XB ,U2U8 V. 121-131 1902 -OU ■fr\iA?rzr f. ■ I S 'l^j-^^' ■h Mx^ij:^ i?f^ii3'o^^-*.¥/:-Viiy>W:-jft»llSi->-^^^ i?oi:% ':*ivr/»V' fit {{ BULLETIN No. 12L NOVEMBER, 1902. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE CXCJA^CU . X^ R . Agricnltural and Mechanical College, AUBURN. DAIRY HERD RECORD AND CREAMERY NOTES. By R. W. CLARK. MtiNTGOMEKY, ALA.. THK BROWN PRINTING CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERB. 1902. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. Tnos. Williams Wetumpka. JoxATUAN Haralson Selma. STATION COUNCIL C. C. Thach President. B. B. Ross Chemist. C. A. Cauy, D. V. M Veterinarian. J. F. Duggar Agriculturist. E. M. Wilcox Biologist and Horticulturist. J. T. AxDEKSON Associate Chemist. ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. J. C. Phelps Third Assistant Chemist. T. U. Culver Superintendent of Farm. R. W. Clark Assistant Agriculturist. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. DAIRY HERO RECORD AND CREAMERY NOTES BY il. W. CLARK. . Can dairying he made profitable in Alabama is a qiiosiioii ofren askod. Sliort, mild wiiitei-s, long pasture seasons, and a great varicly of soiling crops, along with tlie oufput of the oil and rice mills, afford a large field from whicli to select food stuffs. Th(> State is badly in need of such profits as accrue from dairying and live stock growing in gen- eral. The appeai-ance of our rural communities, the inii^ovei'ished condition of oui- soils, the tremendous growth of the commercial fertilizer trade, and the vast junount of mon(\y (the proceeds of our only money crop, cotton) sj^ent every year for hays, grains, meat and dairy products, are convincing arguments against the exclu- sive growing of corn and cotton and a strong one in favor of divei'sified farmino;. Daii-ying builds up the soil. From 75 to 90 per cent, of the fertilizing constituent*^ of the food consumed is returned in the manure. Dairying makes the farmer independent by giving liim, daily, a salable product. Food consumed one day is turned into casli the next, and much of the risk incident to making a crop of corn or cotton is avoided. No line of farming in the South is so certain of returns as dairying when intelligently pursued. The long growing season makes the dairj^man quite independent of drought, a great menace at times in some sections, especially where the summers are short. Our climate is most salubi-ious. Many of the cattle diseases common in other sections, caused by close 184 housing are almost unknown. Cattle can be turned out every day so far as temperature is concerned, but they should be housed at night during the winter. The demand in the South for good dairy products is always strong and especially so at the present time and it is likely to continue so for many years. Cheese sells for 12 to 20 cents per pound, butter 20 to 35 cents per pound, and whole milk for 20 to 40 cents per gallon re- retail. In calculating the cost of food for each animal in the station herd the value of home-grown stuff was esti- mated. Bought stuff is figured at its market price. Price per ton Price per ton for the year for the year 1900-01. 1901-02. Hay |10 00 $10 00 Ensilage 2 00 2 00 Oat straw 5 00 5 00 Cotton seed hulls 4 00 6 00 Soiling crops (fed green) 2 00 2 00 Wheat bran 20 00 25 00 Cotton seed 9 00 12 00 Cotton seed meal 20 00 22 00 Rice polish 20 00 Skim milk 25c per cwt. 30c per cwt. The value placed on oat straw in the above table is too low. Pasturage is estimated at fifty cents per month for cows and grown animals and thirty cents per month for young animals. 185 The following record shows what the station herd did for the two jB&rs ending September 1, 1902 : SEPTEMBER 1, 1900, TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1901. ning ear. ,1 < h P. c8 c >> J a 3 ■^ o'd 'k£ bD &D *i-t 4^ , CO :3 c8 3 1 3 6 3 o ^ o f^ 5 ^ Is Yr Mo Cent.s Cents a^ Ada Jersey. . 7 828 3,492.8 168.4 $24.29 14.4 5.7 $17.85 Annie .... Jersey. . 10- 2 804 3,740.4 205.4 21.09 10.2 4.6 30.39 Ida Jersey. . 6 810 4,665.7 232.7 24.90 10.7 4.4 33.27 Houron ... Jersey. . 2 o49 3,095.6 216.5 20.69 9.5 5.3 33.55 Susan Jersey. . 2- 6 614 5,065.8 331.7 24.28 Y.3 3.8 58.71 Queen .... Holstein 9- t 1003 4,676.3 215.3 28.15 13.0 4.9 25.83 Hypatia .. . Jersey. . 5- 1 767 4,218.6 246.0 23.06 9.5 4.6 38.13 Average . . 782 4,136.4 230.8 $23.85 10.6 4.7 Average per cent, of fat, 4.7. SEPTEMBER 1, 1901, TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1902. Ada Annie .... Ida Houron . . . Susan . . . . Hypatia . . Hazena . . . Lukie .... Clementina. Average . . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Jersey. . Red FoU 7-10 11 7- 1 3 3- 8 6 2 3- 2 2-11 805 880 847 786 676 814 662 692 1131 810.3 4,581.3 4,806.6 3,519.9 2,271.2 4,316.0 4,290.9 3.321.5 4,586.5 2,262.2 3,772.9 234.7 264.8 193.5 159.1 297.9 225.0 217.7 286.0 113.1 221.3 $30, 30. 22. 15. 26. 24. 22. 24. 20. $24. 97 21 74 43 31 93 49 75 90 30 13.2 11.4 11.7 9.6 8.8 11.0 10.3 8.6 18.4 11.4 5.5 5.1 5.3 $27.69 35.99 25.73 24.50 48.25 31.50 32.00 47.01 7.46 Average per cent, of fat, 5.00. The greater profit for the year 1900 and 1901 is due to lower prices of foodstuffs, more copious feeding of ensilage during the winter and a better summer pasture. The amount of grain in the ration usually depended upon the character of the grain, the character of the fodder and the condition of the animals. All things be- ing the same, a well developed cow several months along in lactation received less grain per 1000 pounds live 186 weight than a cow not po well developed and not so far along in lactation. With cow pea hay and ensilage the grain part of the ration rarely exceeded 6 and 7 lbs. per day, and often dropped to 2 and 3 lbs. per day. Indis- criminate feeding of grain and poor cows are usually the cause of losses and of small profits to the dairyman. Liberal, judicious feeding and kind treatment go hand in hand. Ada, although possessing good dairy type, carries considerable flesh, and during the year 19(J0 and J 901 gave a small profit, it being an off year with her. Clementina is the poorest cow. She is of the beef type and is well. covered with heav}^ flesh. The food cost of Houron for the year 1901 and 19t)2 is light. She milked heavily when fresh, but began to dry off early and then cow pea hay was partially substituted for grain. Her cost of keep ($15.43) for the year 1901 and 1902 is low because she calved in the summer, did her best on grass and was far along in lactation by winter. This allowed light feeding of grain during the winter (2 lbs. per day) , cow pea hay, sorgum hay and oat straw form- ing the greater part of her ration. The advisability of so light a grain ration is questioned. A long pasture season means cheap production. Young cattle are usually turned to pasture the latter part of March and are not taken up until about the middle of December. Cows are turned to pasture the middle of April, and then receive grain only while in milk. They are soiled in late fall but depend more or less on pasture until the first of December. On the whole the yearly productions are smaller than they ought to be. A cow should give from 5000 to 7000 lbs. of milk per year and make not less than 300 lbs. of butter. 187 / COST OF RAISING HEIFER CALVES. Hazena, a registered Jersey Avas dropped Ocroljer 22, 1890, and weiglied 56 lbs. Tlie first year slie cinisumed 159 lbs. whole milk, 2738 lbs. of skim milk, GO lbs. bran, 224 lbs. of hay and was on pasture 161 days. When one year old she had cost $12.80 and weighed 4^5 jjounds. The second year she received sorglium hay, ensihige, oat straw, cornstover and a little cotton seed and bran, and was on pasture 224 days. The cost of keep the second year was $9.09 and she weighed 605 lbs. She dropped her first calf when lacking seven days of being two years old. Total cost of keep up to the time of calving was $21.95. Ella, a registered Jersey, was dropped Aug^ist 12, 1900, and weighed 50 lbs. Tiie first year she consumed 259.5 pounds of whole milk, 1195 pounds skim milk, 180 pounds bran, 63 pounds of corn meal, 40"> pounds hay and was on pasture il.i days. She cost, including pasture, during her first year, $11.65, and weighed when 12 months old 340 pounds. The second year, aside from pasture, she received cotton seed, cornstover, oat straw and ensilage. She dropped her first calf when 22 months old. The cost of keep the second year up to time of calving was $7.61, making a total cost of $19.26. Peggy, another Jersey, was dropped July 23, 1900, and weighed 36 pounds. Tiie first 3'ear she consumed 287.5 pounds whole milk, 1097 pounds skim milk, 191.6 pounds bran, 67.8 pounds corn meal, 399 pounds hay and was on pasture 91 days. She cost $11.49 and weighed 350 pounds when one year old. The second year she received the same kind of feed as Ella. She dropped her first calf when just two year old. The cost 188 of keep the second year was $7.99, and the total cost of keep was $19.48. Jenny, a registered Jersey, was dropped November 24, 1900, and weighed 38 pounds. The first year she consumed 52 pounds whole milk, 1740 pounds skim milk, 45.5 pounds bran, 17i5 pounds hay and was on pasture 217 days. She cost $9.60 and weighed 295 pounds at one year old. The second year she received the same kind of food as Ella and Peggy. By reason of an accidental service she dropped her first calf June 24, 1902, at nineteen months of age, and then weighed 445 pounds. The cost of keep for the second year was $7.61, and the total cost of keep for nineteen months was $17.21. Alamarzena, another registered Jersey, was dropped April 16, 1901, and weighed 50 pounds. She received the same kind of food as the others mentioned above. When one year old she weighed 350 pounds and cost $13.66. Mabel, Hazena's first calf, was dropped October 15, 1901, and weighed 43 pounds. She consumed 92 pounds whole milk, 1191 .2 pounds skim milk, 322.7 pounds hay, 204.2 pounds bran, and was on pasture 165 days. The total cost of keep at one year old was $11.40. Summary of Cost of Raising Heifer Calves. NAME. Cost of keep the first year. Hazena . . . . Jenny Peggy Ella Alamarzena Mable Average . ?12 86 9 60 11 49 11 65 13 66 11 40 ?11 77 Cost of keep the second year. $9 09 7 61 7 99 7 61 18 07 Total cost of keep to time of calving. "^f2ir95 17 21 19 48 19 26 ?19 47 189 Ella, Peggy and Jenny are undersize and would not have been bred so early as they were had not a neigh- bor's bull, in an enjoining pasture, broken into the Sta- tion herd. They are very small, due mainly to early breeding and to a small consumption of skim milk wlien very young calves. There can be no set age at which .young dairy heifers should be bred. If they are well developed, strong and thrifty they should drop their first calf when 24 to 30 months old. Heifers should be kept growing from the time they are born until they reach maturity. A shortage of a few dollars worth of feed on the calf will mean a loss of many dollars at the pail when the calf becomes a cow. If material advancement is to be made in animal breed- ing the pregnant mother must be well fed. The foetus should be well nourished from the time the dam con- ceives until it is dropped and has reached the goal to which it is destined. REMOVING BITTER WEED TASTE FROM CREAM. During the last three years considerable effort has been made to find a means by which the odor and taste of wild onion and bitter weed may be removed from milk and cream. In the spring of 1901 the writer was re- quested to try a patent compound claimed to remove all kinds of weedy taste from milk. It was fed to the Sta- tion herd according to the directions of the manufacturer for four weeks, in which time it proved to be an absolute failure. Cooking soda (saleratus) was also given a like trial but failed of the purpose claimed for it by some people. Having failed so far to find anything that when ISO fed to the cows would remove weedy taste in the milk, the next step was treating the milk and ci-eam. The following are creamery notes taken in the carrying out of this work : Treatment of creaTn before run- ning i>.irough the separator. Notes on treated cream after coming from, the separator ; the j,ntreated cream being very hittet One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons oi water, at a temperature of 150-^^ Bitterness removed, but flavor F., in which one ounce of salL-l^j.. ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ rather soapy peter had been thoroughly dis- solved. Same as above, but no saltpeter used. One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of Not a trace of bitterness in the washed cream. Not a trace of bitterness in the water at a temperature of 160° F. cream, and of a fine flavor One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of water at a temperature of 160° P., ^q^ ygj-y good, and containing 1 oz. of saltpeter. Bitterness removed, but cream One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of water at a temperature of 160° F. One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of water at a temperature of 74° F. One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of water at a temperature of 74° F. One gallon of cream was thor- Bitterness removed. Bitterness removed. Excellent cream, not a trace of bitterness. A slight trace of bitterness in oughly mixed with 2 gallons of the cream, but this would not ordl- water at a temperature of 68° F. narily be detected. One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with 2 gallons of water at a temperature of 69° F. Slight trace of bitterness in tiie cream. 191 Bitter weod taste was removed entirely from cream by tliorouo-lily mixing it with two or more parts of water at any temperature above 70 cleg. Fabrenheit, and tben running the wliole tliiMugb the separator. Saltpeter dissolved in water was tried as an aid in removing the bitterness, but as good results were secured without it as with it. Kai)i(lly and slowly heating milk and cream to various bioh KMnperatui-es did not remove bitterness but often imparted a ccMjked taste. Butler made from washed cream (as above) was pro- nounceil t'rcM' of all bitteiaiess by tlie Station customers. Butter made from un\va>^hed cream was decidedly bad and was often rejected by tlie customers. No means were found to remove the l)itter weed taste from whole milk In the spring of 1902 milk and cream were treated for th(^ wild onion flavor the same as in the previous year for the bitter weed taste. \ Ib2 The following are the creamery notes taken in the course of this work : Treatment of cream 'before run- ning it through the separator. One gallon of cream was thor- oughly mixed with three gallons of water at a temperature of 90° F. One gallon of cream was mixed with two gallons of water, at a temperature of 90° F., in which was dissolved one ounce of salt- peter. Same as preceding treatment. Same as preceding treatment, except temperature of water 100° F. Same as preceding treatment. One gallon of cream was mixed with two gallons of water at a tempera4,ure of 212° F., in which was diafeolved one ounce of salt- peter. Same as preceding treatment. Same as preceding treatment. One gallon of cream was mixed with two gallons of water, at a temperature of 95° F. Notes on the treated cream after coming from the separator. Flavor not removed; cream still bad. Flavor bad, and made more so by the use of saltpeter. Flavor still bad. Flavor still bad. Flavor bad. Flavor still bad. Flavor very bad, and butter from this cream was rejected by the station customers. Same result as above. Cream bad. 193 The odor and taste of wild onion was not removed from the milk and cream by any method of treatment employ- ed. Cream was washed as above with and without salt- peter, and at different temperatures, but the onion taste and flavor were not removed. Butter made from the treated cream was rejected by the Station customers. Rapidly and slowly heating milk and cream to various high temperatures did not remove the objectionable qualities imparted by the onion. Cream was thoroughly mixed with ether and carbon bisulphide and these were then evaporated. The onion flavor was partly removed in both cases, but the cream retained enough of the ether and carbon bisulphide to render it unfit for use. The compound in the bitter weed which gives milk a bitter taste is held very largely, if not entirely, in the milk serum. The more completely the serum is separ- ated from the fat the less is the degree of bitterness in the cream. The compound in the wild onion which gives milk a bad flavor is held very largely, if not en- tirely, by the fat, and the more completely the serum is separated from the fat the more concentrated is the onion flavor in the cream. Washing cream makes it thick and necessitates adding considerable skim milk, which may be a starter, to bring it to a proper consistency before churning. If a large amount of starter is used to thin with, a shorter length of time is required for ripening, therefore the cream should be watched closely until the proper degree of ripe- ness is reached. The term starter as used above means sour milk that is used to sour the cream . Cream containing bad flavors but not sour enough to be clabbered, can often be improved by washing. The thicker the cream the less likelvis it to sour and clabber. 194 DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OK CREAMING. The question is often asked, does it pay to i"un a cream separator for a small amount of milk. The following table gives the avei'age \)ov eont. of fat left in the skim milk by the different systems of croam- iiig, but at different tempiMMtiires. As ihc use of ice, on the average farm in Alabama, is gonprally out of the question, it was not used, l)ut conditions wci-e takcMi as they exist on the average fai-m, and the i-(^siilrs secui'ed are believed to be fairly repi-esentative of pi-aciical con- ditions. This work was done in August when the weather was hot, except that one of the deep setting tests was made in April. SEPARATOR VERSUS DEEP SETTING VERSUS SHALLOW PANS. Temperature, Per cent, of fat in System. Degrees F. skim milk. Average. Miii. Max. Separator 81.0 .03 .01 .20 Deep setting 50.0 .54 .oO 1.10 Deep setting 83.6 1.30 .80 1.80 Shallow pans 85.7 .60 .35 1.00 There is a heavy loss in creaming milk by tho gravity system. Dui'ing hot weathei* the loss may b(^ one-fourth to one-third of the total butter fat. Shallow pans give better results than deep cans. With the s(>parator the loss of fat in the skim milk was very slight, hardly worth considering. . Where facilities for handling cream and butter can be had, and where the skim milk is prac- tically wasted, it will pay, according to the data in the above table, to have a separator for even as small a num- ber as two good cows. These two cows together ought to produce 12,000 pounds of milk per year. One-eighth of the whole milk being cream, there will be 10,500 195 pounds of skim milk. As the so]);irator leaves only .03 of one per cent, of fat in the skim milk, there will he a loss durini:; tlu^ year of 3.1 j)<)un(ls of hutter far, the equivalenr of ;M) pounds of hutKM'. With d(^cp set- ting, at a trmj)eratui-e of 8:5. G dcg-i-ees Falirenhcit (a close appi'ox'imaiion to our summer tem]:)ei-atiirc) , there will be a hiss of ]o9 jioiinds of butter in the skim milk, between on(>-thir(l and one-foui-th of the total. With shallow pan settinsi; ;it a temperai iii-e of So. 7 degrees Fahreidicir, the loss will be 73.5 pr)unds of buiter in the skim milk. Along with tlie saving of bntKn- fat a sr^pa- rator gives bcMter cream, a better butter and better skim "milk. The cream separator is indispensable to the dairyman of the Gulf States of the Soiiih, THE.EFFKCT OF FOOD ON TIIP: MKLTING POINT AND VOL- ATILE ACIDS OF IJUTTEK. In the year lUOl feeding experiments were cari-i(Ml on to ascertain the effect of different amounts of cotton seed, cotton seed m(>al and cotton seed hulls, in coml)inaiion with bran and sorghum hay, on tlip composition of but- ter, and for tliis pui-pose six cows wei-e divided into two lots of tln-ee each. They were fed in the barn all tliat they woidd eat up clean twice a day, and were confined to stalls dui-ing the night. One week of jireparatory feeding preceded the experiment proper, which lasted for four weeks. ]96 FOOD AND AYERAGE COMPOSITION OF BUTTER FROM EACH KIND OF FOOD. Group. Ration. Melting point of butter degrees centigrade. C. C. of alkali required to neutralize the volatile acid in 2.5 grains of fat. I 9 pounds cotton seed 3 pounds bran 10 pounds sorgum hay 41.1 13.2 II S^A pounds cotton seed meal 3 pounds bran 10 pounds dotton seed hulls 40.7 13.47 There is practically no difference in the melting point and volatile acids of the butter made from the above rations. Analysis of a sample of Northern butter, made at the same time, in which no cotton seed products were fed, gave a melting point of 24.5 degrees (centigrade), and required 13.5 c. c. of alkali to neutralize the volatile acids in 2.5 grams of fat. During April and May nine cows were divide^ into four lots of two cows each and one lot of one cow. They were fed grain night and morning and confined to the barn only while eating their grain and being milked. Pasture was the only forage received and consequently all received of it alike. The feeding period proper lasted three weeks. 197 FOOD AND AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF BUTTER FROM EACH KIND OF FOOD. K of butter igrade. required e the volatile ■t-i vi tn i Winter. . . Winter. . . Winter. . . Winter.. . Winter. . . Winter. . . Winter. . . Winter. . . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . Summer. . | Remarks. 3 08 Test very good. 3 82 Test fairly good. 4 62 Test fairly good. 0 35 Test fairly good. 3.85 4.62 6.16 7.7 Test very poor. Test not satisfactory Test not satisfactory Test not satisfactory 3.08 Test not satisfactorj' 3 82 Test not satisfactory 4 62 Test not satisfactory 5.35 Test not satisfactory 3.85 4.62 6.16 7.7 Test not satisfactory Test not satisfactory Test not satisfactory Test not satisfactory 14% mixture Very satisfactory test, 1 clear, no sediment below fat line. Three to four grains of potassium bichromate in a pint of milk served fairly well as a preservative, this mate- rial being best in the winter but requiring too frequent duplication of test in the summer when the weather is hot. It causes a more or less leathery condition of the cream which is difficult to re-emulsify, and in hot weather the milk often undergoes a fermentation which causes a loss of butter fat. The milk should not be over one week old before being tested. Mercuric chloride proved unsatisfactory in nearly 199 evor}' test with composite samples. The tests were very ashy. One-lialf per cent, formalin (40 per cent, formalde- hyde) proved the most satisfactory of the three preserva- tives tried and is now being used entirely at the Station. Half a teaspoonfiil of formalin to one pint of milk juakes a one-half per cent, mixture. Potassium bichromate, mercuric chloride and forma- line are poisonous when taken internally and should be handled with care. One-half teaspoonful of formalin will keep a pint of milk in good condition for testing for one month in any season. CHURNING I':XPERIMENTS. During the winter of 1900 and 1901 experiments were carried on to ascertain the degree to which cream should ripen before being churned . It has usually been assumed that a fairly high per cent, of acid and a high tempera- ture are necessary in churning the cream of milk from cows receiving cotton seed or cotton seed meal. Moderate aciditi/ iDid high temperature compared icith low acidity and low temperature. 6 -o ■c 03 a 3 ■c 0-1 O milk nt tigra i— t ;-! ■tr> separator. Saltpeter dissolved in the waterthus used was of no value. No method was found by which the onion flavor could be removed fi'om either milk or cream. The compound in the wild onion which gives milk a bad flavor is held very largely, if not entirely, by the fat, and the more completely the serum is separated ffroiTi tlie fat tlie more concentrated is the onion flavor in the cr^am. 5. The average percentages of fat left in the skim aiiilk by the separator, deep cans and shallow pans were ,03, 1 .3 and .'G res[)ectively. Shallow pans gave decidedly better results than er pound, and they are sold l>y all seedsmen. We have also sown rape in March, getting hog pasturage in May and June. In the summary the present local price of hogs, 5 cents per pound, has been used in estimating the value of one acre of each crop when converted into pork. However, in the body of the bulletin use has been made of the local price prevailing at the time when each experiment was made. We can estimate the increase in live weight due to one acre of some special crop only by calculating the probable approximate amount of growth due to the grain fed. The amount of gi*ain required, when fed alone, to prodtice one pound of growth varies of course with many conditions, but the average of many experi- ments is not very far from five pounds. In assuming this figure we have sacrificed strict accu- racy to uniformity and clear presentation. Those who prefer to use a different factor will find it possible from the date in the body of this bulletin to calculate the net gains per acre of hog crop, whatever factor they select. 