AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 25 



mals, not only is there a daily weighing of rations, but the weight 

 of the animals must be ascertained at the beginning and end of 

 the several feeding periods. The animals are usually weighed on 

 several successive days and the average of these weights is taken 

 as a basis for calculating the amount of growth. 



If an experiment is being made with dairy cows, not only is it 

 necessary to weigh the rations and also to keep a record of the 

 weights of the cows, but the weight of each mess of milk must be 

 recorded. The weights of milk are marked on prepared blanks 

 which are hung in a convenient place behind the animals. In 

 all such experiments the appetite and health of the animals 

 are carefully watched and the results with any animal that is 

 not in proper condition are not allowed to enter into the final 

 published records. The experimental animals, whether young 

 stock or dairy cows, are allowed a proper amount of exercise in a 

 yard which lies on the sunny side of the barn. A portion of the 

 partition which separates the tie-up from the feeding floor is 

 hinged, so that one part can be let down and another part turned 

 up. In this way, it is possible to give proper ventilation and to 

 some extent, control the temperature where the animals are 

 standing. 



Swine Feeding Experiments. 



These experiments are to be carried on in the future in six pens 

 which have lately been built in the basement (see Plate II). These 

 pens are divided into two rooms which are connected by a sliding 

 door, one room having a floor of spruce plank. This latter part is 

 well littered with straw and is intended for the place where the ani- 

 mals shall eat and sleep. The feeding troughs are so arranged that 

 by means of a swinging partition the animals can be excluded from 

 them. This device prevents the troughs being filled with filth 

 during the time when the animals are not eatiug, and allows the 

 attendant to turn in the food without inconvenience. After the 

 food is turned in, the partition is swung to the outside of the 

 trough, and when the animal has finished his meal, is swung back 

 again. 



The Digestion Room. 

 The mechanical appliances which must be considered in connec- 

 tion with a digestion experiment, are 



(1) The pen or stall in which the animal is kept. 



