Agricultural Research in New Hampshire 57 



The maintenance of a team of two horses costs 33,610 calories per 

 day, and they spend 11,250 calories per hour to pull the plow. On the 

 basis of six hours steady pulling (allowing time for rest) per day this 

 would amount to a total of 101,110 calories, which is equal to the avail- 

 able energy contained in a ration (for each horse) consisting of 20 pounds 

 of good Timothy or grass hay plus 25 pounds of corn and 2 pounds of 

 linseed meal, or a ration consisting of 20 pounds of such hay and 30 

 pounds of oats. 



Obviously this is more than a horse weighing 1,500 pounds can con- 

 sume without danger of foundering, but if fed within safe limits horses 

 spend more than they consume and consequently lose flesh. 



There are only three ways to prevent this loss of flesh. 



1. Work fewer hours and rest between. 



2. Cut down width or depth of furrow. 



3. Use a three-horse hitch. 



(E. G. Ritzman, N. F. Colovos) 



Gas Masks 



A study was also made of the efficiency of an army gas mask for horses. 

 A mask for this purpose was supplied by the Chemical Warfare Service 

 of the Army which was deeply interested in the results. (E. G. Ritzman, 

 N. F. Colovos, A. Littlehale) 



POULTRY 



Protein Requirements of Chickens 



The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the relative 

 efficiency of utilization of the two animal protein concentrates, dried 

 skimmilk and vacuum-processed fish meal, when used as the sole animal 

 protein source at two different levels in chick rations, (2) their influence 

 on the pH of the intestinal tract, and (3) their effect on enzyme action 

 in the gizzard of the bird. 



Two hundred and forty day-old New Hampshire chicks were divid- 

 ed into four groups of sixty chicks each and fed all mash rations similar 

 to those previously reported in Station Bulletin 312 and 335. Group I 

 was fed the 15 per cent dried skimmilk diet; Group II, the 19 per cent 

 dried skimmilk diet; Group III, 15 per cent vacuum-processed fish meal, 

 and Group IV, 19 per cent vacuum-processed fish meal. 



At eight and ten weeks of age, respectively, a lot of five females of 

 approximately the same body weight were removed from each group 

 in the growing batteries into individual experimental cages and continued 

 for a period of one week for nitrogen determination studies. During this 

 period individual daily feed and body weight records were maintained. 

 The feed was similar to that already mentioned. During the week's 

 period of individual study a representative accumulated sample of feces 

 from each bird was taken and was dried and analyzed for various nitro- 

 genous excretory compounds. At the termination of this weekly test 

 period all birds were killed, the digestive and intestinal tracts removed by 