9 Growth of Pigs Before and After Weaning. On fanns where dairying is an iiniportant industry and where there is an abundance of skim milk for sow and litter, it is not unusual for the brood sow to nurse a litter of pigs without herself losing weight. In the absence of skim milk we find that the sow generally loses in weight, however bountiful the supply of grain and green material. For example in the period between farrowing, Feb- ruary 24, 1809, and the beginning of the experiment April 1, a sow lost 29.0 pounds, and her litter of 7 pigs gained 67.3 pounds. During this time sow and pigs were kept in a bare lot and fed a mixture of equal weights of ground cowpeas and a very coarse grade of rice meal, which in this case consisted largely of ground rice chaff. The amount of this mixture con- sumed in this time was 273 pouuids. This sow and her seven pigs were confined by means of hurdles or movable panels on a field where vetch and turf oat-s grew together. At the end of a five weeks' period, May 6, the sow was removed and the pigs, now 10 weeks old, were continued on the same character of pasture three weeks longer, or until May 27. The herbage was more tender and succulent in the earlier periods, though its weight per acre was greater in the later pe- riod. The grain fed to the sow and pigs while they grazed on vetch pasture was com meal. 10 Gains made and food consumed before and after weaning. Before weaning. 5 weeks. Per week. After weaning. 3 weeks. Per week. Growth made by 7 pigs Loss in weight of sow Net gain in weight of sow & pigs. Meal consumed by sow* & pigs . . Lbs. meal per lb. growth of pigs. . Lbs. meal per lb. net gain of sow and pigs Area of pasture grazed; square ft. Total weight of sow and pigs at beginning of period Total weight of 7 pigs at the be- ginning of each period Lbs. 22.70 3.88 18.82 110.8 Lbs. 113.60 19.40 94.20 .554 20 4.88 5.88 (85.50) (1710) 3.50.30 118.60 Lbs. 55.40 244.00* 4.40 (3858.) Lbs. 18.5 81.3* (1286) *Only pigs during last 3 weeks. A pound of growth was made with less meal, 4.40 pounds after weaning; before weaning it required 4.88 pounds of corn meal for each pound of growth ,or if we deduct from the gains made by the pigs the de- crease in the weight of the sow, we find that it required 5.88 pounds of meal to make one pound of growth of sow and pigs. This is a very unsatisfactory rate of growth and probably due, at least in part, to insuffi- cient shade. Growth of vetch and oats after grazing — As stated above, the pigs just after weaning were penned on a mixture of hairy vetch and turf oats, sowm the prev- ious October on poor upland soil. Both oats and vetch had been delayed in growth and otherAvise injured by tlie unprecedented cold of February, 1899. Moreover^ the vetch had been injured by root-knot. While penned on the vetch and oats the weaned pigs 1 1 required, as stated in a preceding table 4.4 pounds of corn meal to make one pound of growth, in addition to the pasturage. It is interesting to notei that on the areas grazed over prior to April 21 the vetch made, after the pigs were removed, sufficient second growth to afford about two- fifths of a normal crop of excellent hay, the average yield of second-growth hay on the plots grazed between these dates being 1,278 pounds per acre. The vetch should be credited with part of the growth made by the pigs, with the hay produced as a second growth, and with the improvement of the fertility of the land which was very marked as measured by the gTowth of silage com planted in June of the same year. Dwarf Essex Rape as Food for Shoats. From May 27 to June 23 ,1899, these same seven shoats were maintained on drilled green rape and com meal. During the first two weeks the rape was pulled and carried to the.shoats, while during the latter period the rape was grazed. The four weeks of rape feeding will be treated as one period. The seven shoats averaged in weight at the begin- ning of this period 41 pounds each. Thel area of drilled rape used was 4190 square feet; corn meal was fed each day, averaging 1.62 pounds per pig per day, or 317.6 pounds for the seven pigs in twenty-eight days. The increase in weight was 103 pounds. Hence to make one pound of gTowth required 3.1 pounds of com meal and 40.5 square feet of rape pasture. This is at the rate of 1078 pounds of growth for one acre of rape and 3324 pounds of corn meal. If we assume! that for shoats of this size fed on com meal alone 5 pounds of this grain would have been re- 12 quired for each poiincL of growth, the acre of rape would be credited with producing- alone 413 pounds of growth, worth, at 4 cemts per pound, |16.52. In addition, the rape which had been grazed made a second growth which was ready for pasturing witliin a month after the removal of the shoats, but which was ruined by the Haxlequin cabbage bugs, or "calico backs," before it could be utilized. The soil in which this patch of rape grew would be classed as sandy bottom land of medium grade. Let us turn aside here from the history of this litter of pigs, which we may call litter M, to describe some tests of rape made in 1900 and 1901. Rape as Winter Pasturage for Pigs. Dwarf Essex Rape sown in drills on sandy upland, October 13, 1900, was ready for pasturage January 6, 1901, when four pigs from litter O, weaned three weeks before, were confined on it with hurdles which were moved about once a week. The first growth of rape af- forded pasturage until March 28. The second growth, on land previously grazed over, affordted pasturage from March 28 to April 18. Throughout the whole period that the pigs were on rape they received also about a half ration of com meal. Less rapid and more expensive gains were made in March, when the plants had become tough aind ready to seed, than during January and February. The most rapid and economical growth was made during the brief period while the succulent second growth was being con- sumed. 13 Weight of 4 pigs January 6 130 lbs. Weiglit of 4 pigs March 28 311 lbs. Gain in 81 days . 181 lbs. Corn meal consumed in 81 days 524 lbs. Pounds meal per pound growth 2.9 lbs. Area of 1st gTowtli rape grazed 13,912 sq. ft. This is at the rate of 570 pounds of growth in live weight afforded by one acre of first-growth rape as- sisted by 1641 pounds of corn meal. If we assume that 5 pounds of com meal made one pound of growth we have left. 242 pounds of live weight, worth |9.68, to be credited to one acre of first-growth rape. March 28, the rape having begun to blossom and hav- ing become relatively unpalatable, the hurdles were placed about the rape grazed in January amd part of February, on which the second growth was by this time in good condition for pasturage, though small. On this second growth the pigs remained three weeks, meantine consuming the crop on one-sixth acre and eating 168 pounds of com meal. The growth made during these three weeks was 82 pounds, or one pound of growth for only 2.05 pounds of meal, which figure indicates that the pigs must have derived about half their sustenance from the green crop. One acre of second growth rape assisted by 1008 pounds of com meal resulted in a gTOwth of 492 pounds. If we again assume a normal requirement of five pounds of grain for ome of growth we have 290 pounds of in- crease in live weight, worth $11.60, as the value of an acre of second crop rape when converted into pork. It is fair to add together the gains made on an acre each of first growth and of second growth, since part of the area was grazed twice. This gives a growth of 512 pounds of pork then worth |20.48, as attributable 14 to an acre of rape grazed twice. This is on the assump- tion that it would require 5 pounds of an exclusive grain ration to produce a, pound of growth. Grazing sorghum^ first experiment. Let us now return to the history of litter M, which had grazed on rape until June 23, 1899. This litter of seven shoats was grazed on sorghum from June 24 to September 2 , 1899, meantime receiving daily a very small amount, about 1^ pounds per day per shoat of a mixture of equal weights of cowpea meal and corn meal. During this time the seven shoats made an aggregate gain of 22.44 pounds and utilized 15,374 square feet of drilled and cultivated sorghum, amid also grazed the second growth on 8380 square feet, or about half of this same plot. The grain meantime consumed was 812 pounds by the lot of seven shoats, or 3.6 pounds of grain for each pound of increase in live weight. This is equal to- a gain of 635 pounds of live weight per acre of sorghum, assisted by 2298 pounds of grain. Assuming that if the grain had been fed alone 5 pounds would have been required to produce one pound of growth, we have left 195 pounds of growth attributable to one acre of first growth sorghum and to about half of the second growtli on the same. At 4 cents per pound 195 pounds of growth gives a return of |7.80 per acre of sorghum. Doubtless the value of an acre of sorghum would have been considerably greater if the second growth on the entire area, instead of on half of it, had been utilized. It was noticed that the shoats required per week abouti twice as large an area of second growth as of first growth sorghum. 15 During- a small portion of the time covered bj this experiment sorghum was cut and carried to the pigs and when this was done a given area lasted much longer than Avhen hogs were turned in to graze, in which case the waste of green food, bitten down amd not consumed, was excessive. Where labor is abundant and cheaip or where the use of a com harvester is possible it is believed that it will pay to cut and carry the sorghum to the pigs rather than to graze it. When shoats averaging about 80 pounds received only one and one-half pounds of grain a day per head and were required to make growth chiefly on sorghum, the rate of gain was slow, being a little more than half a pound per day. The sorghum when grazed was at the stages of growth between early bloom and complete maturity and most of it was about five feet high. The yield was rather light, the land being poor, sandy upland, moderately fer- tilized. The sorghum used in all our grazing experi- ments has been drilled and cultivated. The value of* Spanish peanuts as pasturage for pigs. In Bulletin No. 93 of this Station the writer has re- corded the Yevj satisfactory results of several experi- ments in grazing pigs on peanuts in 1897. The results below confiiTu the conclusions which we have heretofore expressed as to the great value of peanuts as food for hogs. Peanuts and corn meal. — A litter of pigs farrowed September 1, 1899, was penned on Spanish peanuts November 4, after weaning. There was only about two- thirds of a stand of peanuts. 16 The total increase of live weight up to December 23 was 298 pounds, during which time 482 pounds of com meal was consumed or 1.62 pounds of grain per pound of growth. The area grazed over was 34,944 square feet, or nearlv five-sixths of an acre. This is equal to a gain of 371.4 pounds of live weight from one acre of peanuts assisted by 601 pounds of corn meal. If we assume that it required 5 pounds of grain to proidtucei oine pound of growth and subtract this amount of pork we have left 251 pounds of increase in live weight attributable exclusively to a poor crop of peanuts on one acre; With pork worth 4 cents per pound gross this gives a value of |10.04 to an acre of peanuts converted into pork. Peanuts, corn meal and milk. — From September 30 to November 4, 1899, account ;^'as kept of the food consumed by a sow and litter of /'t)igs farrowed Sep- tember 2. The food consumeBf'^ during these five weeks was as follows : 355 pounds comi meal at 1 cent |3.55 921 pounds skim milk at ^ cent 2 . 30 Total $5.85 In addition to the above food, Spanish peanuts from one-fourth acre of land were also fedL During this time the sow made a gain of 9 pounds, showing that oin a sufficiently nutritious and palatable diet the weight of the nursing sow can be maintained. The pigs made a gain of 226.5 pounds. The total gain of sow and pigs was 235.5 pounds, making the cost of grain and skim milk for one pound of growth 2.5 cents. Assuming that one pound of growth of sow and pigs requires 5 pounds of grain in a ration like this, and 17 that, as in certain Wisconsin experiments, 3;^ pounds of skim millv are equal to one pound of com, we flud' that per acre of peanuts, assisted by 2552 pounds of grain or its equivalent there was made an increase of 942 pounds in live weight. Deducting the amount at- tributable to the grain, 510 pounds, we have a balance of 432 pounds of pork as the equivalent of one acre of peanuts, then worth, at 4 cents per pound, |17.28. Peanuts and corn meal for shoats in 1902. — Another litter of 7 shoats was penned on Spanish peanuts from October 11, 1902 to November 2, 1902. Their average weight at the beginning was nearly 100 pounds each. They made a growth of 224.5 pounds while consuming 286 pounds of com meal and the peianuts on .47 of ani acre. To produce a pound of growth required only 1.3 pounds of f\-ii. meal. This gain is at the rate of 486 pounds of li^e jxyrk per acre of peanuts assisted by 632 pounds of com meal. Assuming that five pounds of grain would make one pound of growth we have left 360.5 pounds of growth which we may attribute to one acre of peanuts alone. These shoats were sold after further experimental feeding and brought five cents on foot, making the acre of peanuts worth 118.02. Gains made by very small pigs on j)eanuts alone. A litter of seven Poland China pigs was weaned Sep- tember 4, 1901, and immediately hurdled on Spanish peanuts. After a week allowed for them to become accustomed to their new food, the experiment proper began, and continued for six weeks, during which time no grain was fed. The initial weight averaged 28.1 pounds. The 2 18 gains in six weeks aggregated 156.5 pounds, which is at the rate of a little more than half a pound per day per pig. The area grazed was 13, 887 square feet. This is equivalent to a gain of 503 pounds of live pork per acre of peanuts, worth, with pork at 4 cents, |20.12. TN^hen taken: from peanuts October 31, 1901, one of these pigs, No. 12, was butchered and the melting point of the lard determined. Peanuts and corn meal in 1899. — On September 2, 1899, a lot of seven shoats previously supported on sorghum and on' a diet of corn and cowpeas (see p. 14) was transferred from sorghum to Spanish peanuts, and to make a properly balanced ration the grain A^'as changed to com meal. During the next four weeks the lot of seven pigs made gains of 120.7 pounds while consuming 333 pounds of corn meal and the peainluts on 10,593 square feet. This is at the rate of 496 pounds of growth produced by an acre of peanuts assisted by 1356 pounds of corn meal. If 5 pounds of grain alone would have produced one pounfd of growth there remains 225 pounds of pork, worth |9.00, as the value of an acre of peanuts converted into pork. Besides the peanuts there was required 2.73 pounds of corn meal to produce a pound of growth. A week after the close of this period these seven pigs, all of one litter, were divided into several lots, one lot continuing to graze on peanuts, a second lot grazing on chufas with grain as stated further on, a third lot being penned and fed on a mixture of cotton seed meal and corn meal, and the remaining pig together with one of a different litter being fed in a pen on corn meal alone. 19 . .Peanuts and corn meal in 1899, second period. — For five weeks certain of these pigs were hurdled on a field of Spanish pt^anuts. During- the last three weeks of this grazing period they gained in weight at the rate of 293 pounds per acre of peanuts, assisted by 274 pounds of com meal, or one pound of growth for .94 of a pound of corn meal. Crediting the com mieal as before we have left 247 pounds of pork, then worth |9.88, as apparently attributable to one acre of peanuts. Gains made i;y younc; pigs ox chufas. From November 19 to December 17, 1898, nine Berk- shire pigs were hurdled on a field of chufas where there was only a poor stand of plants. They were also fed a little grain, mixed com and cowpea meal, of which only 262 pounds was fed during the four weeks. The increase in weight was 121.1 pounds and the area grazed over was 7986 square feet. This is at the rate of 660 pounds of live pork per acre of chufais assisted by 1429 pounds of grain or one pounid of growth for 2.17 pounds of grain. Attributing one pound of growth to five pounds of grain we have left 374 pounds of increase in live weight as apparently due to one acre of peanuts alone. Hogs were then selling at 3^ cents per pound on foot, so that the acre of chufas when converted into pork waa worth 113.09. PEANUTS VERSUS CHUFAS VERSUS MIXED GRAIN. Four lots of pigs ( from litters N and P. ) were fed for twenty-five days, October 19 to November 13, 1900, as follows: Lot A. — Spanish peanuts, grazed, and a half ration of mixed grain. 20 Lot B. — Spanish peanuts grazed, without grain. Lot C. — Chufas grazed and a half ration of mixed grain. Lot D. — ^Mixed gi'ain alone, fed in bare lot, as much grain as shoats would clean up. The grain fed to Lots A. C. and D., consisted of one- third by weight of ground cowpeas and two-thirds ground corn. The table b^low gives the data for the last 18 days of the experiment, the preceding week being regarded as preliminary and as needed to fully accustom all lots to their food. At the beginning of the experiment proper lots A, B, C, and D, weighed respectively 363, 256, 318 and 392 pounds. Growth made hi/ each lot of 3 pigs and food consumed in 18 days. Lot. Area grazed, Food. Grain eaten. Increase in live weight. Lbs. grain for 1 lb. growth. A B C D Squa -e ft. 8,344 13,^-48 7.937 Spanish peanuts, grazed Mixed grain, K ration. . Spanish peanuts, grazed Chufas, grazed Mixed grain, ^^ ration. . Mixed grain, full ration Lbs. Lbs. 1.53 f 81 23 '} 153 ^ 79 304 70 5 -Lbs. 1.88 1.93 4.31 Chufas and peanuts in this test were nearly on an equality, and when half a ration of grain was fed with eithei' there was required only 1.92 or 1.88 pounds of grain to produce one pound of groth. As comipared with the exclusive gTain ration this represents a sav- ing of 56 per cent of the grain by the use of either chufas or peanuts. Spanish peanuts without grain afforded a very slow growth, and the increase in live weight wais only 76f 21 pounds for each acre of peanuts. This is an abnormally poor retumi and due in part to the poor growi^h and poor stand of peanuts. With live pork at 4 cents per pound this gives only $3.03 as the returns per acre when no grain was fed, a result entirely unsatisfactory. A much larger return was made when peanuts were supplemented with a half ration of grain. With lot A, the gain due jointl}^ to one acre of peanuts and to 791 pounds of corn was 423 pounds of live pork. Dividing the amount of grain fed to this lot by 4.31, the amount required per pound of gi'owth when nothing but grain was fed, we have 184 pounds of live weight as apparently due to the grain fed; subtracting this from the total increase in live weight we have left 239 pounds as the amount of growth that we may credit to one acre of peanuts. AVith pork at 4 cents per pound this gives $9.50 as the value of an acre of peanuts converted into pork. An acre of chufas supplemented by 832 pounds of grain produced 433.5 pounds of live pork and by the same process as alx)ve Ave calculate that one acre of chu- fas should be credited with 240| pounds of pork, or $9.62. This experiment agrees with a previous one, reported in Alabama Station Bulletin No. 83, p. 118, in showing that it is more profitable to feed some grain to small shoatiS grazing on peanuts than to require them to make their entire growth from the nuts. The following table shows the daily gain per pig, the grain consumed daily per 100 pounds of live weight and the number of days of pasturage afforded by one acre of peanuts or chufas. In calculating the last two columns the average of the live weight at the be- ginuiing and end of the experiment has been used. 22 Peanuts and chufas as pasturage. Lot. Food. Daily gain per pig Grain con- sumed daily per 100 lb." live weight. Pasturage on 1 acre for a 100 lb. shoat. A B Peanuts, and }4 grain ration. . Peanuts, alone Lbs. 1.50 .41 1.46 1.31 3.58 3 99 4.67 Days . 850 463 C D Chufas and Vg grain ration . . . Full grain ratioil 837 The rate of gain, nearly one and one-half pounds per day per head, was satisfactory except for the lot receiv- ing mo grain, with which the diaily growth was only .41 of a pound per head. The second column shows that when shoats were "hogging off" peanuts or chufas they made good use of 2.58 pounds and 2.99 pounds respectively of grain daily for every hundred pounds of live weight. The third column shows that ami acre of peanuts, without grain, afforded pastiurage at the rate of 463 days for a hundred pound shoat, which is equal to 15 such shoats for one month. In 1899 when receiving about one-foui'th of a normal grain ration pigs grazing on inferior peanuts madfe moderate gains when the field was stocked at the rate of 13 lOO-poumd shoats for one month. When a half ration of grain was fed r^he peanuts or chufas lasted nearly twice as long, the rate of pasturing per acre for' every 100 pounds of live weight being 850 days for peanuts and 827 days for chufas, equal to the support for one month of 28 100- pound shoats on an acre of peanuts and of 27 on an acre of chufas. 23 EFFECTS OF PP:aNUTS, CHUFAS AND COWPEAS ON FIRM- NESS OF LARD. At the coiulusiou of the two experiments just de- scribed oue barrow from each of the four lots was killed, Noveml)er 14, 1900, and lard rendered from the fat taken from the jowl of each. The melting points of these samiples of lard were determined by Prof. C. L. Hare of the Chemical Department. Effect of peanuts and chiifas on melting point of lard. Lot. Food during 2t'> days before butchering. l^ood fed prior to 26 day.s before butch- c>ring. I j Melting ! point of fat. Deg's Deg's C. F. " d _^ • — *| o B C D Peanuts, ground cowpeas and corn. Peanuts, alone Chufas and ground cowpeas and corn . . cowpeas Sorghum grazed Ground cowp's & corn Sorg'm grazd: pean'ts Ground corn Cowpeas grazed. . andjCiround cowpeas . . . . I corn and 28.0 82.4 22 0 71.6 27 5 81.5 30.0 87.0 1 10.8 9.9 15.6 The half ratioin, of one-third cowpeas and two-thirds corn meal fed to lot A, for several months immediately before butchering- raised the melting point 10.8 F. for the lard of pigs fed partly on peanuts as compared with pigs that had received no grain, but only peanuts for several months. This grain ration fed alone to lot D afforded a lard which was firmer by 15.6 de- grees F. than that from pigs which up to the day when killed had consumed peanuts. In this test sorghum shows no marked tendency to soften the lard, at leasti when its use was discontinued nearly a month before the hogs were killed. Additional tests are required to determine its effect, if any, in this respect when fed up to the last day. 24 The cowpea evidently afforded a rather firm lard, but our tests do not show exactly how it compared with corn in this respect. GRAZING SORGHUM AND COWPEAS. Septemiher 14th, 1900 twelve pigs recently weaned (litters N and P.) were divided into four lots of three pigs each. The different lots were quite evenly matched in all essential respects and weighed respectively 175.5, 176.5, 170.5 and 193 pounds per lot. The experiment lasted five weeksi in addition to the preliminai-y period. Lot A was confined bv means of movable hurdles on drilled sorghum, in dough and ripening stages, and was supplied with what was regarded as a, half ration of a mixture of two-thirds corn meal and one-third cow- pea, meal by weight. Lot B was penned on sorghum alongside of lot A; no grain Avas furnished to this lot, but instead' ripe Span- ish peanuts were pulled and thrown in the pen daily in quantities estimated as furnishing about a half ration of peanuts. Lot 0 was hurdled on drilled ^A^hippoorwill cowpeas on which the pods were ripe, and this lot received no other grain. Lot D was confined in a small bare pen and furnished with as much as the pigs would consume of the same grain mixture as that supplied to lot A. Grain eaten, area of sorghum^ coicpeas, and pewnuts grazed, and groicth made in five tceeks by three pigs in each lot. Lot. Food. Grain eaten. Increase in live weight. Lbs. grain for 1 lb. growth. B C D Corn and cowpea mixture. . . 4873 sq. ft. of sorg'm, grazed 4873 sq. ft. of sorg'm, grazed 39905 sq. ft. of Sp. peanuts. 17964 sq. ft. ripe cowpeas. . . Corn and cowpea mixture . . Llhs. 244 464 Lbs. 74.. 5 53 5 50 5 124 Lbs. 3.28 3 74 25 Evidently sorghum was in this case of very slight value; for with lot A sorghuml saved only 12 per cent of the graini requireid by lot D to make a pound of gi'owth. Equally unsatisfactory was the growth of lot B, which was made to subsist entirely on sorghum supplemented by peanutis grown without fertilizer be- tween cora rows on very poor sandy land. Lot C grew at the rate of 122.5 pounds of live weight pel' acre of cowpeas, which, at 4 cents per pound, gives 14.90 as the value of an acre of a moderate crop of ripe co^^•l)eas A\'hen converted into pork. The waste was very great, the peas falling on the gi'ound and sprouting before being consumed. In a former experiment (Bulletin No. 93) in which some com was furnished to shoats grazing on nearly ripe cowpeas the results were far more satisfactory, one acre of cowpeas assisted by 1578 pounds of corn making 730 pounds of live pork. If we assume that each five pounds of grain formed one pounds of growth, we have 336 pounds of live pork, worth at 4 cents |13.44, as the value of an acre of cowpeas alone converted into pork in that test, while in this one an acre of cowpeas alone made much less. Lot D made a very satisfactory growth on the mix- ture of one- third cowpea and two- thirds corn meal, only 3.74 pounds of this m,ixture being required to make one pound of growth. The rate of growth was several times more rapid Uian with the pigs dependent entirely upon cowpeas or upon sorghum and peanuts, and considerably more rapid thaini with lot A, which received a limited ration of grain and an unlimited supply of sorghum. The average daily gain per shoat was 1.18 pounds when a full ration of mixed cowpea and com meal was fed. The average daily consumption of this grain per 100 pound of Uvc weight wais 5.19 pounds. 