scendants of others were usually inferior cows; in other families again, he observed unusually large variations in the performance of the offspring. As a rule, however, the offspring of good families were good milkers, and those of inferior families unsatisfactory. Inheritance varied in the case of mediocre families. The writer comes to the conclusion that it is not sufficient to estimate the absolute and relative yield of the cows, and upon these data to select the offspring of the best individual performers for further breeding, but it is necessary to select the best families, for amongst the descendants of these will be found the largest number of good milch cows. 713 - The Latest Decisions of the Control Associations in the District of Malmöhus in Sweden and in Denmark. RICHARDSEN. in Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche Tierzucht, Year 17, No. 4, pp. 160-162. Hannover, April 4, 1913. Abstract from the Report of the work of the Malmöhus Control Associations for 1911-1912 and those in Denmark for 1910-1911. A summary and comparison of the results of the last 8 or 10 years. 714 Comparative Feeding Experiments with Hominy and Barley for Pigs. KLEIN in Mitteilungen der Vereinigung Deutscher Schweinezüchter, Year 20, No. 7, pp. 143-145. Berlin, April 1, 1913. These experiments were made by the writer in 1912 at the Proskau Dairy Institute for the purpose of determining in what measure the American hominy (a by-product of maize) could be used as a substitute for barley. PIGS Fourteen six-weeks-old pigs of the improved German breed were selected and divided into two lots, each containing 4 hogs and 3 sows. All the animals were given skimmed milk, crushed barley and a little powdered chalk (about 1/4 oz. per head per day). At the commencement of the experiment half of the barley was replaced by hominy for group II. As the pigs became older, the rations were increased in proportion to the gain in live-weight, and in lot II more of the barley was replaced by hominy; towards the end of the experiment they got nearly twice as much hominy as barley. The feed was given moist four times a day. The experiment lasted from June 12 to September 3, and no bad effects were observed, but the pigs did not seem very keen on their food. The animals were weighed singly and fasting at the beginning of each week and at the commencement and close of the experiment; the average of these results was taken. These data are given in the table on p. 931. Although the experiment with hominy was satisfactory, the writer does not consider it advisable to replace barley by larger quantities of hominy, and still less to substitute the latter entirely for the former, as the appetite of the animals would be affected by the change. 715 - Fattening of Pigs with the Automatic Feeder (1). DE LA BARRE Auf- zucht und Mästung von 4 sechs Wochen alten Ferkeln am Futterautomaten. Two sow pigs and two hogs were fed by means of the dry-feeding automatic apparatus from their fortieth day until they were fattened. At the beginning of the experiment, the dry food consisted of 2 parts crushed barley, I part wheat meal and /, part fish meal freed from fat. Each pig received also daily for the first week about a quart of whole milk and 22 quarts of skimmed milk mixed with a little sifted crushed bailey and fish meal, and for the following 10 days 3 2 quarts of separated milk. This first ration was intended as a preparation for pure dry feeding. Subsequently, the following substances were put into the automatic apparatus in addition to those above mentioned:" Fattinger's Körner blutfutter II", crushed beans, ground maize, ground rye and potato flakes. From the beginning of the fourth week up to the end of the experiment, the dry food was made as shown on the opposite page. In addition to the dry feed the pigs also received comfrey (Symphytum asperrimum), cabbage and beet leaves, garden refuse, and sliced mangels. To encourage digestion, a small quantity of Teichel's digestive salt "Pekubus was mixed with the food. The pigs developed normally. One of them was sold to the butcher at the age of 22 weeks, while the other three were fat when they were 26 (1) See the diagram and description of an automatic feeding apparatus in No. 372, below; references given there. (Ed.). weeks and 3 days old. The results of the experiment may be summarized as follows: Garden refuse and mangels, which were eaten in small quantities only, are not reckoned. 716 - An Experiment in Pig Feeding and Fattening on Sugar Cake (Brand B.) (1). MANICARDI, C. in L'industria lattiera e zootecnica, Year 11, No. 6, pp. 86-87. Reggio Emilia, March 15, 1913. This experiment was made on 40 pigs, divided into two lots of 20 each; of which one was given farinaceous food as is customany in the district, while the other was fed sugar cakes (Brand B). supplied by the Italian Distilleries of Milan. The two lots also received whey and bran. The pigs ate the cake with avidity, and when the animals were slaughtered, the flesh presented its usual appearance, while the fattening results were superior to those obtained with farinaceous food; further, the sugar cake proved to be the more economical feed. (1) This cake is composed of: grape pomace meal, dried distillation residues and molasses. For experiments in feeding milch cows with this product, See No. 1551, B. Nov. 1912. (Ed.) POULTRY 717 - Fattening Hogs in Nebraska (1) — SNYDER, W. P. and BURNETT, E. A. Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska, Vol. XXIV, Article II (No. 124), pp. 71. Lincoln, Nebraska, June 15. 