248 • SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH 



Fertilizers and nurse crops for seeding down. — Four one- 

 acre plots were seeded down with oats, barley, oats and peas 

 and barley and peas, as nurse crops. Thirteen one-tenth- 

 acre plots were used to determine the comparative efficiency 

 and cost of the various carriers of nitrogen, potash and phos- 

 phoric acid, and by arranging different combinations to 

 determine in which element the soil was the most deficient. 

 Another series of tests on the fertilization of mowing lands 

 will be completed next year and the data, together with that 

 of the two preceding tests, published in a bulletin on 

 "Grasses and Forage Crops." 



III. Feeding. 



Cost of wintering yearlings. — During the w^inter of 1904 

 an experiment was carried out with four lots of heifers, two 

 in each lot, to study the cost of wintering and to make a 

 comparison of different rations. Lot I received bran, corn 

 meal and linseed meal ; Lot II, bran, corn meal and gluten 

 feed ; Lot III, bran, corn meal and cotton-seed meal ; and 

 Lot IV, bran and corn meal. Each lot received hay and 

 ensilage for roughage. During the five and one-half months 

 of the experiment the cost of keeping was $19.28 for lot I ; 

 $20.86 for lot II ; $20.95 for lot III ; and $20.64 for lot IV. 

 Aside from the cost of keeping, lot I, which received linseed 

 meal, came out of the experiment in the best condition. 

 This was followed by lot III, lot IV and lot 11, respectively. 



Light and heavy oats for horses. — The three work teams 

 of Percheron blood owned by the college were used in this 

 experiment which extended over a period of sixty days. 

 The horses were in harness every working day of the period 

 and performed a grade of farm labor which required average 

 exertion and endurance. They were paired as follows : Rob 

 and Bess, Mag and Nell, Frank and Prince. From July 

 25th to August 23rd, Rob, Nell and Prince (one horse from 

 each team) each received 16 pounds of heavy oats per day, — 

 5 lbs. in the morning, 5 lbs. at noon and 6 lbs. in the evening. 

 For the same period Bess, Mag and Frank each received the 