28 Cotton seed meal in the grain ration. November 13, 1900, after the conclusion of the ex- periment just described, one pig from each of lots B, C, and D was kept for five weeks on an exclusive grain diet made up of one-fourth by weight of cotton seed meal and three-fourths corn meal. They were given all they would eat but did mot relish the food. During the five weeks they gained 67.5 pounds, requir- ing 4.68 pounds of food per pound of growth. This is an average daily gain of .64 of a pound per head. Near the end of the fifth week the attendant noted the un- thrifty appearamice of the pigs, buti no death occurred. The amount of cotton seed m^al which had produced sickness but not immediate dteath, was 25.5 pounds per shoat of an average weight of 117.6 pounds. Hence the toxic dose of cotton seed meal was here, per 100 pounds of live weight, 21.4 pounds, of .61 of a pound per day for 35 days. After eating this grain, containing 25 per cent of cotton seed meal, for five weeks the pigs were slaugh- tered and a. sample of lard from the fat of the body was examined by Prof. C. L. Hare, who found the mielting points to be as follows : Melting point of lard from cotton seed meal ration. Lot. Food during- last 5 weeks of life. Food second month before butchering. Melting point of lard Deg F. B c j 34 cotton seed meal . . 1 % corn meal do Peanuts, alone ^, „ 0 \14 cowpea meal Chufas, &c. jrieornmeal.. Full ration \ H ^'^^P'^'^ T""^ / ^{i corn meal. . . 87 4 83 8 D do 84.9 27 The lard from some pigs in lot B had melted at 71.6° F., immediately after the pigs were taken from a peanut pasture; now, after five weeks feeding of a ration con- taining 25 per cent of cotton seed mieal, the melting point has risen to 87.4 degTees, a hardening effect of 15.8 degrees attributable to this food. This cotton seed meal and com meal mixture did not vei'y greatly in- crease the hardness of the lard of the lots which had been receiving a partial or exclusive grain ration for a number of weeks before the cotton seed meal fet^d- ing was begun. Cotton seed meal (25 per cent) in the ration of pigs. In the fall of 1899 three Poland China shoats from the same litter, previously maintained on peanuts with a light ration of com meal, and an Essex pig previously consuming ordinary pasturage and corn, were penned. Two of the Polamd Chinas were fed all they would eat of a mixture of one-fourth cotton seed meal and three- fourths corn meal. The third Poland China and the Essex shoat were fed in separate pens on com meal alone. A mixture of cotton seed meal and com meal versus corn meal alone. fab s :2 -(J fab p. ^•r!^ eu p. ® ^.^ -, s-i Oi s C o c q Lot No. Fool) . facg D. ■^•5 •:3 2 q; c3 '^ t» p hcP<© .a ® fcDJS S ^ .S fac S g X O g ft o ~ Cl- eg '5 < a o J C ^ Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. 3 (P. C.) J^ cotton s. meal, % corn meal. . . 113 1 14.3 97.7 7 11 2.46 .41 H(P. C.) "(5(Es.) Corn meal 131 5 21 128 8 6.13 3 02 .60 Corn meal 97.5 58 5 200.0 3.43 5.86 1.67 Av. 4 & 5 Oorn meal ioy.5 39 7 164.4 4 13 4.28 1 13 28, None of the Poland China pigs (lots 3 and 4) ate sufficient grain for rapid growth when changed from peanuts to an exclusive grain diet. As a result of the small daily consumption of food slow growth was made by lots 3 and 4, with the almost inevitable result that the increase in live weight was made ait a financial loss. It required 7.11 pounds of the mixture containing cot- ton seed meal or 6.13 pounds of corn meal alone to make one pound of growth, both figures showing unsatisfac- tory rates of growth. The cotton seed meal mixture was decidedly un- profitable, but up to five weeks it was not preceptibly in- jurious to health. During these 35 days the amount of cotton seed meal consumed per 100 pounds live weight was .61 of a pound daily or a total of 21.5 pounds. EFFECT OF PEANUTS^ CHUFAS^ COIIN MEAL AND COTTON SEED MEAL ON QUALITY OF LARD. After the conclusion of certain experiments pre- viously described, (grazing peanuts and feeding cot- ton seed meal in comparison with corn meal) the pigs thus fed were butchered. Samples of the lard made from the bodies of these pigs and from others which had subsisted for some months on chufas, supplemented by a light ratiom of grain, were tested by Prof. C. L. Hare of the Chemical Department to learn the temperature necessaiy to melt the lard. 29 Melting point of lard from various foods. Pig No. Food during .5 weeks just before butch- ering. Food fed prior to 5 weeks before butchering. Melting point of fat. Average melting point of fat 84 Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts Degrees F. 73 5 75.7 Degrees F. 86 A-v. 84 & 86 Peanuts 74 6 87 Chufas Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts 75.2 74.6 89 Chufas Av 87 &, 89 Chufas 74.9 88 % corn meal, j^ cot- ton seed meal . . . % corn meal, 3>^ cot- ton seed meal. . . . % corn meal, 3^ cot- ton seed meal. . . . Corn meal Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts 84.2 84 90 Av. 88 & 90 84 85* Peanuts Corn and grass pasturage . . 80.7 86.0 80.7 E. Corn meal v Essex). . *Thi8 pig was from same litter as Nos. 84 ,86, 87, 88, 89 and 90. Iti is well kuown that peanuts produce a soft lard- When the feeding of peanuts was continued uninter- ruptedly up to the date of slaughter the resulting lard melted at the low temperature of 74.6 degrees Fahren- heit, or at the temperature of an ordinary living room in spring. It has been claimed that by feeding en- tirely on corn for a few weeks before the date of butch- ering, the flesh and lard can be brought to the normal degree of hardiness. This was not the case in this ex- perimient. By discontinuing the peanuts five weeks be- fore the hogs were killed and feeding thenceforsvard exclusively on com meal we succeeded in raising the melting point to 80.7 degrees Fahrenheit, an increase of 6.1 degrees Fahrenheit. This lard, however, was still much softer than that from hogs never fed on peanuts. In a similar experiment in 1897-'98 (see Bulletin No. 93) the feeding of com during the four weeks imme- 30 diately preceding the time of butchering effected a con- siderably greater increase in the melting point of lard from the pigs previously fed on peanuts, but in that test as in the present one, the feeding of corn during a short period did mot make the resulting lard equal in firmness to that made by continued feeding of corn. In this experiment the lard produced by feeding chu- fas was practically as soft as that obtained from peanut- fed pigs. After ascertaining in a previous experiment that the melting point of lard from peanut-fed pigs could not be raised to the norm^al degree of firmness by feeding ex- clusively on corn during the month immediately pre- ceding death, search was made for some food which might have a greater effect in solidifying the flesh and lard. Cotton seed meal seemed worthy of a trial for this purpose as it has been shown to increase the firm- ness of butter, and as a few determinations appear to indicate that it produces tallow and suet with a high melting point. Unfortunately no safe method of feed- ing to hogs for a long period any considerable proportion of cotton seed meal has yet been entirely demonstrated. In small amounts it may be fed for four weeks, or even a little longer without causing death. In this experiment ci mixture of one pound of cotton seed meal to three pounds of corn mieal was fed during the five weeks before the date of butchering to pigs which prior to this time had grazed on; peanuts. The effectis of the food containing cotton seed meal was to raise the melting point of the resulting fat to 84.1 de- grees Fahrenhiet. This is a gain of 9.5 degrees ais com- pared with an uninterrupted diet of peanuts. The cot- ton seed meal mixture afforded lard which required for melting a temperature of 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit higher 31 thaiiii that necessaiy with fat produced by feeding corn meal alone during the same length of time. The result of this experiment is encouraging as indi- cating the superior hardening power of a mixture of cotton seed meal and corn meiil over corn meal alone. The lard from the pigs fed for six weeks on this mix- ture was practically as firmi as that obtained in this ex- periment from ami Essex pig that had never eaten pea- nuts, but it was not so firm as the lard produced in the corivsponding experiment of 1897-'98 from pigs fed un- Luterruptedly on corn. (See Alabama Station Bulletin No. 93, p. 30.) Cotton seed meal as food for hogs in connection with corn meal and sorghum or peanuts. On September 14, 1901, a litter of six thoroughbred Poland China pigs, farrowed ApriK2, was divided into three lots and these were fed as follows : Lot I, grazed on drilled sorghumi, (blooming to ripe stage), and a half ration of grain, as below. Lot II, in dry lot, fed sorghum from same field, cut into lenghts of 1 to 2 inches, and also fed grain like lot 1. Lot III, grazed on Spanish peanuts and giveni same grain as other lots. All three lots received in addition to sorghum or pea- muts a mixture of one-fifth cotton seed meal and four- fifths com meal, which was not greatly relished and of which the pigs in a dry lot could not be induced to eat as much as was desirable. This lot also ate far less sorghum than was desired. After a week of preliminary feeding the experimjent began September 20 and continued until the last week in October. 32 Sorghum^ graced and soiled^ versus peanuts grazed. 6 bjj •p-t 0- Weight Sept. 20 Food. bE"p- Total growth. "I u ■ Lot. Each. Total. be bo J"" m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 61. 74 5 67 57.5 '(1 64.5 i 135.5 [ 124 5 J 135.5 Sorghum grazed; cotton seed meal & corn meal. Sorghum in pen; cotton seed meal and corn meal Peanuts grazed; cotton seed meal & corn meal. Xb.s. .53 .11 .94 Lbs. 36 8.5 72.5 140 94 134 Lbs. 3.80 11.05 1.85 During the experiment lot I grazed over (witJi great waste) 2203 square feet of sorghum and lot 3 consumed the peanuts on 3880 square feet; 782 pounds of green, cut sorghum were offei'ed to lot II but only 372 pounds were consumed. Reducing these results to the basis of one acre we have the Groiith made on one acre of sorghum or peanuts. Pasture Crops. Growth per acre of green food. Grain per acre of green food. *Growth attributa- ble to 1 acre green food. Lot I. Lot II. Lot III. Sorghum grazed; and grain. . Sorghum fed; and grain Peanuts grazed; and grain.. Lbs. 707 210 814 Lbs 2768 2323 1504 Lbs. 153 loss 513 * On the assumption that 5 lbs. of grain made 1 pound of growth. To produce one pound of growth, there was required 3.8 pounds of grain in; connection with sorghum pas- turage, only 1.85 pounds of grain in connection with peanuts and 11.05 pounds of grain when cut sorghum was fed in a dry lot 33 The financial results are quite satisfactory for pea- nuts, one acre of which is estimated as producing 513 pounds of live pork, worth at 4 cents* per pound, |20.52. An acreof sorghum grazed is estimated as affording 153 pounds of live pork worth |6.12, while sorghum fed to pigs in a pen was consumed in quantities too small to give any measureable financial results. Effect of a 20 per cent, cotton seed meal mixture on Stealth of pigs. — A mixture of one-fifth cottK>n seed meal and four-fifths com meal was fed as just stated, in connection with sorghum or peanuts continuously' from September 14. All wenlt. well until October 24, when pig No. 1 in lot II died suddenly. Three days later the other pig in lot 1 died and also both pigs in lot II. Oc- tober 28 the use of cotton seed meal was discontinued with lot III, which had thus far shown no symptoms or sickness or unthriftiness, but which, as the subsequent history of one of these pigs shows, had been injured by tlie use of cotton seed meal. One of these pigs. No. 6, from the lot grazing on peanuts was used in a subsequent ex- periment, in which he died, though not given any more cotton seed meal. The other one was butchered October 28 and samples of fat were taken from this one, as well as from one of the pigs that died in each of the other two lots. Let us calculate the amounts of cotton seed mieal which constituted a dangerous ration when fed for about six weeks. 34 Amounts of cotton seed meal causing death of shoats ivhen fed with corn and sorghum or peanuts. Lot I. Mixed l^i'ain and sorghum (grazed. ) Lot II. Mixed grain and sorghum (fed.) Lot III. Mixed grain and peanuts (grazed. ; Total grain per head daily Total grain per 100 lbs. av. live weight Cotton seed meal per head daily Cotton seed meal dai.y per 100 lbs. av live weight Total amount cotton seed meal (incl'g preliminary week) Total amount cotton seed meal per 100 lbs. av. live weight Lhs. 2 ()« 2.67 .41 .53 16.60 21.60 Lhs. 1 27 2 00 -25 .40 12 20 18, 90 Lbs. 1 76 3 0.5 .35 .41 15.20 17. 70 From t'his table it may be seen that a daily ration con- taining one-fourtli pound or more of cotton seed meal per 100 pounds of average live weight was fatal when continued for about six weeks. No deaths occurred until the small shoats (averaging about 64 pounds) had each consumed 12.2 pounds of cotton seed meal. Per 100 pounds of liveweight the minimum fatal quantity was 18.9 pounds. EFFECTS OF A 20 PER CENT COTTON SEED MEAL MIXTURE AND OF SORGHUM AND PEANUTS ON MELTING POINT OF LARD. Lai'd was rendered from samples of fat taken from the neck and also from around the kidneys of one pig in each of the lots just referred to. The melting points of the lard were as follows : 35 Effect of cotton seed meal on melting point of lard. Food. Lard from kidneys Lard from jowl ,_ T^ -,■,/.■ , ^ t cotton seed meal Sorghum grazed; % ration of j | ^^^^ ^^^^ Sorghum fed, Peanuts grazed, do do 5.3 80.6 It is evident that peanuts afforded a much softer lard than did sorghum, even when each constituted only about half the ration. The feeding of somewhat less than a half ration of mixed cotton seed meal and corn meal (1 to 4) for five weeks while peanuts were being gTazed, failed to overcome the softening effects of peanuts. In two experiments already recorded in this bulletin the body lard from pigs getting only peanuts melted at temperatures of 74.6 aud 71. G degrees Fahrenheit; the feedinof of a small amount of a mixture of cotton seed meal and corn meal for five consecutive weeks while peanuts were being eaten in this test raised the melting point to 87.4 degrees, a gain of 12.8 and 15.8 degrees. This increase o^.l2.8 to 15.8 degrees in hardrffiss is somewhat greater *than had previously resulted ^rom feeding a stronger cotton seed meal mixture for .six weeks after the peanuts wer^. di^contined (see Experi- ment on p. 29. ) .^ ^.," On the whole the^e experiments viewed together in- dicate that greater hardening effect results from the grain whem fed with the softening food (as peanuts or chufas) thau from that fed as the exclusive ration in the six weeks just before the date of bi^tcher- ing. This is also practically the conchision reached by Bennett in Arkansas Bulletin No. 65. I \ \ \ %: V, "s I. '^x , ♦> 36 COTTON SEED MEAL VERSUS COWPEA MEAL AND VERSUS CORN MEAL AS A FINISHING FOOD. Six pigs from one litter which had subsisted for six weeks after weatning on a field of Spanish peanuts with- out any grain, were later divided into three lots and fed for 37 days (including the preliminary period of 7 days) as much as they would eat of the rations mentioned be- low : Food consumed (Mid growth made in 30 days. Food. Grain eaten. Growth made. Lbs. grain per lb. ffrowth. Lot III Lot IV. Lot V. % cowpea meal, % corn meal. Corn meal i cotton seed meal, f corn meal Lbs. 95.3 140 0 93 0 19 39 16.5 5.00 4.82 5.57 All three lots made but slow growth, which we may attribute ini the case of lots III and V to the relative unpalatability of the mixture containing either cow^peas or cotton seed meal. Com meal was more relished and hence in this brief experiment more satisfactory, though in previous experiments a mixture of cowpeas and corn has been superior to either alone, and especially so when the feeding period has been a long one. EFFECTS ON HEALTH. I After 37 days' feeding of the 20 per cent, cotton seed meal mixture, No. 13, one of the pigs ini Lot V, died, after having appeared, gaant and weak for two days. This death and theMnthrifty appearance of the other 37 pig receiving cotton seed meal notified us that it was time for the experiment to close. The pigs in the other pens remained healthy. All were butchered as soon as the exj>eriment was stopped, and samples of fat were taken and rendered into lard. Up to the tim|e of the death of one pig and the evident unthriftiness of another, the pigs in Lot V, averaging at the middle of the period 59.4 pounds per head in weight, had each consumed since the seventh of November 5.4 pounds of cotton seed meal. This is equivalent to saying that toxic effects were evident when for each 100 pounds of average live weight 9.2 of cotton seed meal had been consumed. During the experiment proper the average daily consumption of cotton seed meal was .25 of a pounds per 100 pounds of live weight It will be re- called that when the same mixture was fed in an earlier experiment to somewhat larger, but young shoats, the daily consumption of .41 of a pound per 100 pounds live weight resulted fatally. In a still earlier experi- ment with still larger shoats, cotton seed meal was consumed at the rate of .61 of a pound daily per 100 pounds of live weight, for 35 days; no immediate con- spicuous injury resulted, and observations on subse- quent effects were prevented by the disposition made of the pigs. 18 Efects on quality of lard of small shoats fed on cowpea meal and cotton seed meal. S ? fe' a pm Fig Food for last 37 Food from Sept. 14 2 2 S P aj Lot. No. days of life. to Oct. 31. ^ o hi ce •'-> a> J Q J O 12 Peanuts alone Peanuts [kil'd Oct. 31] 82.6 68.2 TTT 11 j 3^ cowpea meal. . . ( % corn meal XXX. X X Peanuts . 81.5 72 0 III. 8 do do 79 9 72.5 III. Av. do do 80.7 72.3 IV. 10 Corn meal do 88.3 78.8 IV. 9 do do 77 2 72.4 IV. Av. do do 82.7 75.6 V. 7 ji cotton seed meal jl corn meal i do 90.0 70.3 V. 13 do (^died. ) do 83.3 64.4 V. At. do do 86.7 67.4 The lard from all lots had a very low melting point for grain fed animals, probably due in part to small size and extreme immaturity of the pigs as well as to the softening effects of peanuts in an earlier period. We may safely discard the melting point of the jowl lard fat of Lot V, as probably being influenced by ac- cidenital conditions, possibly by variations in the per- centage of moisture or other impurities left after rend- ering. Shutt has observed that unthrifty pigs have soft pork, which condition may constitute the explanation of the low melting points in Lot V. The kidney lard was firmest when the cotton seed meal mixture was fed, the advantage in favor of this food being 4 degrees F. as compared with com meal. 39 Corni meal afforded a slightly firmer lard, both from kidneys aud jowl, than did a mixture of cowpeas and corn meal. As compared with the lard obtained from No. 12 (im- mediately after feeding peanuts), the cowpea mixture and commeal scarcely affected the melting point of the kidney lard, but increased that of the jowl lard by 4.1 and 7.1 degrees F. I'espectively. The cotton seed meal mixture raised the melting point of kidney lard 4.1 degrees F. above that of pure peanut lard fromi kidney fat. Apparently 37 days was too short a period for any of the grain foods to thoroughly harden pork once softened by peanuts. The tendency of our exi>eriments and of those made by Bennett, in Arkansas, is to show the need for a longer hardening period than is generally regarded as necessai^, or else the feeding of some grain while the peanuts are being consumed. COTTON SEED MEAL MIXTURE VERSUS CORN MEAI. — FOURTH EXPERIMENT. Shoats which had grazed for 23 days on peanuts in October, 1902, were then penned and divided into two lots. One lot was fed on com meal alone, the other on a mixture of tliree-fourths corn meal and one-fourth cot- ton seed meal. The average weight per shoat during the experiment was 136.3 pounds for those getting com meal, and 142.8 pounds for those on the cotton seed meal diet. The amounts of food consumed by the two lots were practically identical. Omitting the prelimi- nary period, the results for the next 28 days were as follows : Daily growth Grain, per Food. per pig. lb. growth Lbs. Lbs. Corn meal 1 1 •"> 31 }^ cotton seed meal, % corn meal 8 3 84 40 Ini this experiment tlie rations containing 25 per cent, of cotton seed meal caused much more rapid and eco- nomdcal growth than corn meal alone. Throughout the 31 days during which cotton seed meal wais fed the health of the shoats was good. The shoats getting the mixed rations consumed daily, per 100 pounds of mean live weights, .73 of a pound of cot- ton seed meal. Their total consumptiom of cotton seed meal in 31 days, including the preliminary period, was 22.6 pounds per 100 pounds of live weight. Comparing this result with those previously recorded let us note the increasing amount of cotton seed meal per 100 pounds of live weight which may be safely fed as the pigs increase in size. EFFECT OF COTTON SEED MEAL^ CORN MEAL^ AND RICE POL- ISH ON LARD. In the following table are recorded the results of de- terminations, made by Mr. A. McB. Ransom of the Chemical Department, of the melting point of lard from the jowls. The pigs were Poland Chinas fromj the same litter, but were not, butchered on the same date. Melting point of lard. Melting Food during 31 days Food from .5,5th to 33d point before slaughtering. day before slaugh- tering. ofbody lard. Deg. F Lot F. No 101 Corn mpal Peanuts & corn meal. 76.1 No. 102 do do 79 9 i( Average do do 78,0 Lot G. No. 103 ji^ cotton seed meal, (H corn meal . do 80 1 a No. 104 do do 82 6 u Average do do 81.4 lO.i Rice polish [last 8 Peanuts and corn meal weeks] [33 daysj^ 74.2 io:i Rice polish [8 weeks] Corn meal [8 weeks] . . Corn and skim milk * Crain ration 78 3 T 07 Crain ration 8.5 1 108 Peanuts & corn meal, [23 days] 76.1 *Only small amounts of skim milk were used and for only 19 days. 41 In this test! the feeding for 31 days of com meal raised the melting point of lard (previously softened by pea- nuts) by only 3.8 degrees F.The feeding for the same time of a mixture containing 25 per cent, of cotton seed meal raised the melting point by 7.2 degrees F. The lard af- forded by the cotton seed meal ration was firmer than that from corn meal, the melting point of the former (81.4 degrees F. ) being 3.4 higher. This last result, together with other experimients de- scribed in previous pages, indicates that cotton seed meal has an appreciable value for hardening the lard and doubtless also the flesh of pigs raised on peanuts, chufas, and most other softening foods. This will be an important point in its favor when hog raising for sale, as well as for home consumption, becomes an im- portant industry in Alabanua ; for the buyer for a pack- ing house will not knowingly buy hogs with soft flesh. There is every reason why those sections of Alabama where peanuts thrive should at no distant date ship car- loads of hogs to packing houses in Birmingham, Atlanta, New Orleans, or other markets, provided the flesh can be hardened. In many counties the sale of hogs and of hog products could easily be made to bring in as much money as the cotton crop. Cholera is not an in- superable obstacle. Keeping hogs off the public range, away from flowing streams of cholera-infected water, an understanding of the nature and means of spreading of this disease, and judicious feeding and care, will greatlj^ reduce this danger. Hog raising requires little capital and brings its re- turns quickly. Imlproved blood, food, care, and knowl- 42 edge are capable of making tlie Alabama hog, as well as his relative in the com belt, a "mortgage lifter." SWEET POTATOES FOR HOGS. From November 13 to December 18, 1900, a period of 35 days, two shoats were penned on sweet potatoes growing on poor sandy soil, and furnished daily per head ^dth 2 pounds ground corn and 1 pound ground cowpeas, which was regarded as ai half ration. The total weight at the beginning of the test was 231 pounds, and during the five weeks the two shoats made a total gain of 67 pounds, requiring besides sweet potatoes, 3.13 pounds of grain per pound of growth. The potatoes were not eaten with much Velish, and after being rooted up they were left on the surface, some of them remaining there until they decayed. Probably the waste would have been less if less grain had been fed. The composition of the sweet potato leads us to expect that it would be advisable not at amy time to confine shoats to sweet potatoes alone, but to give them while on the potato field a little nitrogenous food, such as cowpeas, peanuts, etc. 43 CORX HEARTS VERSUS COWPEA MEAL VERSUS CORN MEAL. For a period of seven weeks, in addition to a week of preliniinar}' feeding, in Januai*y and February, 1899, these food stuffs were comfpared, each being fed in con- nection with an equal weight of rice bran obtained from Ernst & Co., New Orleans. There were three lots of re- cently