptional 

 cases that a ewe does not supply sufficient milk for good lamb growth. 



Twinning has up to the present been rather variable, because of 

 the necessity of breeding for other factors as well. This year the 

 twinning rate was 144 per cent. Experience shows that fecundity 

 can be materially increased by the consistent use of twin-bred sires, 

 but an equally rigid selection must be applied to females reserved for 

 breeding stock. Even so, the establishment of a uniform high twin- 

 ning potency will depend on the development of an inbred strain 

 possessing relatively pure blood lines for this trait. 



The nutritional state of the ewes, particularly at the time of mat- 

 ing and probably also during pregnancy, affects twin production. All 

 our breeding stock this fall were supplied with wheat germ oil to 

 build up and maintain a sufficient Vitamin E reserve. (Adams 

 Fvnd) 



Plant Injuries Caused by Lime-Sulphur Sprays 



Lime-sulphur sprays are effective in combating certain fungous 

 diseases, but even in a 1-50 solution they affect plant health 

 adversely. This is shown by the fact that sprayed i)lants always 

 show a less than ncji'mal weight, whether their foliage is kept 

 unweathered or whether it is exposed to rain and dew at night 

 (i. e., weathered). 



In i)revious experiments on yellow-eye beans conducted l)y O. But- 

 ler it was found that the addition of cane sugar reduced the injuries 

 of lime-sulphur spray. This year sugar was added to lime-sulphur 

 with calcium arsenate and also to lime-sulphur with acid lead arse- 

 nate, but corresponding results were not obtained. It was found 

 that on unweathered plants the action of sugar was too slight to l)e 

 considered. In the case of weathered plants sugar pro\ed beneficial 

 when calcium arsenate was added to the lime-sulphur solution, but 

 was without effect when lead arsenate was used. While weathering 

 does not increase the injury produced by lime-sulphur when arseni- 