1912. The results of previous experiments are summarized and full details are given of the recent experiments. The bulletin is divided into two parts; the first deals with the use of alfalfa hay with corn for fattening hogs; the second is devoted to a comparison of corn, corn and alfalfa, with supplementary foods for fattening hogs, The conclusions are the same as those published in the preceding Bulletin, No. 123. 718 A Comparison between Natural and Artificial Incubation.— BRECHEMIN, L. in Giornale degli Allevatori, Year IX, No. 3, pp. 21-24. Catania, February 15, 1913. In describing the results of some comparative experiments in natural and artificial incubation, the writer first states that no comparison can be made in the period from December to the end of February, because it is then very difficult to find broody hens. Turkey hens can indeed be obtained, but their use entails great inconvenience, for as their time of incubation is longer than of fowls, they crush some of the chickens the first day of hatching unless these are removed on the nineteenth day, when after having been placed for some minutes in tepid water, they can be hatched in an incubator. The experiments were made during March, April and May. Three turkey hens and three fowls were used on the one hand, 100 eggs being entrusted to them, while the parallel experiment was carried out in an incubator with a warm water tank, the heat being maintained by means of a small lamp. This incubator was provided with a regulator; the egg chamber was deep and the bottom was concave and covered with wire gauze. A hundred eggs were placed in the incubator every month. After incubation, the eggs were examined by being held up to the light and the clear and infertile ones removed. The incubation results were as follows: Natural incubation: 242 fertile eggs produced 158 chicks Thus the results were entirely in favour of artificial incubation. In order to prove this fact thoroughly, a comparison was instituted between natural and artificial rearing. The food was the same in the case of all the chickens ; it consisted for the first three days of a mash of hard-boiled eggs, and subsequently of soaked bread, boiled potatoes, boiled rice, maize cake and meat meal for the mash, with crushed millet, oats, and buck wheat. The chickens entrusted to the hens and turkeys were kept in open houses and allowed the run of a grass park of about a quarter of an acre in extent. The artificially reared chickens were kept on a space only two-thirds of the size and housed in (1) See No. 1658, B. Dec. 1912. (Ed.) a large shed glazed in front. The brooder was of very simple construction, with a zinc plate and petroleum lamp and was provided with a small adjoining run enclosed with wire-netting and glazed. Three months after hatching the results were as follows. Out of 158 chicks reared naturally, 75 were alive, while 194 of the 209 artificially-reared birds had survived. The loss, which exceeded 50 per cent. in the case of naturally reared chickens, (being larger with turkey foster-mothers than with hens), was only 10 per cent in that of the artificially reared chickens. The loss is however, much less if the fowls are kept in coops or in closed houses. In conclusion, the writer states that, though natural incubation and rearing are perhaps to be recommended for small poultry breeders, and for raising breeding birds, the resulting chickens being more robust, artificial methods are preferable in the case of large poultry farms. 719 Experimental Work in Artificial Incubation. - BROWN, W. in The Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Vol. XIX, No. 11, pp. 909-914. London, February 1913. The writer mentions the fact that the results obtained by artificial incubation are not equal to those obtained by natural means. He gives, in this connection, an account of experiments which R. J. Terry, poultry expert to the Tasmanian Government, has been carrying out for the past ten years. Mr. Terry suggests that eggs receive too much air in modern incubators, and draws attention to the fact that the irregular broken ring of blood, which sometimes occurs before the sixth day instead of the "spider" seen with a living embryo, is more common in eggs from incubators which have excess of ventilation than in others. Fewer chickens are hatched in well-ventilated incubators. 720 - The Württemberg Apicultural Stations for the Production of Selected Queen 721 Automatic Fishing Apparatus. Bollettino della Società lombarda per la pesca e l'acquicoltura, Year VI, No. 3, pp. 37-40. Milan, March 1, 1913. This article deals with a new system of fishing effected by an apparatus devised by Cav. Giuseppe Pino and already patented. The automatic fisher consists of a framework of pieces of wood fastened together by means of coupling boxes in a form suitable for making the bottom of the apparatus. Upon this are fixed 16 very strong poles, which are kept vertical to the framework by means of three stays to each pole and by wire ropes. At the summit of these poles are affixed 9 bags of netting corresponding to the 9 squares formed by the framework. These bags, which are 22 fect deep, are in the shape of a funnel and have a wooden sliding valve at the bottom, dividing the bag into a larger and smaller part, the latter serves to catch the fish and is capable of being emptied once, or oftener during the day. In the centre of the framework, below the central bag, is situated the receptacle for the compressed air, which causes the ascent and descent BEES FISH |