weaned pigs, each lot containing three pigs. All the pigs except one were from the same litter, and were crossbred Berkshire — Poland Chinas. The unusually cold weather of this time, inadequate pig pens, and the rather unpalatable natui-e of all the rations, due to the admixture of rice bran, made the rates of growth slow and unsatisfactory. Groiith and food eaten in seven weeks. Food. la ^ la ^ XI xi •—1 ■^ s o 2 r- 00 a. S 1 u at Pen 4—50% corn hearts and 50% rice bran.. 65 479.5 7.38 Pen 5—50% cowpea meal and 50% rice bran. 80.6 478.5 5.95 Pen 6 — 50% corn meal and 50% rice bran 98.1 540.0 5.50 The ration containing com meal was the most effect- ive one, probably because of its greater palatability, hence the larger amount consumed. According to partial analyses made in the chemical laboratory here the rice bran used contained 9 per cent, of protein, and the com hearts 8.9 per cent, of protein. Rice polish as a food for pigs. The high price of corn during 1902 made it desirable to look for some substitute in addition to such materials as can be grown on the farm. Hence rice polish was em- ployed in a number of experiments and was tested in comparison with corn meal. In different experiments these two foods were used alone or each combined with corresponding proportions of other foods. Each lot con- 44 sisted of three pigs, usually recently weaned. In all cases the food was fed dry. Rice polish versus corn meal in connection with skim milk. — In the first experiment, made in the spring of 1902, skim milk was fed in connection with either com meal or rice polish. The results were as follows : m u J« ■ Food. P< m ^ . . to skim mil lb. growth t1 C5.S 03 Corn meal and skim milk 89.5 Rice polish and skim milk 109.0 2.1 1.7 4.65 3.67 It will be seen that in connection with skim milk, rice polish was more effective, pound for pound, than com meal. Rice polish versus corn meal alone, first experiment. At the end of the fifth week the skim milk was dropped from the ration of both lots and the rate and economy of growth were immediately greatly decreased, as shown below. It then required to make one pound of growth 6.7 pounds of com meal or 6.7 pounds of rice polish. In this test, in which the conditions were unfavorable to rapid gains, the rice polish and corn meal were of equal value. Rice polish versus mixed grain. — The following test was made with a different litter of pigs just after wean- ing. The experiment covered, in addition to the pre- liminary^ peiiod, five weeks, terminating June 11, 1902. There were three pigs in each lot. The mixed grain consisted of one-half cowpea meal, one fourth corn meal, and one-fourth rice polish. This was fed in comparison with a grain ration of rice polish, the pigs of both lots receiving in addition a nearly equal amount of skim milk. Lbs. grain per Lbs. milk lbs. growth. per lb. growth. Lot B — Mixed grain and skim milk.. 1.78 4.13 Lot C — Rice polish and skim milk 1.93 4.74 45 It will be noticed that mixed grain consisting partly of cowpea meal, and hence very rich in nitrogenous ma- tierial, proved superior to rice polish. Rice polish in different proportions. — Dui*lng the next five weeks the grain mixture for lot B remained the same, namely 50 per cent, cowpea meal, 25 per cent, com meal and 25 per cent, rice polish. The grain of lot C, was so changed as to consist of equal parts of corn meal and rice polish. Exclusive of the preliminary period the results were as follows: Lbs. grain per lbs. growth. ( V2 cowpea meal Lot B -j ^/4 corn meal 5.0 ( 14 rice polish j y2 corn meal 4.2 Lot C I y-i rice polish This test was made during mid summer and the pigs, confined in small, bare yards and deprived of green food, did not make as rapid or as economical growth as they would doubtless have done under more natural condi- tions. Ordinarily we should expect that for young pigs the more nitrogenous mixture fed to lot B, would prove superior, as it did in the test described immediately above. Rice polish versus corn meal alone. During a third period of five weeks terminating Au- gust 20, 1902, these same lots of shoats were used in a comparison of rice polish with corn meal, both foods be- ing fed alone. The amounts of grain fed to the two lots were identical. Lbs. growth Lbs. grain 3 pigs in per lb. of 4 weeks. growth. Lot B— Corn meal 53.5 5.01 Lot C— Rice polish 79 3.40 The daily rate of growth was much more rapid for the pigs eating polish and these also required considerably less-food to make one pound of increase in live weight. 46 Rice polish versus corn meal in mixed grain ration. A litter of six Poland China pigs, dropped April 29, 1902, were divided into two lots and fed for five weeks on two lots of grain that were exactly similar except that rice polish in one was substituted for an equal per- centage of corn meal in the other. The results of the last four weeks of the period follow : Lbs. food Lbs. per lb. growth. growth. 1 40% corn meal Lot D ) 40% cowpea meal 56 3.7 ( 20% wheat bran ( 40% rice polish Lot E } 40% cowpea meal 65.5 3.1 \ 20% wheat bran Both of the above mixtures afforded satisfactory rates of growth, but the one containing rice polish was de- cidedly more effective than the mixture into which corn meal entered. Rice polish versus corn fneal alone^ third experiment. This experiment was made with two lots of three shoats each and extended over eight weeks, terminating October 1, 1902. The shoats used were the same as those employed in the last mentioned experiment. Lbs. growth Total Lbs food in 8 food in per lb weeks. 8 weeks. growth. Lot D— Corn meal 68 422.2 6.21 Lot E— Rice polish 131.5 492.9 3.75 The rate of growth was almost twice as rapid with the pigs fed on polish as for those consuming com meal. To make one pound of increase in liv6 weight required in this experiment 39 per cent, less of polish than of com meal. Average results with rice polish. In most of the direct comparisons of rice polish with corn meal the polish proved decidedly superior. Taking the average of all five of these direct compari- sons we find that to produce, one pound of increase in live weight of pigs required only 3.73 pounds o^fc^^e polish and 4.74 pounds of com meal. At thi^ateT8.6 1.. ■* 1^. 1 \ 47 pounds of rice polish was equal to 100 pounds of com meal, a saving of 21.4 per cent of the grain by the sub- stitution of polish for com meal. The differences in comiposition are not such as tO' ex- plain the superiority of the polish, but this may pos- sibly have been partly due to tlie fact that the rice meal, a flour-like powder, was in a finer state of division than the corn meal. Composition of rice polish, rice meal and corn meal. Figures from Henrifs Feeds and Fe'eding. Nitrogenous Starch. Fat, Matter. etc. Fiber. etc. Rice polisli 11.7 58.0 6.3 7.3 Rice meal 12.0 51.0 5.4 13.1 Rice bran 12.1 49.9 9.5 8.8 Corn meal 9.2 68.7 1.9 3.8 We have had some difiiculty in obtaining rice polish from st-ates east of us, it being more profitable for the mills t» mix it with other less valuable by-products and to sell the mixture of polish, rice, bran, etc., under the name of rice meal. Kice meal is of variable quality, according to the amounts of each by-product mixed in. Hence the figures quoted above need not be regarded as showing the composition of an average grade of rice meal. As stated in a previous page we employed in one ex- periment rice bran mixed with an equal weight of sev- eral other foods. We found the rice bran mixtures un- palatable and the growth of pigs fed on it slow. At the South Carolina station rice meal, in connection with large amounts of skim milk, in a brief feeding period produced pork at less cost than when com meal and skim milk were fed. In November, 1902, rice meal was quoted to us by Planter's Rice Mills, Savannah, Ga., at |17.90 delivered at Auburn, Ala., in less than carload lots. Rice polish bought from the samie firm two vears ago cost about |26 per ton delivered at this station. It is of interest to note that a part of this rice polish kept in good con- dition for more than a year. According to our experiments rice polish could with great profit be substituted for com meal selling at the same price. 48 ^ _ 1 • CI i> O Ci Ci « o O to •^qSM 8ATI JO sniJa^ ui % Ci CO ^ OS »-H CI O CC CD o o 'C to c in ■* c> O O C-. O UO Cl CO rH •sqi ^qSiaM ^ CO « c-j or O 03 O rr — — 1-H ^ o •c^qSiaAV aAT[ O O t-- Tt< OJ to o CO i-H rji -* -i (73 O o p2 03 O JO snija'; ui % •M to OJ '^ to o ? tZ) t« 3!) ^ > fcjD-rH 00000-*COC1 •r ® W^ o CO-*-COT^C}fO^ 1^ Oh •sqi iqSiQAY ^ t- CO ^ CO , w c ^1 o o ?S5 o 1— 1 f^ O) •{jq^iaAi 9AT| M IC O ^ 05 Ci Oi W «> m ■* rt CI o ^' 03 6 e JO siuje; UI % d 00 Cj O 03 O ^ 3 pO CO ^ ;D m o CO m t- ci Tfi 1-1 • g •sqi !m2T9A\ 00 ^ OS •(O a: "5 03 »— 1 -^ *-' IS to M OB •:jqSi9AV aAi[ 1-1 CJ t- CI O O) t- m -^ CO c> ■* O " s'^ OS O o a o d~ a; 6 p JO soija:^ UI % — OS r-l ' ' ' 3§g OOOC-. 005DO (XI qgi3AV 2-^ I> (M CO T-l m Qj ^^ -+J -M -^^ 4qSTaAi 9ATI M Cl '.O o t- ■*"*■* CI CO o to p. p. oo 00 JO sraaa!^ m % d T— t CO CI O OS CO OS a a •^ 6 o J> lO in 00 CI CO o s c S-^ ^ •sqi ^qSiQM ^; ^ CO i-( SP 0) 2 O o 4^ S ,£5 OB • T— ( ^ +2 fe: to !!-(-=■■•' g fl t» •1—1 m\ (D 9 » "^ to to . 03 . 03 . '*-' : -^ ■ a ■ 03 ■ be • C eg as • 0 02 -^ C b p • , — 1 . O ■ fl 0 c. +■ 3 \ 1 a ■ ca V • u ■ a c 0 +■ 0 3 03 C = > c 3 T^ t- : 03 a H H 0 3 03 ^ 3 -rH C It 2 cS p 5 K ap 3c^ r^- 55 3ti J a ^ cd^ BULLETIN No. 123. APRIL, 1O03 ALABAMA. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE, AUBURN. Vetch, Cowpea, and Soy Bean Hay as Substitutes for Whtat Bran. By J. F. DUGGAR. iJKUW.S PRINTING CO., PRINTERS 4 BINDKRS- MONTGOMEKY, ALA. 1903. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. Jonathan Haralson Selma. STATION COUNCIL C. C. Thach President and Acting Director. B. B. Ross Chemist. C. A. Cary Veterinarian. J. F. DuGGAR Agriculturist. E. M. Wilcox , Biologist . R. S. Mackintosh Horticulturist . J. T. Andeeson Associate Chemist. :^->.,,- ASSISTANTS. *C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. A. McB. Ransox Acting First Assistant Chemist. T; Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. J. C. Phelps Third Assistant Chemist. T. U. Culver Superintendent of Farm. J . M Jones Assistant in Animal Industry. *0n leare of absence. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. VETCH, COW PEA AND SOY BEAN HAY AS SUB- STITUTES FOR WHEAT BRAN. By J. F. DuGGAR. SUMMARY. The object of the feedino: experiments herein de- scribed was to ascertain whether hay made fnau hairy vetch, cowpeas and soy beans could be advantageously substituted for most of the wheat bran in the ration of dairy cows. Tlie foUowino- values per ton were used in calculat- ing the cost of fo(xi : Wheat bran, |20.00; vetch hay, flO.OO; co^vpea hay, 110.00; cotton seed .|12.00; cotton seed meal, |20.00; cotton seed hulls, $5.00, Vetch hay proved fully equal in feeding value to a similar weight of wheat bran. Bv this substitution the cost of the food required to make a pound of butter was reduced 25 per cent., which is equivalent to a monthly saving of |22.20 in a herd of twenty cows. With the vetch ration the cost of food for one pound of butter averaged 10 cents in conti'act with 13.4 cents when wheat bran was fed. The waste in feeding vetch hay was, with most cows, about 6 per cent, of the amount offered and with cow- pea hay about 16 per cent. ; the latter residue, being unless, is charged as a part of the ration. That portion of the cowpea hay actually eaten proved fully equal in feeding value to a similar weight of wheat bran. Charging the cows witli all the cowpea hay offered them, we find that cowpea hay had 86 per 52 cent, of the feeding value of wheat bran, one ton of this hay being equal to 1720 pounds of wheat bran. When wheat bran w^as worth |20.00 per ton cowpea hay was worth |17.20 and vetch hay |20.00. The monthly profits per cow were |4,65 on the vetch ration and 14.35 on the cowpea ration. One of the Jersey cows used in this test produced butter at a cost for food of onh^ 8 1-3 cents per pounJ, when fed on the vetch ration. Kunning cowpea hay through a feed cutter did nofc decrease the waste in feeding this food. Pour and a half per cent more butter was produced with soybean hay than with cowpea hay, if we take ac- count of the portion of each actually eaten; however a larger proportion of the coarse stems of the soybean hay was left uneaten. When corn hearts was substituted for wheat bran the yield of butter was increased by 8 per cent. The following combinations of food stuffs made sat- isfactory daily rations for Jersey cows weighing be- tween 700 and 800 pounds and producing a little more than a pound of butter per day: (a) 4 lbs. cotton seed. 2 lbs. wheat bran. ' 11.8 lbs. vetch ha v. Total 17.8 lbs. (b) 6.5 lbs. cowpea hay. 9.6 lbs. cotton seed hulls. 4.8 lbs, cotton seed. 2.4 lbs. cotton seed meal. 2.4 lbs. wheat bran. Total 25.7 lbs. (c) 6.6 lbs. soybean hay. 8.6 lbs. cotton seed hulls. 4.3 lbs. cotton seed. 53 2.2 lbs. cotton seed meal. 2.2 lbs. wheat bran. Total 23.7 lbs. Account was kept of the manure produced during certain periods, and it was found that this was pro- duced at the rate of 1,749 pounds per month, or 3 1-2 tons per cow during a stabling period of four months. Almost exactly half of the manure was left in the barn during the stabling period of 16 hours and an al- most exactly equal amount was deposited during the 8 hours while the cows were in the lots. The General Plan of the Experiments. The chief aim of the experimental feeding of dairy cows as conducted by the Agricultural Department of this Station during the past four years has been to ascertain the means by which the dairymen might re- duce his expenditures for purchased food. The chief profits in live stock consist in using them as the means of improving the soil and of advantageous- ly marketing the crops grown on the farm. Hence the larger the proportion of farm-grown food and the smaller the proportion of purchased material in the ration of an animal the greater the profit. The proximity of cotton seed oil mills, the relative cheapness of -cotton seed meal and hulls, and the com- venience with which these by-products can be fed, have had the effect of making many southern farmers too de- pendent upon purchased foods. In Bulletin No. 114, issued in 1901 by this department, it was shown that at prices then prevailing a home-grown ration of cot- ton seed meal and sorghem hay afforded less butter, but at a lower cost per pound, than a diet of cotton seed meal and hulls. 54 The soutlieru dairyman incurs considerable ex- pense in the purchase of wheat bran. The experimen- tal feeding of dairy cows during the past two winters has had for its object to learn whether the dairyman could advantageously reduce the amount of wheat bran often fed. Instead of wheat bran, we fed in 1901-2 vetch hay and the past winter cowpea hay. In com- position these two hays are quite similar to wheat bran, as may be seen in the table of composition below, giving the composition of the foods used as determined by the Chemical Department of this station. ■ In 100 pounds of food are: Water. Ash. Protein Lbs. Starch. sugar etc. Lbs. Fat. Lbs. Fiber. Lbs. Wheat bran . . Oowpea hay . . Vetch hay .... Soy bean hay. . Corn hearts . . Riee meal 9.21 9.84 **20.30 9.25 10.21 8.54 7.17 12.18 5.79 6.01 2.49 9.14 15.19 13.62 17.15 12.19 10.75 10.56 51.84 34.66 32.12 34.26 58.95 49.97 4.59 4.08 2.14 2.35 7.76 8.30 12.00 25.62 22.50 35.12 9.84 13.55 *Starchy matter, etc. **Vetoh. hay, when analyzed, (Ala. Bui. Nq. 105), contained more water than when fed. In each experiment six thoroughbred Jersey cows have been employed, carefully divided into two nearly similar lots. Each lot has been fed (in addition to a basal ration which was the same for all) for half of the time on wheat bran and during the other portion of the experiment on either vetch or cowpea hay instead. The effort has been to make each lot of cows consume as nearly as practicable as many pounds of wheat bran during one period as of hay during the other period of each experiment. In other words hay of hairy vetch or of cowpea has been substituted almost pound for pound for wheat bran. Each cow in each lot did not receive exactly the same amount of food, but so far as practicable it was the aim to make the total amount of food of one lot equal, or nearly equal, to that of the other lot. While the results have a very positive value for the dairyman they should also convey to the grower of beef cattle suggestions of almost equal value. The details of the first experiment recorded below were under the immediate care of Prof. R. W. Clark. In tlie later experi meats the writer was assisted by Mr. J. M. Jones and by students. To the intelligent care and interest of all of these are largely due the sat- isfactory results obtained. Hairy Vetch Versus Wheat Bkax. This experiment extended over a period of eight weeks during the winter of 1901-2. The rations were reversed at the end of four weeks, so that the cows which at first received an extra quantity of wheat bran later had an extra amount of vetch hay. The first week of each period was regarded as a preliminary period and, as usual, excluded from the record. Everv cow received daily a basal ration which aver- aged as follows : 4 lbs. uncooked cotton seed. 2 lbs. wheat bran. 5.2 lbs. vetch hay (average*) 11.2 lbs. total basal ration. Besides the above, each cow in one lot received an additional amount of vetch hay, which varied with the appetite of the individual cow, and which averaged 6.6 pounds per cow daily, excluding the small amount Avhich was offered but not eaten. The other lot of cows was fed, besides the basal ra- tion, an additional amount of wheat bran, which extra 56 allowance averaged 7 pounds per head daily. The ra- tions of the two lots of cows were in time reversed so as to eliminate any possible inequality due to the indi- viduality of the cows. For the sake of simplicity we shall hereafter speak of the one as the vetch ration and of the other as the bran ration. The vetch ration consisted of a daily allowance of 17.8 pounds of food per day and the bran ration of 18.2 pounds. This gives slight advantage in the amount of food to the cows on the bran ration. The following prices for food stuffs are assumed as average local prices on the farm for the last two win- ters : Cotton seed, |12.00 per ton. Wheat bran, |20.00 per ton. Vetch hay, flO.OO per ton. Cowpea hay, $10.00 per ton. The actual prices for a small i>ortion of the food varied from this average; for example, the supply of home-grown peavine hay becom- ing exhausted before the conclusion of this experiment, it was necessarv to buv a few bales at one dollar per hundred weight. The vetch hay was of good quality, though it con- tained a small amount of coarse oat hay, it being nec- essary to sow oats or other grain with vetch to hold the slender vetch plant off the ground. The cows used were as follows : G Lot. Breed. CO 1 GO ll c; i>~. •r' 02 &c c4 O. o < c ^^ I Ida Jersey 6 143 831 I Hazcna* do do 3* (55 44 (ir>3 I Hypatia 813 Av. I Average K4 7(56 II Lukie* do do 3* 4 JOS 68 699 TI Susan 672 II Ada do 10 99 h31 II Averasre 92 734 ♦Heifers with first calves. 57 Coiiiixisite samples of the milk were tested weekly by the Babcock test and the amount of fat thus found was converted into butter by the usual method of multiply- ing' by one and one-sixth. From the table below it will be seen that the basal ration was the same for every cow, whatever the extra food consumed at the same time. ao o S-i Cows. Pounds food in 21 davs. Vetch Hay Extra. Wheat Bran Extra. In basal ration. o ound of wheat bran. If we charge the cows also with the small amount of vetch hay that was fed, but not consumed, we find that a ton of vetch hay was equal to a ton of tvheat hran ahen BO fed to dairy coius in the proportion employed in this ex- periment. Stated differently, vetch hay was worth |20 per ton when wheat bran cost $20 per ton. Every one of the six cows produced butter at much less cost on the vetch than on the wheat bran ration. The cost of food for one pound of butter was as fol- lows : On vetch ration. On bran ration, Cents. Cents. Susan 8.3 11.1 Uikie 8.9 11.6 Hypatia 9.0 13.2 Hazena 9.9 11.6 Ada 11.6 14.8 Ida 13.9 21.0 CowPEA Hay versus Wheat Bran. This experiment extended from December 19, 1902, to March 6, 1903. In addition to the usual preparatory feeding there were two periods of 30 days each. The ra- tions were at the proper time reversed, so that during one part of the experiment each lot of cows received cow- pea hay and during another portion of the test each lot received wheat bran. The general plan was similar to that of the preceding experiment, but on account of the larger amount of cowpea hay rejected (averaging about one-sixth of that offered) it was considered necessary to supply larger amounts of cowpea hay than of wheat bran. Foodstuffs were valued at the same price as the pre- vious winter. Cotton seed hulls were priced at |5 per ton and a fair quality of cowpea hay at |10 per ton. A basal ration was made up by weight as below and fed to every cow during the entire experiment : \ cotton seed (raw). -1 wheat bran. 61 I cotton seed meal. ^ cotton seed hulls. Of this mixture each lot of cows received practically equal amounts. The average quantity of this basal ration consumed daily per cow while eating cowpea hay was 19.18 pounds, and when eating an extra amount of wheat bran 19.35 pounds of the basal ration was consumed. This amount contained practically 9.6 pounds of con- centrated food and an equal amount of hulls. In addition to the above, each cow received during one period of the experiment cowpea hay, the average daily consumption of which was 6.5 pounds per cow. During another period each cow received wheat bran, the average daily consumption of which was 6.1 pounds per cow. ISummary of daily ration per cow. Cowpea hay "Wheat bran ration. ration. Cowpea hay 6.5** Wheat bran 6.1 Concentrated food in basal ration .... 9.6 9.6* Cotton seed hulls 9.6 9.6* Total daily ration, average 25.7 25.3 ♦Approximate. **7.84 pounds cowpea hay offered. The cows used were as follows : Weight Lot. Breed. Age Days since wht n test years. calving. began. I Lukie Jersey 4 95 752 I Susan Jersey 5 115 696 I *Neura Jersey 3 72 691 I Average 94 713 II Ada Jersey 11 73 837 II Hazena Jersey 4 72 734 II Hypatia Jersey 7 56 848 II Average fi7 806 ♦Heifer with first calf. 62 The amount of the basal ration, common to every cow, averaged practically the same for each lot, whether the additional food was cowpea hay or wheat bran. Incidentally it was ascertained in this test that run- ning the cowi>ea hay through a feed cutter, so as to chop it into lengths of about two inches did not decrease the proportion of hay rejected. Amount, kind, and cost of food eaten. Pounds food in 30 days. c r^ CO '^ 03 o3 c3 Cow. Wheat bran. Cowpea hay eaten. Basal. 1 I I I II II II II Dec. 26 to Jan. 25: Lukie Susan Neura Feb. 4 to March 6: Ada Hazena Hypatia Total. 1 6 oows , II I Lukie . . II I Susan . . II JNeura . I i Ada . . . I I Hazena I ! Hypatia Total. 16 cows . 166.2 197.5 149.5 223.5 219.3 220 *1176.0 202 202 202 164.5 162 164.5 1097 642 642 604 542 482.5 540.5 3453.0 560 559 482 643 606 634.5 3484.5 *1411 pounds of cowpea hay offered and charged against the cows. The am®unt of wheat bran consumed by six cows in 30 days, in addition to the basal ration, was 1,176 pounds. Adding also the portion of the hay which was unused, and which consisted of nearlv worthless coarse stems, Ave must charge the cows with 1,411 pounds of cowpea hay. This has been done in the following table in cal- culating the cost of food required to make a pound of butter. 63 Inchidino- this wasted material, the average cost of food for one pound of butter were 12.3 cents with the co\^'pea ration, and 15.9 cents with the wheat bran ration. This is a difference of 3.58 cents per pound of butter, or a saving of 23 i>er cent, in the cost of food required to make a i)ound of butter due to the substitution of the chea]HM- cowpea hay for wheat bran costing |20 i>er ton. Milk eriments of both winters. Each of them required a larger total amount of food for the second A^'inter, chiefly because the basal ration at that time contained a large amount of cotton seed hulls, a nmterial having very low nutritive value. 67 The effects of tJir rations on the live weights of the cows. Ou votcli luiy tile cows renin ined practicall}' statiouary in weiiiiit, while under the same conditions the average gain i>er cow per period was 13 ^njunds when wlieat bran was fed. The next winter the cows on cowpea hay gained only 1 ponnd per head \wv period, \\hile those getting wheat Urau gTew heavier by 10^ pounds per he;ul. This suggests a slightly greater tendency of wheat bran than of hay of vi^tch or cowjieas to increase the live weight, a doulitful advantage in the case of the milch cow. MINOR TESTS. At the conclusion of the experiments just described the feeding season was too nearly past and the cows too far advancwl in lactation t(» permit any further experiments requiring long periods. Uoiice in the two exi)eriments described below it was r.ecessary to adopt the short period sometimes enjployed, dividing each experiment into three periods and using the data only for the last ten daj's of each period, the earier part of the jx'riod be- ing considered as preparatory. The natural shrinkage in the flow of milk was counterbalanced by averaging the results of the first and third periods, during which the same food was fed, and comparing this average with the yield of milk and butter obtained during the second or intermediate period. The ration fed during the first and third period of this experiment was the same as that fed to the corres- ponding lot of cows during the second period of the ex- periment previousy described. The same six cows were employed. The basal ration was the same as in the ex- periment comparing cowpeas with wheat bran. 68 ■ Corn Hearts Compared with Wheat Bran. For 7 pounds of wheat bran per head daily was sub- stituted 6.8 pounds of corn hearts, a by-product from corn obtained in the manufacture of grits or hominy. Our supply came from the Western Grain Company, Birmingham, Ala., and cost, in Birmingham, 124.00 per ton in February, 1903. One cow failed to eat the corn hearts as freely as wheat bran. Corn hearts vs. ichcat hran. o -r-l U Ration. Milk lbs. 3 cows, 10 days. Butter lbs. 3 cows, 10 days. I Wheat bran 474.2 449.5 461.8 495.6 33.8 31.9 HI Wheat bran 28.9 Average 30.4 n Corn hearts 33.0 Difference in favor of corn hearts. . 