926 Summary of Agricultural Experiments, [feb., 



but while one lot was given in addition 6 lb. of concentrated food, 

 viz., 3 lb. of equal parts of decorticated and undecorticated cotton cake, 

 and 3 lb. of barley meal, the other lot was given only half the quantity 

 at first and later 4 lb. The cost per week for the former lot was 

 6s. 6d., and for the latter 55. 3c?. At the end of the sixteen weeks it 

 was found that the gain made by each lot was practically the same, so 

 that in this case the smaller allowance of concentrated food was more 

 profitable. The growth made by the cattle was not very satisfactory, 

 but Professor Bryner Jones considers that the results show that when 

 cattle are liberally supplied with turnips, and sufficient hay and straw 

 to enable them to make the best use of the turnips, they will feed as 

 well on 3 lb. of concentrated food as on double the quantity. 



An interesting point arose in connection with the fact that the cattle 

 had no access to water at the commencement of the experiment. It 

 was not intended that they should be given water at all, but during 

 the last month it was thought better to supply them with as much water 

 as they required, and possibly in consequence of this there was quite a 

 remarkable increase in live-weight in both lots during that period. 



Rations with and without Water (Univ. Coll. of Wales, Aberystwyth, 

 Agric. Dept., Bull. 1). — This experiment, carried out in 1909-10, was 

 suggested by the effect of allowing the cattle access to water in the 

 foregoing experiment, which seemed to show the necessity of supplying 

 more water than is contained in 50 lb. of turnips per day. Two lots of 

 five cattle each, four Shorthorns and one Blue-grey, were used in the 

 experiment. From December 13th to April 5th they were given a ration 

 composed of 50 lb. roots, 10 lb. hay, | lb. linseed cake, £ lb. undecorti- 

 cated cotton cake, 6 lb. chopped straw, and 1^ lb. barley meal. In the 

 second half of the period an additional 1 lb. of concentrated food was 

 given. During the month before the experiment neither lot was allowed 

 access to water, but after December 13th the animals in Lot I. were 

 allowed water freely. The results showed that there is a distinct 

 advantage in giving water to cattle receiving not more than 50 lb. of 

 roots per day. The average live-weight gain in sixteen weeks made 

 by those given water was 1 cwt. 104 lb., while the average gain made 

 by the others was 98 lb. The number of cattle used was small, and 

 consequently the result is affected by one animal without water, which 

 lost 63 lb. in the last month. The unsatisfactory progress of this lot, 

 however, appears to be mainly due to the lack of water. When water 

 has been withheld from cattle for some time, the increase in live-weight 

 for some time immediately after they are given access to it again is 

 likely, according to these experiments, to be very rapid, but this rate 

 of increase is not maintained for more than about three or four weeks. 



Feeding of Pigs with Cooked and Uncooked Potatoes (Univ. Coll. 

 of Wales, Aberystwyth, Agric. Dept., Bull. 1). — This was a continuation 

 of two experiments comparing cooked and uncooked potatoes for pig- 

 feeding, which had shown that the trouble and expense of cooking 

 were not on the whole justified by the slightly better results from 

 feeding cooked potatoes. In this case three pigs (large Yorkshire- 

 Berkshire cross) were given daily i\ lb. barley meal and 3^ lb. boiled 

 potatoes (Lot I.), and three other pigs (Lot II.) the same quantities but 

 with the potatoes raw. This feeding lasted six weeks. The potatoes 

 given to Lot I. were boiled at the beginning of each week, and were 



