602 



fSE AOtttCtJ LTUEAL JOUiiNA L 



The Iowa Experiment Station did a fine 

 piece of work when it showed that maize 

 meal is an excellent addition to skim 

 milk for feeding calves designed for beef 

 purposes. The reason advanced by Prof. 

 Curtiss was also correct when he showed 

 that skim milk was excessively rich in 

 the muscle-building elements, and that 

 the addition of oil meal only increased 

 the excess, while maize meal would fur- 

 nish the carbohydrates, and thereby 

 secure a better balance of nutrients. 

 Many years ago the writer, in a carefully- 

 conducted experiment, showed that skim 

 milk was an economical feed for young 

 lambs, and that they would thrive on it 

 as well as young pigs. For pig-feeding 

 the usefulness of skim milk is universally 

 recognised, and little need be said on this 

 branch of the subject. Feeders are re- 

 minded, however, that the best results 

 are secured where the milk is not fed in 

 excess. In a series of nineteen trials to 

 determine the value of skim milk the 

 writer found out that it was not well to 

 give over three pounds of skim milk with 

 each pound of grain, aLd a still lower 

 ratio may be used with advantage unless 

 the milk is very abundant. 



Milk, either whole or skimmed, may 

 be used by those who wish to have young 

 animals aUaina high finish for exhibition 

 or sale purposes. As before indicated, it is 



easy to overdo matters in this particular. 

 Lambs are often fed milk to bring them 

 to heavy weights and early maturity for 

 exhibition purposes. Pigs receiving milk 

 show it in their glossy hair and rotund 

 bodies. The excellent balance which 

 milk makes possible when added to maize 

 for pig-feeding is shown by experiments 

 conducted by the writer some years since. 

 One lot of growing pigs was maintained 

 on maize, with no other addition except 

 wood ashes, salt and water. A second 

 lot from the same litter received milk 

 additional. After continuing the feeding 

 many weeks, the pigs were slaughtered, 

 and it was found that those receiving 

 skim milk had not only grown much 

 more rapidly and were consequently 

 larger than the others, but that there was 

 more lean meat or muscle in the carcases. 

 Maize had made fat, but not properly 

 nourished the muscular portion of the 

 body. Breaking the thigh bones of these 

 pigs in the testing machine showed that 

 the bones of the pigs getting skim milk 

 were from one to three times as strong 

 as those maintained exclusively on maize. 

 The maize-fed pigs were fat and flabby, 

 with weak bones and pinched muscles ; 

 they were dwarfed in size. Those getting 

 milk with maize were growing to full 

 size and had abundance of muscle or red 

 meat and the best of bones. 



Lucerne Ensiiage. 



A LATE Colorado bulletin, says the 

 " Queensland Agricultural Journal," 

 gives some tests made of alfalfa or lucerne 

 as an ensilage plant. One test, says the 

 bulletin, was made with the alfalfa put in 

 whole as cut in the field ; the other with 

 alfalfa cut to quarter-inch pieces, as we 

 cut our corn for ensilage. The whole 

 alfalfa showed a spoiled layer three inches 

 thick on the top and one inch layer round i 

 the side nearly all the way down. The 

 ensilage of the bottom and middle was 

 excellent, and was greedily eaten by the 

 cows and calves. Its loss in the total 

 weight was 10"7 per cent. ; but its loss in 

 feeding value was probably a little larger. 



The other silo was filled with cut 

 alfalfa. The next day the silo was 



covered with two thicknesses of building 

 paper and one of boards, and weighted 

 with stone to about 55 lb. per square foot. 

 When covered the ensilage was hotter 

 than the hand could bear. Two days 

 later the temperature had fallen to 83 

 degrees Fah., and in two days more it had 

 fallen to that of the air. The ensilage 

 shrank ami settled a good deal. When 

 put in, it contained 3 per cent, of dry 

 matter. On opening, the silo showed two 

 inches of spoiled ensilage on top and half 

 inch on the sides. The spoiled ensilage 

 was 7-3 per cent of the total weight. The 

 loss in dry matter was approximately 10 

 per cent. 



It is fair to presume that with a good 

 tight silo well-made ensilage from cut 