2.6 Evidently corn hearts was a better food than wheat bran. The increase with the corn hearts ration as com- pared w^ith the bran ration was 8 per cent, in butter, and 7 per cent, in milk. The basal ration consisted of the same materials as in earlier experiments, — cotton seed and cotton seed hulls, with a small proportion of both cotton seed meal and wheat bran. In these tests corn hearts was worth as a food for pro- duction of butter |21.60 per ton, when wheat bran was worth Soy Bean Hay Compared with Cowpea Hay. In addition to the basal ration, which was the same for both lots, soy bean hay was consumed at the rate of 6.6 pounds per cow daily, or cowpea hay at the rate of 7 pounds daily. 69 In addition to the above amount aetualh^ consumed, 32 per cent, of the soy bean hay that was offered was rejected. This rejected portion consisted of the coarse stalks and some of the larger limbs. The correspond- ing waste with cowi>ea hay in this test was 22 per cent, of that offered. Soy beau hay rs. cowpea hay. o • r-t f-t C-4 Ration. Milk lbs. Butter lbs. T Onwrvpa Viav 545.7 487.2 516.4 535.3 18.9 34.60 TTT 30.11 II AvprflSTP 31.85 Snv bpan hav 33.25 Difference iu favor of soy bean hay 1.4 From the above table we see that the soy beans af- forded U per cent, more butter and 3| per cent, more milk than an equal weight of cowpea hay actually ocn- sumed. However, the greater waste or greater residue with the soy bean fully counterbalances this, reducing the hay of these two valuable leguminous plants to a practical equality in feeding value. Soy beans are worthy of more extensive cultivation in the South. Their principal advantage over cowpeas consists in their easier curing, erect growth, and freedom from tangling. In our experiments they seem to require slightly richer soil than cowpeas. DIGESTIBLE MATTER IN RATIONS FED. In the following table are given the amounts in the daily rations fed of digestible dry matter; protein, or "muscle formers" ; carbohydrates ( chiefly starchy ma- terial) ; and fat. For comparison, the table also in- cludes the figures showing what is generally regarded as the normal nutritive requirement of a cow in full flow of milk. 70 DlgeHtihlc nutriments in rations fed. Ration. > m d 2 O) 2 cfi +; /2 f); o ^ t3 +j Fh cs ^ CO Ph O fc Wolff-Lehmann Standard 11 . 8 lbs. vetch hay '. . . . 4.0 lbs. cotton seed 2 . 0 lbs. wheat bran 17.8 lbs. total 9 . 0 lbs. wheat bran 4.0 lbs. cotton seed hulls... 5 . 2 lbs. vetch liay 18.2 lbs. total 6.5 lbs. cowpea hay 9.6 lbs. cotton seed hulls... 4.8 lbs. cottonseed 2.4 lbs. cottonseed meal...., 2 . 4 lbs. wheat bran 25.7 lbs. total 6 . 1 lbs. wheat bran 2 . 4 lbs. wheat bran 9 . 6 lbs. cottonseed hulls 4 . 8 lbs. cottonseed 2.4 lbs. cottonseed meal.... 25.3 lbs. total 9 . 2 lbs. wheat bran 8.6 lbs. cottonseed hulls 4 . 3 lbs. cottonseed 2.2 lbs. cottonseed meal.... 24 . 3 lbs. total 6.8 lbs. corn hearts 2 . 1 lbs. M^heat bran 8.2 lbs. cottonseed hulls 4.1 lbs. cottonseed 2 . 0 lbs. cottonseed meal 23.2 lbs. total L'bs. 29 15.80 Lhs. 2.5 2.26 16.1191 2.277 22.92 22.51 1 I } 21.59 I J Lhs. 13 7.58 7.009 2.51 2.55 2.50 i 20.62 2.35 8.47 8.35 8.11 Lhs. .5 ,91 .998 1.42 Lhs. 1:5.7 1:41 1:40 1:4.6 1.51 7.77 1.40 1.33 1:4.6 1:4.5 1:4.3 71 > u Q Digestible nutrients. Ration. d -t-> o Carbohy- drates. 6 -u .s U 7 lbs cowDea hav 21.69 ■ 1 2.40 8.07 7.92 2 . 2 lbs. wheat bran 8.6 lbs. cottonseed hulls.... 4 ^ lbs pottonseed 1.27 1:4.4 2.2 lbs. cottonseed meal 24 3 lbs total 6.6 lbs. soy bean hay 2 2 lbs wheat bran 1 8.6 lbs. cottonseed hulls 4 3 lbs cottonseed 1 21.28 1 2.36 1 J • 1 1.31 1 1 1:4.6 2.2 lbs. cottonseed meal 23 9 lbs total 1 ' All of those rations fall far below the (lennan stand- ard 111 carliohydrates, and i^Teatly exceed it in fat. Tn the (iiilf States, by reason of tlc' hi- the cowpea ration. They Avere in the stable about in hours per nioht. DuriniLi this time Ihe averaiie amount of solid and li(iui dropped during eight hours out <;f doors and an equal amount during sixteen hours in the barn. This is in close agreement with previous tests made at this station and recorded in Bulletin No. 114 : "This is important because the manure dropped on the lots or pastures usually suffers greater losses, and hence is worth less than that collected while the cows jire in the stable. However, the high value of manure from grain fed cows should prompt every dairyman to gather and protect the manure from the lot as well as that from the barn." This is equivalent to a production of 1,741) pounds of manure per cow per month, including bedding, or to three and one-half tons during a stabling period of four months, half of which (dropped in the barn), and a part of that dropped in the lot, would be saved. It is of interest to note that during the time covered ])y these tests each pound of dry food con-^umed resulted in the production of about two and one-half pounds of Manure. \ BULLKTIN No. 12-1. MAY, 1903. A-LA.BAMA. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Agricnltural and Mechanical College, The Horticultural Law. Notes on Some of the Insects and Funcrous Diseases Affectino- Horticultural Crops. R. S. MACKINTOSH. MONTCJOMEKY, ALA.. THK BROWN PRINTING CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS, 1903. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. Jonathan Hakalson Selma. STATION COUNCIL C. C. Thach . . President and Acting Director. B. B. Ross Chemist. C. A. Gary Veterinarian. J. F. DuGGAR Agriculturist. E. M. Wilcox Biologist . R. S. Mackintosh Horticulturist. J. T. Anderson Associate Chemist, ASSISTANTS. *C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. A. McB. Ranson Acting First Assistant Chemist. T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. J. C. Phelps Third Assistant Chemist. T. U. Culver Superintendent of Farm. J M Jones Assistant in Animal Industry. *0n leave of absence. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. THE HOKTICULTUKAL LAW AND RULES ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. INTRODUCTION. For 3'^ears the horticultural interests in Alabama have suffered very much from the injury done by various in- sect and fungous pests. Most of the seriously injurious pests are distributed upon nursery stock from infested sections. The nursery trade is a legitimate one, and one that should be encouraged when honestly conducted. Since the introduction of the notorious San Jose scale the people have awakened to the fact that it is nec- essary to protect the planter from stock from in- fested nurseries. The method commonly adopted is to consider nursery stock infested with pests, as danger- ous to the public welfare, and order such stock de- stroyed. To do this all nurseries have to be examined one or more times each year, to see if there are no pests on the stock growing therein. If all the stock is healthy a certificate of health is given, stating that the stock is apparently free from all such pests. Even with all this precaution the planter should ever be on the lookout for insects and fungous pests which may have escaped the eye of the inspector, or which may have gotten upon the trees or plants after the time he made the examination. The many wide-awake fruit growers of Alabama have for years been trying to get adequate laws to aid them in protecting the industry in this State. This past winter the newly-organized State Horticultural Society took the matter up, and with the aid of others interested in the work, succeeded in getting the Legislature to pass the following law : 76 No. 121. Code of 1903. AN ACT To Further Protect Horticulture, Fruit Growing, and Truck Gardening, and to Exclude Crop Pests of all Kinds in the State of Alabama. Section 1. — Be it Enacted by the Legislature of Ala- bama. That from and after the passage of this act, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries of the State of Alabama, the President of the Alabama State Horti- cultural Society, and the Director of the Experiment Station of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute shall, ex- officio, constitute a board to be known as the State Board of Horticulture, of which the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries shall be chairman, which board shall have full power to enact such rules and regu- lations governing the examination, certification, sale, transportation and introduction of trees, shrubs, cut- tings, buds, vines, bulbs, and roots, that they may deem necessary to prevent the further introduction, increase and dissemination of insect pests and plant diseases. Sec. 2. — That the Professor of Horticulture of the Alabama Polj-technic Institute shall act as State Horti- culturist and a.s secretary of said Board of Horticulture under the provisions of this act, and it shall be the duty of the said board to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with this act for the government of the said State Horticulturist in the duties devolving upon him in execution of the provisions of this act. Sec. 3. — There is hereby annually appropriated the sum of ( |1,500 ) fifteen hundred dollars, to be disbursed under the direction of the Board of Trustees of the Ala- bama Polytechnic Institute for the purpose of defraying the expense in the execution of this act. Sec. 4. — The State Horticulturist or a deputy duly / / authorized b}^ the Board of Horticulture, shall have power under the regulations of the Board of Horticul- ture to visit any section of the State where such pests are supposed to exist, and to determine whether any infested trees or plants are worthy of remedial treatment or shall be destroyed, and he shall immediately report his find- ings in writing, giving reasons therefor, to the owner of the infested plantation, his agents or tenant, and a copy of each report shall also be submitted to the said board. In case of objections to the findings of the State Horti- culturist or his deputy, an appeal shall be made to the said Board, who shall have power to summon witnesses and hear testimomy on oath, and whose decision shall be final. An appeal shall be taken within ten days and shall act as a stay of proceedings until it is heard and decided. Sec. . 5. — Upon the findings of the State Horticul- turist or his deputy in any case of infested trees or plants, the treatment prescribed by him shall be exe- cuted at once (unless an appeal is taken), under his sup- ervision, the cost of material and lalwr shall be borne by the owner; provided, however, that in case the trees or plants shall be condemned they shall be destroyed by the State Horticulturist, and the expense of such action shall be borne by the owner. No compensation shall be allowed for any plants that shall be destroyed. Sec, 6. — In case any person or persons refuse to execute the direction of the State Horticulturist or of the said Board upon an appeal, a Justice of the Peace or Probate Judge of the county shall, upon complaint filed by the State Horticulturist or any freeholder, cite the person or persons to appear before him within ten days after notice being served, and that the said judge upon satisfactory evidence shall cause the prescribed treat- ment to be executed, and the expense thereof and cost of 78 court shall be collected from the owner or owners of in- fested plants. Sec. 7. — It shall be unlawful to offer for sale, sell, give away or transport perenial plants, scions, buds, trees, shrubs, vines, or other plants, tubers, roots, cut- tings, bulbs, known to be infested with dangerously in- jurious insects or plant diseases. Any person or persons violating this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars for each separate offense. Sec. 8.— The said Board of Horticulture, its agents, or employes, are hereby empowered with authority to enter upon any premises in discharge of the duties here- in described. Any person or persons who shall obstruct or hinder them or their agents in the discharge of these duties shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction therefor, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars. Sec. 9. — The Board shall have the power also to adopt rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of this State and the United States, for preventing the introduction of dangerously injurious crop pests of all kinds from without the State or regarding the dissemination of crop pests within the State, and for the governing of common carriers in trans- porting plants liable to harbor such pests, to and from and within the State, and such regulations shall have the force of laws. gEc. 10. — Be it further enacted, that the members of said Board, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, in the absence of the third, shall, within thirty days of the passage of this act, and from time to time, draw up and promulgate through the press of the State the rules and regulations necessary to carry into full and com- plete effect the provisions of this act, carefully defining 79 what diseases or maladies, both insect and fungus, shall constitute iufectation in trees or plants, within the meaning and purview thereof. Sec. 11. — It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to sell, give away, or ship within the State of Alabama any trees or shrubs or any other plants com- monly known as nursery stock, without having a certifi- cate of guarantee of the State Horticulturist of Alabama. A copy of such certificate of guarantee must accompany each )k)x or package sold, given away or shipped. Such certificate must be dated within twelve months. If upon examination such stock is found to conform to the re- quirements of the said Board of Horticulture, the State Horticulturist must furnish a certificate to that effect. Any person or persons selling, giving away or shipping nurserv stock without the certificate of the State Horti- culturist shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars. Sec. 12. — ^Each and every person, firm or corporation residing and doing business outside of the State of Ala- bama, dealing in or handiling trees, shrubs or other plants commonly known as nursery stock, shall file a copy of his or its certificate of his or its inspection furnished by the State Horticulturist, nursery inspector or other duly authorized official of his or its State or county with the Secretary of the Board of Horticulture. Upon the filing of this certificate as above prescribed, and upon request of the person, firm or corporation, a certificate will be is- sued to the same, and official tags bearing copy of such certificate and seal of the Board will be furnished the same at cost, pro^dded, however, that the aforesaid certi- ficate of inspection shall be adjudged satisfactory by the Board. Each box, bundle or package of nursery stock shipped into Alabama by any person, firm or corporation shall bear one of these tags, and shipments of stock not 80 . thus tagged shall be liable to confiscation by the Board of Horticulture through its agents or employes. Sec, 13. — No transportation company or common car- rier shall deliver any box, bundle or package of trees, shrubs or plants commonly known as nursery stock to any consignee residing within the State of Alabama when said box, bundle or package does not bear the offi- cial tag or certificate of guarantee issued by the State Horticulturist without previously notifying the State Horticulturist of the particulars of the shipment as they may be required hy the Board, nor without duly warn- ing the consignee of his risk in accepting said shipment. Failure on the part of any transportation company or common carrier to conform to these requirements shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable in each instance by a fine of not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars. Provided, that no common carrier shall be liable for damages to the consignee or consignor for re- fusing to receive, transport, or deliver such trees, pack- ages, or boxes, when not accompanied by the tag or cer- tificate herein provided. Sec. 14. — Any person, firm or corporation receiving from any other firm, or corporation, any box, bundle or package of trees, shrubs, or plants commonly known as nursery stock, which is not accompanied by a certificate of guarantee, or official tag issued by the State Horticul- turivSt to cover said stock, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars. Sec. 15. — It shall be the duty of the State Horticultur- ist to make a quarterly report of his work, and of the ex- penditures under this act to the Board of Horticulture, and said Board shall report annually- to the Governor of the State. Approved March 5, 1903. Official : J. Thos. Heflin, Secrctari/ of State. 81 THE BOARD OF HOKTICULTUKE. As provided bj the above law the following persons are ex-officio members of the Board of Horticulture : The Coinuiissioner of Agriculture aud ludustries, Chairman. The Hon. II. R. Poole, Moutgomery. The President of the Alabama State Horticultural So- ciety, Mr. W. F. Heikes, Huntsville. The Director of the Exi>eriment Station, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Prof. Chas. C. Thach, Auburn. The Professor of Horticulture of the Alabama Poly- technic Institute, to l>e State Horticulturist and Secre- tary to the Board. Prof. R. S. Mackintosh, Auburn. The Board of Horticulture met at Auburn, March 20, 1903, and in accordance with Section 10 of the above act, the following insects and fungous diseases were con- sidered dangerous and to constitute infestation in trees and plants : (1) San Jose Scale, (Aspidiotiis perniciosiis.) (2) The New Peach Scale, {Diaspis amygdaU.) When found in a nursery all infested stock to \ye burned. If San Jose Scale is found in the immediate neighborhood, all stock must be fumigated or certificate will be withheld. (3) Black Knot, { P1oirrif/Jitieaking, it is about the size of a pinhead. Seen I'he description of the San Jose scale: New Peach scale; Black Knot; Peach Yellows and the Peach and Plum Rosette are by Prof. W. M. Scott, State Entomologist of Georgia; and those of the "Woolly Aphis and Crown Gall are by Prof. S. A. Forbes, Stat« Entomologist of Illinois. 87 under a liand leuse the female is dark gray in color, cir- cular and conical in outline, and terminates at the cen- ter bv a nipple like prominence, surrounded by a dis- tinct ring-. The male scales are elongated and smaller, with the nipple near the anterior end. The real insect beneath the scaly covering is plump, circular in outline and yellowish. If crushed with the point of a knife the result is a pale yellowish liquid. The newly-born young are very minute mite-like creatures, long oval in shape, with pale orange color. They are quite active in seeking a suitable spot on which to settle, and in a few hours they have anchored themselves with their beak for life; except in the case of the males, which issue at maturity with wings, and l>ecome active again. When a tree becomes crusted over with these scales the bark has the grayish appearance of having been coated over ^^•ith dampened ashes. Food Plants. — ^The San Jose scale may be looked for upon the follo^^^ng plants: Peach, plum, apple, pear, apricot, cherry, quince, almonds, rose, Ilawthorn, rasp- berry, spiraea, cotoneaster, prunus pissardii, straw- berry, flowering quince, mountain ash, gooseberry, currant, flowering currant, grape, English walnut, pe- can, black walnut, persimmon, elm, osage orange, lin- den, (Mionymus, weeping willow, Kilmornock willow, English willow, golden willow, cotton-wood, Lombardy poplar, Carolina poplar, catalpa, sumach, silver maple, and perhaps some others. Treatment. — For nursery stock, fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas in an air-tight room is the only safe remedy ; and, in fact, this treatment cannot be con- sidered an absolute surety against the scale, since some unknown opening in the house may allow the gas to es- cape before it has done its deadly work. Where trees are actually known to be infested they should never be used, but should be burned. There is too great a risk in the use of infested stock, no matter to what treat- ment it may have been subjected. Fumigation is a good precaution, and every nurservman should fumigate his stock, not only on account of the probable existence of scale in his nursery, but also on account of other insects that are usually present on nursery trees to a greater or less extent. This work of fumigation is accomplished 88 by packing the trees in a air-tight room and subjecting them to the fumes of hydrocyanic acid for thirty-five minutes. The gas is generated by treating chemically pure potassium cyanide with the best grade of commer- cial sulphuric acid at the rate of 1^ oz. of cyanide, If oz. of acid and 5 oz. of water to every 150 feet of cubic space in the room. Preliminary Treatment. Unfortunately there seems to be no satisfactory sum- mer treatment for the San Jose scale, and winter appli- cations must be chiefly depended upon for the control of this pest. However, it is not infrequent that summer spraying can be done to advantage. This insect mult- plies at a rapidly increasing ratio during the breeding season until checked by cold weather about the middle of November or later. In this climate, therefore, the period of greatest reproduction among the scale insects, and consequently of greatest damage to the infested trees, is from about the middle of September to the mid- dle of November. Trees that are only slightly infested in July may become encrusted with scales by November. Frequently this rapid fall multiplication of the scale, if left unchecked, results in the death of a great many trees before a winter wash can be applied. The value of late summer or fall spraying in checking the progress of the scale has been determined not only by our experiments, but also by practical work in large orchards. A 10 per cent, strength (or even 15 per cent, when carefully used) of kerosene or crude oil applied in mechanical mixture with water, or in soap emulsion, does not materially damage peach trees in foliage and does destroy large numbers of scale insects, especially the recently issued young and a considerable per cent, of the breeding females. During the breeding season the progress of the scale should be watched, and if it threat- ens to kill or impair the infested trees before winter sets in, two or three applications of oil should be made. These may be made at intervals of two or three weeks, as occasion seems to demand, but even two applications on successive days or with one day intervening, are con- siderably more effective than a single one. The trunks and larger limbs should be thoroughly sprayed, but 89 drenchiiisj of the foliaoo should he avoided as much as possible. The oil has a temleney to scorch the foliage, but uot to a serious exteut if the work is properly (hjue. HOW TO PREPARE THE SPKAYIXG MATERIALS. KEUOSEXE OIL EMULSi;)X. Formula (uid I)irrrfio>is. — Au euiulsion of either crude petroleuui or kerosene uiay l>e made from the following formula : 2 pounds potasli whale-(^il soaj). 4 gal bins water. 8 gallons oil. Weigh the soap carefully and place with the water in a ve^=s(d over the fire, using a slight excess of water to make up for evaporation. Fit a pump with a short piece of hose, to wliich is attached a nozzle for throwing a straight stream 3-16 or 1-4 inch in diameter. Pour the oil into the barrel or tub in which the pump is set, and when the whale-oil soap is dissolved, and the solution be- gins to boil, add it to the oil, and pump the whole vigor- ously back into itself for a period of at least ten minutes. The stream from the nozzle should be directed straight downward into the mixture so as to stir it to the very bottom. After a few minutes the oil and soap solution will be seen to combine, forming a thick, creamy emul- sion, which when perfectly made will remain without change for weeks. For a 20 per cent, strength add water to make 40 gal- lons. For a 15 per cent, strength add Avater to make 53 1-3 gallons. For a 10 per cent, strength add w^ater to make 80 gal- lons. MntcrkUs and Pump Required. — Either crude oil or kerosene will give good results in making emulsion. The soap should preferably be some soft whale-oil soap, such as Good's No. 3. If a hard soap is used the emulsion will be curdy, and only with difficulty mix with water. The ordinary Bordeaux spray pump answers very well for mixing the emulsion, but almost any pump will do nozzle A "Bordeaux" or "Seneca" nozzle gives a yery that can be fitted with the requisite section of hose and 90 satisfactory sized stream for this work, though rather small. The water used must be soft, for if hard no stable emulsion can be prepared, and it sometimes happens that foreiijn substances chancing' to be present, will prevent the emuLsitication. In ease limestone or hard water is to be employed, it should be broken by the addition of a small quantity of lye. If a lot of soap solution and oil, for any reason, fails to emulsif}^ properly, the best thing to do is to throw the whole away, carefully clean up the pump, wash out all the vessels used and begin over. Properties of the Emulsion. — The emulsion, if well umde of the proper soap, will retain its creamy consis- tency when cold, and is easily mixed with water in all proportions. No alarm should be felt if a small portion of the soap and water fails to emulsify, and separates at the bottom, nor, if after being exposed to the air for some time, a thin scum forms over the surface. If on long standing globules of free oil rise to the surface, or if a thin ring of oil collects around the sides of the contain- ing vessel, the emulsion should either be thrown away, or warmed up and agitated afresh. When diluted the emulsion mav slowlv rise, like cream, to the surface, and in order to prevent this the spray pnmp in which it is to be used should be provided v.ith an agitator. Never try to boil the kerosene over the fire; it is not necessary, and besides it is very dangerous. THE Li:\rE, SULPHUH AND SALT WASH. FORMULA AND DIRECTIONS. This wash n)ay be prepared by combining lime, sul- phur and salt in several different proportions, but the folloAving appears to be the generally accepted formula : Quick lime 30 pounds. Salt 15 pounds. Flower of sulphur 20 pounds. Water to make 60 gallons. Slake half the lime carefully and place it in a large kettle with 25 gallons of water; grind the sulphur up with a little water, breaking the lumps as fine as pos- sible by passing through a seive and add to the lime; boil. 91 As it boils the liquid will gradually become tliiuner and thiuner, the lime and sulphur dissolving simultaneously to form a deep orange-red solution. When the sulphur has apparently all entered into solution, which may take two hours or more, slake the remainder of the lime, add to it the salt, and pour the two into the lime and sulphur solution. Boil the whole for from half an hour to an hour longer, strain, and dilute with warm water to 60 gallons. Do not let it become thoroughly cold, but spray while yet warm. The principal care in making up this wash is to make sure that the sulphur is thoroughly dissolved. Flowers of sulphur is apt to be more or less lumpy, and these lumps are very difficult of solution. The more thor- oughly the sulphur is ground up with water before be- ing boiled with the lime, the less time it will take in the boiling. An iron kettle must be used if the boiling is done di- rectly over a fire. A better and cheaper way, whenever a head of steam is available, is to place the sulphur, lime and salt together in a barrel half full of water, conduct the steam through a j>ipe to the bottom of the barrel and boil it for two or three hours, with occasional stirring, to make sure that nothing is settling. If a boiler is con- venient, a pipe must be so arranged as to conduct steam to a number of barrels at once. NEAY PEACH SCALE. [Dia.spi.s aniijfjduli Tryon.) Note to detect it. — This scale is readily distinguished from the San Jos(^ scale in that the female is a little larger, of a lighter gray color, with the elongated ex- uvial point ridged and located at one side of the center, and the nuile is smaller, elongated, Avith parallel sides and white. The excuvial point is similar to that of the female, but located at the anterior end. A tree badly infested has a white-washed appearance from the color of the male scales. ^Miere onlj females occur, however, a grayish brown appearance is produced. It is the habit of these insects to cluster about the trunk and the lower parts of the larger limbs of a tree. The original home of this insect is probably either the West Indies or Japan. From its probable West In- 92 dian origin it gets one of its popular names, "West In- dia'' scale. Fig. 2. — The New Peach Scale: a, branch covered with male and female scales, natural size; b, female scale; c, male scale; d, group of male scales — enlarged. (Howard, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Yearbook, 1894.) It attacks the peach, plum, apricot, cherry, pear, grape, persimmon, and a few other plants. Treatment. — ^The winter treatment for this insect is about the same as that for the San Jose scale. The fe- male pass the winter in the mature and partially mature state, and can be killed by the lime, sulphur and salt wash, or by the whale-oil soap treat- ment at the rate of one pound dissohed in one gal- lon of water. In Georgia there are three or four broods from eggs, which appear at more or less regiilar inter- vals, the first appearing about the middle of March, if the season is favorable. These broods should be watched for and ten per cent, kerosene or whale-oil soap at the rate of one pound to four gallons of water should be applied at the time of their appearance. It is becoming one of the most dangerous pests with 93 which we have to oontend, perhaps equal to the San Jos^ scale. Th mopt ^i porous measures should be adopted for its eradication while it is yet in its incipiency. BLACK KNOT. {PloKrightia nwrhosa Sch.) Fig. 3. — Black Knot. — Old knots on cherry twigs, natural size. (Scott, Bui. No. 1, Georgia State Board of Entomology.) Plums and cherries are subject to the attacks of a dis- ease very expressively termed "Black Knot." This dis- 94 ease is American in its origin and occurs more or less abundantly throughout the United States, but is es- pecially prevalent in the Eastern States, where it seems to have first appeared. In some sections of the East growers of plums and cherries have been forced from time to time to abandon the industry in consequence of the ruinous effects of its work. Cases are on record showing that orchards that paid handsomely one year were completeh^ destroyed the following year or two. The more intelligent growers are fully aware of the injuries they are liable to suffer from its attacks, and whenever it appears on their premises they lose no time in removing it by cutting off affected parts or rooting up the diseased trees. Through such wise measures the disease has not been allowed to get beyond control. Hoto to detect it. — Some fully formed knots are illus- trated in figure 3. These are large, rough, black ex- cresences, due to the growth of a fung-us {Ploivrightia morhosa) in the cambium layer of the branches or twigs These crusty enlargements may extend entirely around the branch or grow lengthwise on one side. The first swelling usually begins in the spring, when the sap be- gins to flow; it may, however, occasionally be noticed in the fall. Th first indication is a slight enlargement, usually longitudinal, which rapidly increases in size as the season advances. The bark is soon ruptured and finally scaled off, exposing a yellowish brown crusty surface. In May the fungus bears a crop of infecting spores on the surface of the knot, which gives it a vel- vety appearance. These spores are soon scattered by the Avind or other natural agencies furnishing infection for other trees and thus disseminating the disease. The knot then becomes hard and black as fall is approached. 95 ll has not yet completed its work. During- midwinter anotlK r crop of spores is produced and scattered. These gain h)dguieut in the cracks and crevices of the bark and in the forks of twigs and at the growing |K>iiits, ready to germinate and penetrate the tissues of the bark as spring opens up. Treaimoit. — The most effective method of controlling this disease is to cut out all the knots as soon as they appear and burn th(Mn. This work should be supple- mented by s]3raying with Bordeaux ( four p<^)unds of cop- per sulphate and live ]K)unds of fresh lime to fifty gallons of water). Four applications are necessary, two for the winter crop of spores and two for the summer croj). The first shculd be made about two weeks before the buds be- gin to ()]); n, and the s(M-ond immediately before they o]«'!!. The thir.l ai)i>lication shimld be made about the middle of May at the time the summer crop of spores is produced, followed in about two weeks with the fourth. All wild cherry and plum trees should be carefully watchearts nuist be cut away and burned. THE CROWN GALL. ( Derulrophagiis gJobosus.) This is a dark, rough, abruptly protruding tumor growing most commonlv from the crown of the tree, and varying in size from that of a pea to that of the fist, or larger — the latter usually on old and long infested trees. A badly affected tree is likely to show signs of starva- tion, its growth ceasing and its foliage having a sickly yellow look. Young trees often perish from this disease, which is certainly contagious in some forms and perhaps in all, and even large orchard trees may die and finally break off at the base of the trunk. Although much the most common abo>e tlu^ crown, just below the surface of the ground, this gall frecpiently grows on the larger roots, and is sometimes seen exposed on the trunk. Appearing at first as a simple lump or tubercle, it may so extend its growth as to girdle the trunk with its large wart-like excresences. Young galls while still fresh have at first the color of the roots from Avhich they grow, but later darken from the accumula- tion of dead bark on their surfaces. They are at first, while very small, softer than the healthy tissue of the root, but harden with age, and their inner structure be- Fig. 4.— Crown Gall. 1, gall on Mariana Plum cutting; 2. gall at crown and on root of Elberta Peach; 3, gall on Peach induced by planting diseased Mariana Plum in juxtaposition; 4, gall in- duced by innocuiation. (Quintance, Report Georgia State Histori- cal Society, 1900.) 97 comes irrejiiilar and confused On old galls, soft, white, growing points appear here and there in early spring, which enlarging rapidly, become gradually darker and harder, and by fall take on the appearance of the older groAxth. There is much evidence that the crown-gall of the peach, iipricot and almond is a contagious disease due to a minute parasitic organism {Dendrophugas globosus Tourney ) l>elongiug to a peculiar gi^oup of fungi known as the "slime moulds," but this conclusion has not yet b(^n fully verified for the apple, the pear, the respberry, or, indeed, for any other of the numerous kinds of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs on which similar wart- like growths have been observed. Until experimental \\ork now in progress has been car- ried so far as to warrant conclusions on this point, the crown-gall of the apple, now extremenly common in manny nurseries of the Mississippi valley, can be re- garded as a suspicious object, ancl not certainly as a dan- gerous one. But the careful nurse^nnen, jealous of his business reputation, will not send out even suspected ma- terial, and in doubtful cases will give his customers the benefit of the doubt. On this account I strongly ad- vise that no stock of any kind showing galls of this sort on crown, root or trunk should be placed on the market. All trees growing in close contact with those thus affected should have their roots dipped in Bordeaux mixture as a precautionary disinfectant, and the ground on which the stock so diseased has grown should be tem- porarily used for some other purpose than that of raising nursery stock. PEACH YELLOWS. It is American in its origin, and has been known for about one hundred years. It is quite generally distrib- nted over the Eastern States north of Tennessee and North Carolina. Some of the most important peach sec- tions of the East have suffered immensely from its de- structive work and in not a few cases entire orchards have been completely destroyed. It seems to prefer peaches, but apricots, almonds, nectarines and Japanese plums are not free from its attacks. Hoic to detect it. — If the affected trees is in bearing, the first symptom is manifested in the premature ripen- ing of the fruit, which may take place several weeks or 98 only a few days before the normal season of ripening. Premature ripening may be due to other causes, but the yellow peaches bear characteristic bright-red, measly blotches over the skin and streaks of red through the flesh often reaching to the pit. Another reliable symptom is the pushing out of newly formed buds at the ends of apparently healthy twigs or water sprouts, into short shoots with small yellowish leaves. Such buds should not normally put out until the following season. Also^ the disease mav cause dormant buds on the trunk and larger limbs to push into feeble, often branched shoots, characterized by narrow stiff leaves. This stage is illus- tated in figure 5, showing the abnormal growth on a tree dying with the yellows. Affected trees may live for three to five years, during which time they are graudally weakened and finally the foliage becomes yellowish or reddish in color. •wKiW u. Fig. 5. — Yellows the fourth year. S. Dept. Agr.) (Smith, Farmers' Bui. No. 17, The term "yellows" is somewhat misleading. Quite a number of supposed cases of yellows in this State have been reported to the writer, but, upon investigation, the 99 yellowing- of the foliage in every case proved to be due to the jx^acii borers, drouth or some other weakening effect on the trees. Premature ripening of the fruit from simi- lar causes has also lead many to believe their trees to be affected with the yellows. The absence of red spots on the skin and red streaks through the flesh of the fruit should serve to relieve uneasiness in such cases. The cause of yellows is yet und'^termined, but it is detinitely known that it is a disea; e and can be com- municated from tree to tree and from orchard to orchard. Ex])eriments have shown that it can be communicated to healthy trees through buds taken from diseased trees, but the manner of its natural spread from tree to tree is yet unknown. It is known, however, that from scattered cases in the orchard it will gradually spread over the en- tire orchard and completely destroy it if left unmolested. Prevent ion. — Since yellows is an incurable disease, we can only look to preventive measures for protection. (1) Peach trees should not be obtained from nurser- ies located immediately in infested sections. Suc^i stock is liable to develop yellows after planting out. (2) Peach pits from affected trees should never be planted. They may reasonably be expected to convey the disease to the young stock. (3) Whenever the disease appears in an orchard every affected tree should be rooted up and burned. Sim- ply cutting off affected parts is not suflScient. The virus exists in the apparently healthy parts and would soon develope the symptoms of yellows. The whole tree, root and branch, must be destroyed. PEACH AND PLUM ROSETTE. Similar to the yellows is a disease known as ''Rosette" from the peculiar tufts into which the leaf buds grow on trees under the influence of the disease. It attacks peaches and plums and is quite generally distributed over the northern portion of Middle Georgia, extending from Augusta to the Alabama line, and from Macon to some distance north of Atlanta. The writer has quite thoroughly worked the State over and has never found it south of Macon nor in extreme North Georgia. It also occurs, although to a limited extent, in Eastern Kansas and in Western South Carolina. It seems to be most 100 prevalent in Georgia,, Avliere it lias been known for about twenty years. It causes the destruction of many trees annually in infested sections of this State, but the grow- ers do not consider it with any great dread from the fact that they effectively hold it under control by the de- struction of all affected trees as soon as the disease ap- pears. In some localities, how^ever, rosetted trees have been left in hedges and waste places to propagate the dis- ease and cause considerable destruction to adjacent or- chards. '/l/i2Jl„ Fig. 6. — Rosette induced in a seeding by innoculation. Farmers' Bui. No. 17, U. S. Dept. Agr.) (Smith. How to detect it — Figure 6 well illustrates the appear- ance of a tree affected with rosette. This clustering to- gether of the leaves into rosettes usually takes place in early spring and is one distinguishing character of the disease. The foliage assumes a yellowish green or orange color, or, in case of plums, paricularly a beautiful red color. The leaves have a straight, stiff appearance with 101 inroUed niaroius. One season is usually sufficient to com- pletely kill the affected tree. In some cases, however, a tree niaj- live two years, especially if it is not at- tacked in all parts at once; but when a tree is once at- tacked it never recovers. Prevention. — The same preventive measures suggested for yellows apply also to rosette, and particularly should all diseased trees be promptly dug up and burned. Fence rows and hedges where peaches and plums are Growing should be watched and affected trees de- stroyed. By a series of experiments, Dr. Erwin F. Smith,* of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, deter- mined that it can be communicated by bud inoculation, it being necessary, however, for the tissues of the bud and stock to unite before inocculation is effected. Fur- ther than this its manner of spread is unknown. Dr. Smith suggests that possibly the disease may enter through the roots, but this has not yet been proved. It is certain, however, that it does spread naturally and that a few affected trees left standing in an orchard will in time cause the destruction of the entire orchard. Hence the importance of rooting up diseased trees. THE WOOLLY APHIS. {Schizoneura lanigera.) This insect is especially injurious to young apple trees, first in the nursery and then in the orchard. It is most abundant and does its principal damage on the roots of the trees, but spreads also to the bark above ground, where it is particularly likely to appear on the young sprouts which start up from the root of an injured or unhealthy tree. Where abundant it forms bluish-white cottony patches, not unlike some kinds of mould, which, on careful examination, are seen to consist of a crowd or layer of minute sluggish insects, their bodies covered with a cottony coating v. hich gives the general effect de- scribed. They are usually most abundant on the roots, but sometimes appear above ground also on the bark of *Farmers' Bulletin, No. 17, U. S. Dept. Agr., page 17. 102 the trunk or branches. On the exposed parts of the tree they are most likely to be noticed about the collar and at the forks of the principal branches, or wherever an in- jury to the bark has left a scar. When trees in a nur- sery or young orchard have a sickly look — the leaves dull and yellowish — and are not gTowing well, the pres- Fig. 7. — Woolly Aphis {Schizoneura laniger.) — a, Agamic fe- male; b, larval house; c, pupa; d, winged female with antenna en- larged above, all greatly enlarged and with wnxy excretin removed. (Marlatt, U. S. Dept. Agr.) ence of this insect on their roots may be suspected even though there may be no appearance of it on the bark above ground. If the roots of such an infested tree be examined they will commonly be found distorted and de- formed with hard knot-like enlargements, many of them almost dead, or even in course of decomposition. These gall-like growths occur on roots of all sizes to a depth of a foot or more beneath the surface. Unless the tree is so far gone that the insects have de- serted it, they will commonly be found upon these in- jured roots at all seasons of the year. The apple is the only tree liable to attack by this in- sect, the current supposition that it may live on the roots of forest trees being an error due to confusion of injury by the woolly aphis with that by the root-rot. As 103 it lives uudei- ground at all seasons of the year it comes to infest more or less generally the soil itself, although this may be cleared of it by a few months' thorough cul- tivation sulticient to destroy etfectively all living apple- roots. Like many other plant-lice, the woolly aphis mul- tiplies throughout the greater part of the year by the birth of living young from generations of wingless fe- Fig. 8. — Woolly Aphis (Schizoneura lanigera.) — a, root of young tree illustrating deformation; b, section of root with aphides clus- tered over it; c, root louse, female — a and b, natural size; c, much enlarged. (Marlatt, U. S. Dept. Agr.) males only, but in October or November winged females appear somewhat abundantly, and, flying freely, espec- ially before the wind, distribute the species widely. From these descend in the same autumn a generation of males and females, the latter of which eventually lay each a single winter egg. This is commonly placed within a crevice of the bark, and, hatching in spring, give rise to a new colony. There may be more or less migTation back and forth from the groups above ground 104 to those on the roots at almost any time of the summer and fall. This insect is universally distributed and extremely common, both in orchards and nurseries, becoming evi- dently more so to the southward. Being highly injur- ious to young trees, it is a difficult pest to deiil w\^h in the nursery trade. It probably cannot be wholly erad- icated from an infested nursery, and, perhaps, can never be completely and permanently kept out of a new plan- tation. Fortunately, trees a few years old, once well established, commonly suffer but little from its pres- ence, and our jireventive and remedial measures must consequently be directed to the preservation of young stock. No tree whose roots are visibly injured by the woolly aphis should be allowed to go from the nursery, and none in the least infested by it should be sent out until the roots have been freed from it by insecticide ap- plication. The simplest method of destruction of the aphis on the roots is dipping for a few seconds in water kept heated to 130-150 deg. Fahr. Where heat cannot be conveniently maintained, kerosene emulsion, diluted to contain about ten per cent, of kerosene, may be substituted. In the nursery, seedlings or graftings may be protected by using tobacco dust freely in the trenches in which they are planted, or by sprinkling together dust in a shallow fur- row along each side of the nursery row as closely to the tree, and afterwards covering loosely with earth. In- fested trees should not be sent out from the nursery except after fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas or after dipping the roots in hot water or in kerosene emul- sion. Trees with aphis galls or knots should never be sold, but thrown out and burned. Trees which have been growing longest in the nursery are usually the worst infested. Culls kept from year to year, apt to be mere nurseries for the multiplication of these and other de- structive pests. In preserving overgrown trees in hope of making a cheap sale, the nurseryman usually ''saves the penny and loses the pound." BULLETIN No. 123. JUNE, 1903. ALABAMA. Agricultural Experiment Station OF TrrK AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. AUBURN. Some Diseases of Cattle. By C. A. CARY and F. G. MATTHEWS. "IROWN PRINTING CO., PRINTERS <* BINDKK.- MONTGOMEKY, ALA. 1903. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. Jonathan Haralson Selma. STATION COUNCIL C. C. Thach President and Acting Director. B. B. Ross Chemist. C. A. Cart Veterinarian. J. F. Duggar Agriculturist. E. M. Wilcox Biologist . R. S. Mackintosh Horticulturist. J. T. Anderson Associate ChemiBt. ASSISTANTS. *C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. A. McB. Ranson Acting First Assistant Chemist T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. J Q Phelps Third Assistant Chemist. T. U. Culver Superintendent of Farm. F. G. Matthews Assistant in Veterinary Science. J M Jones Assistant in Animal Industry. *0n leave of absence. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station. Auburn, Alabama. CONTENTS. Cow Pox — Variola 108 Varicella • HI Funinculosis H2 Obstructions to Milk Flow 113 Papillomas (warts) 115 Poisonous Plants H^ (a) Kalmia LatifoUa (Laural Ivy) 118 (b) Aeculus Pavia (Red Buckeye) 122 (c) Prunus Carolineaua (Mock Orange) 123 (d) Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) 123 (e) Prunus Virginiana (Choke Cherry) 123 (f) Prunus Persica (Peach) 123 (g) Sorghum Vulgare (Sorghum) 123 (h) Phytolacca decandra (Poke Root) 126 Dysentery in Young Animals 127 Acute Indigestion in Cattle 134 Abortion 136 Non-Infectious Abortion 137 Infectious Abortion 141 Parturient Paresis (Milk Fever) 158 Mammitis — Mastitis — Garget 166 PART I. BY C. A. CAEY. COW POX. VARIOLA. COW POX is a skin disease naturally occurring in cows and rarely appearing in other cattle. It may be trans- mitted by inoculation to calves and to man. The true nature of the virus has never been discovered: various kinds of bacteria have been reported as the cause, and some investigators claim that it is produced by an ani- mal micro-parasite. The period of incubation is said to be from two to four days. The eruption occur usually on the teats, the udder and neighboring parts; some observers report eruptions on the inside of the thighs, on the head, and on the scrotum and perineum of the bull. The teats at first become slightly swollen, sensitive and somewhat hard ; in a short time appear a number of pimple-like modules, having hard or tumified bases, on the teats and udder around the base of the teats. On transparent skin these modules are scarlet red or rose red ; on white skin they are bluish white, giving a floures- cent reflection; on a dark skin the nodules have a lead- gray color; and, if the skin is thick and tough the pim- ples may be a dirty yellowish gray in color. The pimples or nodules are enlarged popillse of the skin and vary in size, yet they average about one-fourth of an inch in diameter. In about two days the outer layer of the skin is raised, around the center of the enlarged pimple, by viscid, yellowish lymph, which is in separate saccules (multilocular vesicles) ; by thus raising the outer bor- ders of the nodule its center appears depressed. But in 109 some nodules the excess of lymph raises the entire outer layer of skin over the nodule, forming one large unicel- lular vesicle, filled with thick, yellowish lymph (serum). The vesicles usually become mature in 8 to 10 days, and vary in size from one- fourth to three- fourths of an inch in diameter; they are usually circular on the udder and may be elliptical on the teats. When the vesicles are not broken their contents become purulent (filled with pus), the centre first becomes brown in color which soon ex- tends to the border of the pustule. The pustule dries and a dark brown scab or crust is formed which usually drops off about the fourteenth day, leaving a pale red or white and shining, depressed scar. The vesicles or pustules on the teats are always broken by the milker and the brown scabs come off prematurely and sometimes drop into the milk to be removed from it by the strainer. Complete recovery takes place in the eruptions that ap- pear on the udder in about 21 days ; but with those on the teats successive scabs or crusts are removed, ulcers be- come "cracked" and raw, and healing occurs slowly, re- quiring in some instances thirty to forty days. During this time re-infection or infection with pus germs may take i>lace and thus successive crops of nodules (pos- sibly vesicles and pustules) and scabs may appear. In one case under my direct observation there were four successive crops of eruptions in four months (winter and spring) on the teats and udder of the same cow. Crusts from the third crop were mixed with dilute glycerine and a calf was inoculated, by vaccination, producing an ulcer with a scab or crust without apparently passing through vesicular and pustular stages. Had I used the crusts from the first crop I am confident true cow pox would have been produced in the calf. Moreover, the calf inocu- lated had been getting the milk from this cow (not sucking) and may have become immune before being in- oculated. 110 Dr. Van Es, while practicing in Mobile, reported to me a case where a milker became infected on the hand by milking cows with cow pox. Owing to the fact that man is inoculated (vaccinated) with bovine virus (cow pox virus) to produce a partial immunity to small pox, it is possible that many cows may become inoculated by milkers who scratch their vac- cinated arms and fail to disinfect their finger nails before milking the cows. Records (Crookshank and others) seem to indicate that cow pox is usually more prevalent when small pox scares are numerous, and many persons are vaccinated; this relationship appears to be true so far as the imperfect records of cow pox in Alabama can indicate. I have observed that children who drink raw milk sometimes have ulcers not unlike vaccination ul- cers, about the mouth or face or on the hands ; this might result from scratching pimples, eroded places or sores when the finger nails are covered with infected milk. The fact that milkers, who become infected with cow pox, were partly or wholly immune to small pox, led the celebrated Jenner to discover and apply the method of vaccinating man with cow pox virus in order to prevent virulent small pox. The virus of cow pox is fixed and can only be trans- mitted by direct inoculation. Generally the milker car- ries it from one cow to another and, if not immune, inoc- ulates himself, or carries it from his vaccinated arm to a susceptible cow. One attack, or series of eruptions, pro- duces immunity in a cow for life. Hence young cows at first period of lactation (with first calf) are the ones most frequently infected; yet older cows may have it if not already immune. It is generally more virulent in winter than in summer. The chief troubles resulting from cow pox are the an- noyance or difficulty in milking and sometimes a decrease Ill How of milk ; the latter may be due to lack of removing all the milk; jilso "caked bag" or mammitis may be a sequel to lack of removing all the milk. Moreover, there is some danger to non-immune milkers and possibly to non-vaccinated children. Treatment consists in isolating the affected cows and allowing the same milker to milk the diseased cows and no others. The milker should keep his finger nails cut close and smooth and thoroughly wash and disinfect his hands after and before milking with a 2 per cent, solution of creolin, or corrosive sublimate 1 part and water 1,000 parts. The udder and teats should be washed just before milking and covered with one of the above antiseptics. After milking appl}- some of the following to the bag and teats : Copper sulphate 1 dram and water 1 quart. Some have used the following with fairly good results : Tannic acid 1 ounce; Salicylic acid 4 drams ; Vaseline 3 ounces. Apply just after using the copper sulphate solution. The milk should be boiled before using, especially for children. Apparently it has no bad effects on calves not alowed to suck. Varicella or false cow pox is characterized by having single celled vesicles and hj its rapid course, passing through the papular, vesicular, pustular and healing stages in six to twelve days. The scab or crust is thinner and not depressed in its centre as in cow pox. The ves- icles and pustules have the same outline as those of cow pox, but are smaller in varicella than in cow pox. Notice that these are variations in degree rather than in kind; this makes it difficult to distinguish true cow pox and false cow pox in some instances — especially in the early stages. In varicella there may be successive 112 crops of eruptions on the udder and teats extending over several weeks or three or more months. Possibly the later eruptions are due to infection by pus germs or to mixed infection. The true cause of varicella is also un- known. Yet it is infectious and can be transmitted by the milker from one cow to another and possibly from the cow to the milker. A similar disease in men is commonly called chicken pox; so far no direct relation betw^een the disease in cows and in man has been established. No inoculations have been made as in cow pox. The treatment for this is the same as for cow pox. Furunculosis is a disease that is also found on the teats and udder of the milch cow. It is an inflammation of a hair follicle and its subaceous gland, and of a cer- tain amount of connective tissue surrounding them. The cause is an infection through the follicle by one or more of the pus germs, usually the micrococcus 'pyogenes, var. aureus or alhiis. Generally the central parts un- dergo necrosis, or degenerative changes, forming a small pus collection, which usually escapes by a break in the skin and rarely by erupting into the milk sinus or reser- voir of the udder or ducts of the teat or udder. Furuncles (small boils) appear usually about the base of the teats, but may occur anywhere on the udder or teats; some report their occurrence on the vulva and perineum. At first the furuncle is a hard, swollen nodule, about one-half inch in diameter; in the course of a few days it becomes soft in its centre and with slight pressure may erupt. Another or several more may appear near or around the first one, and thus a series of successive furuncles may appear on the teats and udder during the greater part of the period of lactation. Sometimes the nodules are quite deeply situated and remain Avithout erupting; these are usually about the base of the teat, 113 or ill other i)arts of the udder; they may be, in some cases, tuberculous modules. No doubt that filthy hands, dirty finger nails, open the way to infection. Pus germs are very often found on dirty finger nails and on the dirty skin of the udder; moreover, long, sharp and rough finger nails are fine in- struments for inoculation. Treatment consists in cleanliness and disinfection. With the finger nails smooth and closely cut, and the udder and hands thoroughly washed, chances for infec- tion are very limited. After infection, wash the udder with water that has been boiled and cooled ; apply a 2 per cent, creolin, lysol or corbolic acid solution; or corrosive sublimate 1 part and water 1,000 parts. Be sure to wash and disinfect the udder well immediately after a furuncle erupts. Re- member cleanliness of hands, finger nails and udder will prevent it. OBSTEUCTIONS TO THE FLOW 01-^ MILK FROM THE TEAT. Chronic inflammation or irritation of the lining mem- brane of milk duct or canal in the teat (through which passes the milk from the milk reservoir or sinus in the bag to the bucket or air at time of milking) may lead to a graudual thickening of the lining membrane and conse- quent narrowing of the duct. The milk will then flow in a verv small stream and the calf or milker mav be un- able to remove all of the milk, and thus "dry up" that quarter or produce clotting of the milk or inflammation of the bag ("garget" or "caked bag.") Chronic inflammation may be a result of the growth of germs in the small amount of milk left in the milk sinus or duct, or the growth of germs in the lining membrane 114 of the duct. The use of a filthy or rough dilator or milk tube may irritate the membrane. The most common cause, of infection, according to my observations, is the employment of filthy finger nails or a dirty knife to re- move a clot or a temporary obstruction in the duct. The thickening of the lining membrane is usually near the lower end of the duct, but in one instance I found the duct obstructed in the entire length in all four tests; and, according to the owner, the cow was not carefully or properly "dried up." The duct in the teat may, also, be obstructed by a growth in the substance of the teat, which presses on the duct and obstructs the flow of milk. The growth may be in or on the lining membrane of duct and anywhere along its course, but most frequently at its lower end. In some cases a false membrane develops across the milk sinus or reservoir preventing the flow of milk into the teat; this can be determined by using the milk tube or probe or small dilator. In extremely rare instances lime-like deposits may take place in the milk ducts and sinuses, and appear in the duct of the teat as sand-like grains or particles obstruct- ing the flow of milk. The most common causes of obstruction of the flow of milk in the teat are clots of milk (casein) resulting from infection of the milk by germs getting into the udder through the duct in the teat; retention of milk in the udder for a long time; and catxirrhal and other forms of inflammation in the udder. Milk is a good food for o-erms, and various kind' of bacteria will grow in it, many of which will precipitate the casein, thus forming clots in the sinus of the udder. Treatment of obstructions will vary with the condi- tions presented. Narrowing of the duct may sometimes be relieved by using dilators ( flgs. 1,2) ; it may be neces- 115 sary to leave the dilator in the canal or duct for an hour or more just 'before milking. Be careful to cleanse and sterilize the dilator just before using, with boiling water or a good disinfectant. When dilators will not accom- plish the desired result, use a small knife blade, lance (fig. 4), or the teat slitter (fig. 5), and enlarge the duct at the place of narrowing; then us ' the dilator or probe to preveut the narrowing of the duct as the wound heals. Sometimes orowths or small enlargements on the inner surface of the duct may be clipped off with very small sharp pointed scissors or twisted off with small forceps. Lime or sand-like deposits in the sinus may require considerable dilatation of the duct with the ordinary or spring dihitor (fig. 3) ; or the small forceps may be used to remove the sand-like particles. A false membrane across the milk sinus or reservoir may be pierced and slit open witJi a small knife (fig. 8). Clots of casein may be removed by using a milk tube (figs. 9, 10), or by using dilators (fig. 3), and complete and frequent milk- ing. If the udder is inflamed use antiseptic injections and applications as directed under head of garget or inflammation of the udder. Papillo:mas or warts on the bag or teats may be clipped off with knife or scissors when the cow is dry; cut about as deep or a little deeper than the thickness of the skin. Care should be taken not to cut around or into the opening of the duct of the teat; it might leave a permanent opening or the contraction of the scar might close the duct. After clipping apply once or twice per day, castor oil, 3 ounces ; salicylic acid, 4 drams. 116 b'ig. 1 -Teat dilator closed and open; used in dilating a narrow or contracted milk duct. X3 a> o 01 o bo a "a m a o o -4-> 73 > o p '. \^ V iC ,i£i:^ 117 M"V WOCHER & SON. 01N-. O Figs. 5, 6 and 7. — Three kinds of teat slitters, any one of which may be used for enlarging narrow or contracted milk ducts. Fig. 8. — Small tenotome knife (showing only part of handle), which may be used in enlarging a contracted milk duct or cutting an opening in a false membrane across the milk sinus. MAX WOCMeR & SON. CH'J o. MAX WOCHER 8. SON. OIN,. O. f^ Figs. 9 and 10.— Milk tubes. Fig. 11. — -Lead probe to be inserted in the milk duct after teat slitting, and retained until healing and danger from excessive contraction of the wound is passed. 118 POISONOUS PLANTS. Tests or Experiments with Kalmia latifolia. We used a 5 per cent, infusion of the leaves, which was prepared under the direction of E. R. Miller, pro- fessor of pharmacy. I. A scrub cow, about 5 years old, weighing 600 pounds, was used. Her temperature was 103.2 Pah., respirations 10 and pulse 34 just before the drug was given. At 3 p. m. she was given 3 quarts of the 5 per cent, infusion. At 4 p. m. — Tern para ture 103 . 2 Fah . Respirations 10 . Pulse 37. At 5 p. m. — Temperature .... , 103 . 4 Respirations 10. Pulse 36. Pulse slightly irregular; cow showed distinct muscular weakness; wabbled about as if drunk; pupils slightly dilated; some muscles showed quivering or twitching movements. At 8 p. m. — Temperature 102 . 4 Respirations 11 . Pulse 24. In attempting to move, cow fell and was unable to rise. Pulse somewhat irregular and weak; muzzle dry and mucous membrane pale and dry; pnpils greatly di- lated (amaurotic) ; some muscular twitchings. At 9 :30 p. m.— Temperature 102 . Respirations 12 . Pulse 36. 119 I'ulse weak, but more regular; cow could rise, but in try'ing to walk fell; pupils still greatly dilated; muzzle dry, and mucous membranes pale. Air was cool, and €ow was shivering. Next morning cow was up, but weak and wabbling; pulse stronger and pupils normal in size. Temperature 100 . 4 Respirations 12. Pulse 36 . II. A bull calf, about 10 months old, was given at 10:15 a. m. one-half pint of a 5 per cent, infusion of leaves of Kalmia latifolia. At 9 :30 a. m.— Temperature 99.2 Fah. Respiration 8. Pulse 32. At 11 :15 a. m. — Temperature 100.8 Respirations 12. Pulse 54 . At this time calf was given one-half pint of linseed oil and 2 drams of tannic acid. At 1 p. m. — Temperature 101 . 2 Respirations 10. Pulse 48 . Calf was down, unable to rise; pupils dilated; spas- modic tmtching of muscles; pulse weak and irregular. The next morning calf was up ready for its breakfast. The tannic acid may have temporarily prevented the absorption of the poisonous principle, but prevented the oil from producing purgation. III. A sorrel mare, about 9 ^^ears old, weighing about 800 pounds. Just before giving the drug her Temperature was 99. Respirations 12. Pulse 30. 120 At 10 a. m. she Avas given 1 quart of a 5 per cent, in- fusion of the leaves of the laurel ivy (Kalmia latifolia). She coughed considerable during the drenching, which indicated that some of the infusion went into the larnyx and wind pipe ; possibly this made the drug act quicker than usual. At once the mare began to retch, froth at the mouth and breathe rapidly; pupils became dilated; co-ordination of muscular action lost; animal excited and struggling. At 11 a. m. — Temperature 96 . Respirations 56 . Pulse 46 . Breathing rapid and irregular; pulse weak; mucous membrane of nose pale and of the eye slightly congested ; frequent convulsive movements of the limbs. At noon — Temperature 95 . Kespirations 60. Pulse 46 . Breathing still very rapid; pulse weak; animal be- comes more quiet; pupils still greatly dilated. Muscular twitchings appear first in the face and extended to all the surface muscles of the body ; occasionally there were convulsive movements of the limbs; surface of body cool. At 1 p. m. — Temperature 94.4 Respirations 52. Pulse 46. Animal very quiet; pupils dilated; eye dull; mucous membrane of mouth and nose of leaden color and mucous membrane of eyes congested ; muscles continue to twitch ; surface of body cool. 121 At this time (1 p. m.) the animal Avas given 1 ounce of 1)5 per cent, alcohol in 4 ounces of water. At 2 p. m.— Tempernture 95. Respirations 30. Pulse 48 . Aninuil relativeJy more quiet; pupils continue ro de- erease in size; the mucous membranes of nose and m uth become slightly scarlet in color; muscles still twitch. Gave animal another ounce of alcohol. At 3 p. 111.— Temper:! ture 98.2 liespirations 28. Pulse 50. Pupils normal in size; muscles twitching less and more relaxed ; mucous membranes of mouth and nose about normal in color, and surface of body warm. Given another dose of alcohol with small quantity of Ivsol in it. At 4 p. m. — Temperature 99 . G Respirations 28. Pulse 60 . Animal much better; given another dose of alcohol. At 5 p. m. — Temperature 100.4 Respirations 26. Puke 63 . At 5 :30 p. m. animal was able to rise with a little help ; muscles still twitching some; animal some weak, and wabbling, but able to walk about 200 yeards to a box stall. Xext morning her appetite was good, and she showed some signs of having had a hard drive, but 24 hours later she had entirely recovered. From the three tests and from numerous cases where animals have eaten the leaves of Kalmia latifolia it is 9 . ]22 very oat dent that the leaves contain an active poison. Several chemists and pharmacists have found indications of an alkaloid, but a sutldcient quantity has never been isolate] to test its poisonous effects on cattle or horses or shec^p. Sheep and cattle eat the leaves of the shrub in winter or sprino- when pasturage is short, and the animals are huugrv for greeu feed. No doubt they will eat it at any season where pasturage aud feed are short, and the opportunity is given to them. This flowering shrub is very common in nearly all parts of Alabama; possibly more common in hilly regions and along moun- tain creeks. The shrul) flowers in the spring, and is an evergi'een, having green leaves all the year around. It is commonly called the laurel or laurel ivy. Treatment. — Alcohol acts as physiological or chem- ical antidote. Whiskey, brandy or alcohol (dilute) may be given every two hours in 1 to 3 fluid ounce doses. Also, a purgative of 1 to 2 pounds of Epsom salts dissolved in 1 quart of water or 1 to 2 pints of raw linseed oil. Do not repeat the purgative under 24 hours. One to three fluid drams of creolin or lysol may be add(^d to the purgative in order to check fermentation Avhile the bowels are inactive. The shrub should be cut down, or, better still, grub it up and burn it, and thus prevent cattle and sheep from getting it; this is possible and practicable in pas- tures. The Red Buckeye (Aesculus Pa via, L.) is another shrub or small tree whose leaves are poisonous. The clinical symptoms are very like those of poisoning from Kalmia latifolia. The treatment is about fhxi sanu'; at first a good purgative is given and follow it with a stimulant, especially during the period of de- pression. In pastures grub it up and burn all the Red Buckeve bushes and small trees. Batchelor (American Journal Pharmacy, 1873, p. 145 j, found in the seed ol the red bucke^^e, a poi;:;ou'iuft 128 glncoside (2^ i)ei* cent, in seed). It acted on the cat somewhat like strychnine. The leaves are said to Xte. most poisonous just before, or about, the time of flower- ing. Cattle and sheep usually become poisoned by eat- ing- the leaves, and occasionally by eating the seed. POISONOUS PLANTS CONTAINING HYDItO- CYANIC ACID. Prof. E. li. Miller, Pharmacist at the Alabama Poly- technic Institute, f(mnd that the leaves, bark and root of the Prnniis Carol incdiius (mock orange) cofuaincd hydrocyanic acid. PnimiH scrotina (wild cherry)^ Prnuux yinjiniana (choke cherry, and Pnnia.s rcrsiva (peach), all contain hydroivaiiic acid at times in their leaves. They contain auiygdaiin, a glucoside and emulsiu, a ferment or enzyme. In the presence of water the emulsin acts on th'; amy;^roduced vesication, and the skin peeled off as fr(nu a blister. It is reported that many people eat young iK)ke root as "greens;" possibly the cooking pro- duces some change that renders the poison inert. It is also suggested that the young plant may not have or contain the toxic principle; as a rule, most plants contain the greatest amount of their active principles just befcre or at ihe time of blossoming. The »iKH\ or fruit of Phytolacca are said to contain phytohiccin, phytolaccic acid, sugar and gum; the root (►f ]ihytolacca a resin, probably a glucoside and a vola- tile acid. Prof. Miller and his students have obtained strong indications of several alkoloids. Having never treated a ease of Phytolacca poisoning, I can only suggest that small oleaginous purgatives be given and the animal be fed soft feed in small quanti- ties. Kaw linseed oil one-half pint and creolin 1 to 2 drams might be given once or twice per day. If the aninuil is in pain give 1 to 3 drams of fluid extract of l>elladonna or 4 drams of tincture of opium two or three times per day. DYSENTERY IN YOUNG ANIMALS. Young calves, lambs or colts may have an infectious form of dysentery that begins usually during the first few days, or not later than two weeks, after birth; in some instances infection may occur in calves several weeks old. The cause of the disease, according to Nocard, is a short, stumpy, bacillus with rounded ends ; frequently found arranged in parrallel lines, like a l'2b comb, with short, close teeth; sometimes they are in linear series, having very short joints, becoming thicker until last segment, which is longer and club-shaped. Some are swollen in the centre and drawn into threads at extremities; others are ovoid like cocco-bacilli. From Nocard's description the bacillus seems to take on a variety of forms; it is found in pus and in free or intercellular masses. It is an obligative aerobe; stains always by Gram's method; grows in or on all media at a temperature above 86° F. (best at 95° F. to 100.4). It grows best on coagiilated blood serum where in 36 to 39 hours appear a number of colonies with a shining surface, slightly raised in the centre, and appearing to send a number of roots into the medium; these colonies are white on serum from the horse, bright yellow on serum from the ox, and gray on coag-ulated blood. Nocard, Lasage and Delmer believe that the princi- I>al, if not the only, method of infection is by way of the umbilical (navel) cord. Infection occurs during birth or immediately following birth while the cord is soft. Possibly it occurs in the vagina or vulva, or most likely after the cord is torn or broken, and the young is on the ground. Nocard attempted to infect calves by the alimentary canal and by the respiratory passages, and failed. But he succeeded by subcutaneous inoculation. The experiments of Nocard, Lasage and Delmer were confined to calves in Ireland and on the continent of Europe; and their tests may not be conclusive, yet the evidence points very strongly toward navel infection. Law, Friedberger and Frohner, de Bruin, Moussu, Deikerhoff, and others believe the disease is infectious. Many attending or predisposing causes are given, some of Avhich are aids to transmission or infection. The fol- lowing are given by various authorities as causes, both of infectious dysentery and of ordinary diarrhoea, or dysentery : The voung or neAv-boru offspring failing to get the i2y iirst milk (colostriiiii ) which is hixative iu its action and is conseqnently rcqnired to remove the nieconinm (f(jetal feces) from the alimentary canal of the young. Without it the young- animal is liable to have indiges- tion, constipation or diarrhoea : any one of these condi- tions might favor infection with the germ of dysentery. Filthy, dirty milk; sudden changes from whole milk to skim milk, or from skim milk to whole milk, or sweet milk to sour; putting a young calf on a cow far ad- vanced in the period of lactation (milk contaims too much solids) ; adding too much meal to milk or giving too much drv meal or corn to voung calves when the salivary glands are insufficiently develo}>ed to digest the starchy food; gi^'ing cow's milk to the foal without proper dilution or modification; filthy buckets or ud- ders; dam]), filthy, unclean stalls, barns and pens; bad watei- from infected wells, tanks, troughs or vessels; crgotized grasses; mouldy, decaying, irritating vegeta- bles or grains or liays; too much cotton seed or cotton seed meal; allowing colt or calf to suck when dam has been over-heated bv violent exercise; feedinu' voun"- calf or colt only once every twelve hours; feeding too much (over feeding) ; great irregularity in feeding, allowing calf or colt to get very hungry and then rapidly devour- ing a full feed. Symptoms. — Some cases begin with constipation; others with soft, soon becoming watery, bowel dis- charges, which may be white like undigested milk, or grayish or yellow in color. At times the calf or colt is restless, with more or less straining to pass feces; appe- tite (stops sucking) is lost; abdomen may become dis- tended or swollen and tender or tucked up (contracted) and tender; feces becomes frothy, bad smelling and sometimes streaked with blood; calf may bellow and slobber: the calf, colt or lamb may become dull,, stupid, weak, emaciated and die in one to three days, or may live one or two weeks and die or make a slow recovery. 130 vSome cases have pneumonia, inflammation of the articu- lations, peritonitis, laminitis, hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), or opthalmia (inflammation of the eyes). Tlii^ disease is very frequently found in herds where infectious abortion or tuberculosis exists. About 80 per cent, of the cases in foals are fatal ; 54 to 90 per cent, in calves and 66 per cent, in lambs. Post mortem conditions — Here and there may appear erosions or desquamations and red or congested areas in the mucous membrane of the intestines, and sometimes in the stomach. Catarrhal exudate or pseudo-membran- ous patch'>s may (Kcur on the mucous membrane of the intestines. Peyer's patches may be infiltrated and prominent ; sub-mucous infiltrated, softened, and marked by small red spots (hsemorrhagic spots.) Sometimes hjemorrhages may be found in the small or large intestine or in the stomach. In calves and lambs the desquamation of epithel- ium is most marked near the pyloric end of the fourth stomach. The contents of the intestines may be yellow- ish, Avhite, gray, red, mucou-purulent and very foetid. The intestinal lymph glands are usually enlarged. Some cases show inflammatory changes in ihe lungs, liver, peritoneum, kidneys, spleen, heart, articulations, and eyes, Tkeatment. — Prevention is the only means of suc- cessfully coinbatting this very fatal disaese. Cleanli- ness and disinfections will usually keep it from a place or herd. The stalls, pens, barns, buckets, water, feed, milk, cows and calves must be kept clean. Regu- lar feed, with proper quantity and quality, avoid- ing any or all sudden or radical changes and the extremities of too little and too much feed, will tend to maintain healthy calves, colts and lambs. It is always safer and better to milk a cow that is far along in the period of lactation and dilute the milk 131 with water that has been boiled aud cooled and feed it to tlie ralf than to turn a young calf to such a cow. Do not force meal, corn or other grain upon the young calf before its digestive apparatus is sufficiently developed to digest them. At least wait one or two weeks and then begin the use of such feeds very gradually. Never permit the calf to eat mouldy, diiayed or rotten feed or hay or vegetables; keep it in well ventilated, clean, dry stall or ji- n and give it freedom in a clean, grassy pasture all the time that weather will permit. Nocard recommends the following : "White scours is generally the consequence of an umbilical (navel) infection which takes place at the time of parturition. Farmers may prevent the disease by conforming strictly to the folowing instructions: 1. Cows that are at the point of calving should b€ provided with dry and clean litter until after the act of parturition. 2. As soon as the premonitary signs of parturition are observed the vulva, anus, and perineum ought to be washed with a warm solution of lysol, of a strength of 20 grammes to a liter of water (2 per cent, solution). At the same time a large quantity of this solution may be used to syringe out the vagina. 3. As far as possible the calf ought to be received into a clean cloth, or at least on a thick layer of fresh litter, which has not been soiled by urine or excrement. 4. Immediately after birth the cord should be tied with a ligature (strong string) that has been soaked in lysol. (The tie is made 2 to 3 inches below the ab- domen and the cord cut off one-half inch below the ligature.) 5. Mop or cover the umbilicus and remainder of the cord with the following solution : Rain water 1 quart. Iodine 30 grains. Potassium iodine 1 dram. 132 6. The disinfection of the umbilicus and cord should be completed by applying the following: Methyl alcohol 1 quart. Iodine 30 gTains. 7. When the alcohol has evaporated the operation will be completed by dressing the cord and umbilicus wdth a thick layer of iodised collodion (1 per cent.)- As soon as the collodion has dried the calf may be left with its mother." In one outbreak of infectious dysentery in valves I have had good results by employing the following dust powder : Tannic acid . 3 ounces. Boric acid 3 ounces. Iodoform 4 drams. Salicylic acid ... 4 drams. Mix and apply to the ligated cord and umbilicus (navel) immediately after birth and two or three times per day during the first three days. This thoroughly disinfects and also dries up the cord very quickly. It can be applied with a dust blower or sifter. If calves are allowed to suckle a cow, it is always best to wash the udder once or twice daily with a 1 or 2 per cent, solution of creolin or lysol. Just before birth it is wise to wash the vulva, anus, perineum and tail of the cow with one the above disinfectants. Barns, lots and pens must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Change calves and cows from one cleaned and disinfected place to another and keep well calves entirely isolated from sick ones. Use plenty of lime, whitewash, carbolic acid, creolin, lysol and other disin- fectants on walls, floors, etc. Above all wash and scrub often the walls and stalls. Curative Treatment is not very promising; hence the great number of remedies herein suggested. It is usually best to begin the treatment with a pur- gative in order to remove the fermenting and irritating materials in the alimentary canal. 133 For the calf or colt give 1 to 2 ounces (2 to 4 table- spoonsful ) of castor oil ; the lamb can be given one-fourth as much. Or, rubarb may be given in 30 to 60 grain doses to the calf or colt and 7 to 15 grains to the lamb. Or, calomel G grains for colt or calf and 1 grain for lamb. Tincture of opium is sometimes given with, or fol- lowing, the purgative. Law recommends the following : Tincture of cinnamon 2 fluid ounces. Chalk 1 ounce. Gum arable 4 drams. Mix and give to calf or colt 1 tablespoonful 2 or 3 times per day. Cadjec uses : Subuitrate of bismuth .... 5 grains. Salicylic acid 5 grains. Naphtol 20 grains, Syrup 5 ounces. Distilled water 4 ounces. Mix and give to calf or colt 1 to 2 tablespoonsful after each time it is fed. Another authoritv advises the following: Ck)al tar 5 ounces. Boiling water G quarts. Let cool and give one-half pint evry half hr»ur. This is very useful in cases where liver is involved, (indica- ted by yellow mucous membrances). Lime water is sometimes useful : Give on to four tablespoonsful after calf has tak«n its milk. It is well to boil the milk and allow it to cool without putting cold water into it. Some give a one or two per cent, solution of creolin; 1 to 2 ounces for calf or colt once or twice a day. If the calf, col% or lamb is very weak, it may require a stimulant; such as coffee or a teaspoonful (calf or colt ) of turpentine with egg or milk, or tincture of cap- sicum, a teaspoonful. 134 Wine of ipicac is said to be very valuable in some forms of dysentery in man. It may be given to calves or colts in 1 tablespoonful doses; 10 drops to the lamb. ACUTE INDIGESTION IN CATTLE. This is sometimes called "hoven" or "bloat." In the first stomach or paunch, there may be undigested, fer- menting food, resulting in the formation of gases ( car- bon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, etc. ) and possibly some acids or toxic alkaloids or glucosides. The causes are not always apparent, but generally it is due to over feeding or sudden change from dry feed to green succulent peavines, potato vines, corn, sor- ghum, clover, oats, potatoes or turnips which undergo fermentation in the paunch. When a cow or an ox lies down for some time, as in milk fever, lung fever or tick fever, the digestive organs may be checked in action or partially paralyzed; then fermentation may occur. Symptoms. — If gas is formed the abdomen becomes distended and resonant; (left flank larger than the right,) respirations are rapid and shallow; tempera t^i'e about normal ; animal may grunt or moan. In some cases (Dieckerhoff) the greatest swelling or distention of the abdoirci may appear in 15 to 20 min- utes after eating clover (especially when the clovei^ is in a partially A\ithered or wilted condition on a hot day). In some cases of indigestion there is no appreciable quantity of gas formed and consecjuently little or no dis- tention of the abdomen and flanks; the api>etite m;)y be partially or completely suspended; little or no ranii- nation (chewing and regurgitating of the cuds), the paunch or first stomach is inactive or paralyzed; bowels noruiiU in acting during the first day, constipated or in- active thereafter, except in few instances where the bow- els may be very l4:>ose and active; pulse may be acceler- 135 atoriod of pregnancy may var}' a few days with diffei'ent individuals and under different circumstances. Abortion, from an economic standpoint, takes rank among former animals as follows : Cow, Mare, Sheep, Sow. The cow is the most liable while the sow is sel- dom sul>j<'ct to the mishap. The viability or whether the fcetus is capable of living is another question. Usually it is dead. A dead foetus may be delivered at any time during pregnancy, but when abortion occurs in the first two-thirds of pregnan- cv the foetus is ahvavs dead. Tn the last third a live f(etns is frequently born. The later the stage the more likely is the little ciea- ture to live. Many die immediately, and others are weak- ly and prove to be absolutely worthless, and in rare in- stances one becomes sufficiently vigorous to develop into a valuable animal. Some idea of the number of living calves delivered by aborting cows in the last months of pregnancy and their value may be had from the record reported by Nel- , son of the New Jersey Experiment Station. Twelve » cows alwrted. Four births occurred between the 6th and 7th months; four between the 7th and 8th mouths; and four between the 8th and 9th months. Three of the twelve were dead : 1 died; 0 were killed and 2 were raised. Thus onl^'^ a small percentage were of sufficient promise to be kept, and it is a question if it ever pays in the long run to raise any of them. Abortion may be either non-infectious or infectious. When occurring in the latter form it assumes an enzootic or an epizootic type and it is of greatest importance to recognize this form in order to prevent the spread of the contagion. Non-infectious abortion. Non-infectious abortion results from some known ' cause or accident, irreg-ular feeding, improper feed, etc., 3 138 or happens only as a casual affair not preceded or fol- lowed bv miscarri;ifi;'e in the same individual or other members of the herd. Not only should the home herd l»e excluded as a sourse of the disease, but the mishap should be free from any relationship whatever with a similar accident anions: cows which the attendins: bull may have served. Causes : The causes of non-infectious abortion are too numerous to discuss in detail. Frequently it is to be ascribed to the poor condition of the pregnant animal. This may result from insufficient or improper food and irregular feeding. The foetus dies for the want of nour- ishment, and is expelled as a consequence. Chronic wasting diseases may have a like effect by deranging di- gestion impairing assimilation and impoverishing the blood. According to some authors an extremely fat condition predisposes an animal to abortion. This is said to oc- cur most frequently in old cows of improved beef breeds suffering with fatty degeneration of the heart, the cir- culation being weak and irregular and insufficient to supply the foetus. Drinking ice-cold water and feeding upon pastures covered by frost, or eating herbage which has been in- iured bv frost, have caused abortion. One writer re- ports an instance where one- fifth of the pregnant ewes in a flock of sheep aborted immediately after drinking from a hole made through ice. Overloading the paunch (rumen) with succulent foods, like green sorghum, clover and cow-peas, espec- ially when covered by dew; apples, sweet potatoe vines or tubers, etc., and gorging the animal with stimulat- ing foods like corn, wheat, peas, beans, cotton-seed and cotton-seed meal are exciting causes. Foods improperly harvested and improperh^ cured, musty, molded and partially decayed foods may set 139 up ferinentatioii iu the paunch, which compress \he womb and kill or displace the foetus. Acute diseases, manifested by colicy pains or eircu- latorv disturbances, may be followed b}' abortion. Dis- eases of the rectum and urinary organs, as diarrhoea and intiammation of the kidneys, bladder, etc., are pre- disposing causes. Parasites, like worms in the intes- tines, liver or lungs, and lice, are accessory causes. Medicines injudiciously administered to ailing ani- mals are as liable to cause abortion as the affliction. Large doses of purgatives are to be avoided, also an- other class of drugs known as ecbolics, rye-smut, corn- smut ; cotton-root bark; cotton-seed, and cotton-seed meal, probably possess to a slight extent the active principles of cotton-root bark. Evil elfects from this source have been overestimated, (irain smuts, seeds, leaves, etc., containing medicinal principles, must be consumed in enormous quantities usually to cause deli- terious effects upon healthy organs. Taking for ex- ample, the smut of rye (ergot), which is the most po- tent of the class; it is said to require 10 pounds of the select drug to produce acute poisoning in a 750-pouud cow. Such enormous quantities are not likely to be consumed at one time. The chief danger is in pastur- ing cattle ('(mtinually on pastures where smut is abun- dant. A moderate quantity is consumed each day, without bad effects at first, but after a few days the active medicinal principles in the smut will have ac- cumulated to such an extent as to cause chronic pois- oning (ergotism), and abortion. Chronjc poisoning from rye smut is rare, and it is questionable if corn smut ever has that effect. Drugs, like Spanish fly, which irritate the urinary organs, and purgatives which stimulate the involuntary muscles of the rectum to ex- cessive action should be given to pregnant animals with caution, if at all. Sudden fright, thunder storms, chasing by dogs, and 140 the smell of blood, or the discharge from an aborting animal, may cause abortion in sensitive, highly-bred Jerseys. Miscarriage may follow sudden changes in the weather especially if the victims are poorly nourished. Violence in any form is a fruitful cause of abortion. Mares which "■balk" or refuse to pull and cows which "sulk-' or refuse to travel about from the unmerciful beatings received. Jars and jolts in railway cars, and shipping long dis- tances may cause the trouble. Mounting other cows or being mounted by other cows or the bull; falling into ditches or having the hind foot slip unexpectedly into gutters behind the cow; jump- ing fences; crowding through door ways; and so on in- definitely may result in abortion. While it stands to reason that slight injury is less lia- ble than severe violence to result in abortion, the results cannot be judged by the extent of the violence, for at one time an animal will carry her foetus successfully through a violent accident, and at another time abort after sustaining the most insignificant injury. In one case a calf which was born alive, but required the assistance of a surgeon for delivery, and died as a consequence of the manipulation, was found to have one hind leg bent at right angle just above the hock. When the flesh was boiled off, the bone showed evidence of having been broken, union being complete with the ex- ception of a small spicule of bone projecting from that part where yie tissue had separated most. The owner had not seen any accident, but remembered a break in a rail fence, made, probabh^, by this cow, about one month prior to delivery. At any rate, it shows that a pregnant animal may suffer violence little short of death of the foetus and not abort. On the other hand, the most insignificant accident may be responsible for abortion. A mare had one hind foot 141 to slip unexpectedly through the board crossing over an open ditch. The foot sank but a few inches, not more than 12 or 15, as the drain was not deep. However, the mare aborted and the owner could ascribe the mishap to no other cause. A dead foetus is seldom retained, though in exceptional eases it may remain in the womb until quite putrid. The foetus may be killed as a result of external violence; die from displacement or twist of the womb; excessive col- lection of fluids in the foetal membranes; deformation; diminished circulation or impaired nutrition, ^^hethe^ affecting it directly or indirectly through condition of the mother. The symptoms, cause and after treatment does not differ materially from that of infectious abortion. The principal requisite in treatment is to remove the cause. Directions for treating retention of the after-birth (placenta) always a serious consequence in these cases and prolapsus of the uterus, will be given in the treat- ment of infectious abortion. Infectious Abortion. By infectious abortion is meant that form of abortion which has a tendency to recur in the same subject or is associated with — proceeds or follows — abortion in other animals. Single cases caused by infection cannot be dis- tinguished from the non-infectious sort. Prevalence in Alabama. — Infectious abortion is said to be widely distributed over the civilized world. In Alabama it is confined largely to the herds in the vicinity of the larger towns and cities. The hardy range or "scrub" cattle of the State, like wild cattle, are remarkably free from the disease. At present marked interest is being manifested in breeding beef cattle. This interest is increasing. Several herds have been stai'ted in various parts of 142 the State, aud there is a growing desire to breed up the native cattle. Improved stock have been shipped from the North, Northwest and West for this purpose. One purpose of this article is to acquaint present and prospective breeders with the nature of the disease and warn them of the dangers of introducing a disease which would prove detrimental to the business. The first requi- site in breeding beef cattle is to secure the greatest num- ber of vigorous calves. Infectious abortion strikes with certain fatality at this part of the industry. The only way to avoid incurring the dangers of an infectious dis- eiise is to prevent its introduction. Dairymen, especially those who keep cows for milk and milk products, often fail to realize the economic im- portance of the disease. Such dairymen do not value the calves. Indeed, the loss of the calf in this case amounts to nothing, and the matter might be dismissed if there were not other sources of loss. There is another reason why some persons are led to believe abortion is no disad- vantage. Occasionally a cow having missed one calving period, aborts before the next and begins to give a full flow of milk. This is well illustrated by the report of four cases which came under the observation of W. W. Cook of Ver- mont Experiment Station. So also is the pecuniary loss illustrated. One cow aborting two months before the time to drop a calf, yielded 200 gallons of milk, or the equivalent of 70 pounds of butter less than she had yielded the previous year after normal birth. Loss from the second cow was 240 gallons of milk with a butter equivalent of 60 pounds and from the third 200 gallons of milk or 75 pounds of butter. The fourth cow, which had been milking 16 months and had carried her fu^tus 7 months, miscarried without aparent disadvan- tage. In fact, this cow the previous year, 5 months after delivery, gave 15 pounds of milk per day and 21 pounds per day 5 months after aborting. 143 ('(iHses. — Infectious abortion^ as the name implies, is caused by ;iii infectious agency, or contagion. Au- thors do not agree as to the nature of the germ or as to how the germ brings about the act of abortion. Ameri- can and European investigators do not agree and Euro- pean investigators do not agree among themselves as to the identity of the microbe. Some claiming a micro- coccus and others a bacterium as the effective agent. American investigators have found true bacilli belonging to the coli group in the membranes and womb of aborting animals. Aside from this there are other reasons for sep- arating the disease in America and that in Europe into two ditf(Tent types. The disease in Europe is more viru- lent; a longer time is required to establish immunity; and there seems to be a difference in the manner in which abortion is brought about, viz. : in some cases the germ invades the f(etus, inhabiting the alimentary canal, in one instance, and the meninges of the brain and spinal cord in another; again the infection is insinuated be- tween the cotyledons on the maternal and foetal mem- branes, and modiiies the fcetal food supply, causing in either case the death of the foetus, which, for that reason, is subse(piently expellcxl. In America no writer has ever reported the presence of the germ in the foetus, and the number of living foetuses l)orn indicate that death from nioditied food supply is not a prerequisite. In view of these facts the writer will confine the dis- cussions to what he mav term the American form of In- fectioiis A hortion . It is singularly significant that all American investi- gators have found closely related, if not identical bacilli associated with the disease. Chester, of the Pelaware Experiment Station, isolated from the placenta of an aborted calf, a bacillus closely resembling the bacillus coli; which produced slight catarrli of mucous membranes when injected into the vagina of a cow. Law and Moore, of New York, found 144 in a number of aborting cows, widely distributed over the State, a bacillus almost, if not identical, with bacillus coli in form and culture characteristics. This, also, caused more or less catarrh when injecting into the vagina of healthy cows. Law further states that this particular microbe could not be found in the vaginal discharge of cows in herds free from infectious abortion. Kilborne and Th. Smith studied a bacillus of the coli group, infesting the vagina of aborting mares. Supurat- ing catarrh resulted from vaginal injections in mares and cows. At this Station we have isolated from vaginal dis- charge and from ulcers on the vaginal mucous membrane of t^^•o heifers which have never been bred, but which are supposed to be infected with the abortion microbe, a bacillus Avhich is indistinguishable from the bacillus coli morphologically and closely resembles Ches- ter's l)aeillus in culture characteristics. Inoculation into the mucous membrane of the vulva of an old cow, not pregnant, was followed by the formation of a small ulcer and a discharge. The cow came in heat in a few days, but the symp- toms were more pronounced than in ordinary oestrum. Planted into the prepuce of a rabbit a small ulcer formed with undulating borders surrounding a slightly depressed granular surface. The heifers in question, one an Angus and the other a Shorthorn, came to the hospital last February with a discharge from the vagina. The Angus had been to the State fair in November previous, being shipped to and from the fair by rail. No disease of the kind had ever been obser\^ed in the herd prior to this outbreak, and it is supposed that the disease was contracted while at the fair or from the stock cars in which the animals were shipped. There is a bare possibility that the germs might have been brought unintenionallv to the Station on the 145 clothing of an attendant who came from another State about one month before the disease was first noticed. No ulcers were found on the vaginal membranes of the Angus, but there was evidence of extensive pre- vious ulcerations. The Angus was supposed to have contracted the disease first, gradually acquiring a re- sistance for the microbe, and was on the way to recov- ery. In this case the disease yielded readily to antisep- tic treatment. Tlie Shorthorn probably contracted the disease from the Ang-us, though a steer occupied a stall between the two in the barn. This heifer was at the climax of an acute attack. There was ecchymosis of the mucf.us membrane of the vagina as for farward as could be seen, with extensive exfoliation of the epithelium aud ulcer- ation. The discharge was odorless, but dirty, grayish and heavily turbid. The vagina was irrigated with 2 per cent, creolin solution and packed with iodoform gauze once per day for the course of two weeks. This discharge soon ceased, but a kind of stimulation of the genitals, probably irritation, continued as the animal was frequently in heat. Oestrum, or lieat, recurred every seven to ten days, manifested by a swollen and loose condition of the vulva. The discharge was somewhat profuse and yel- lowish, translucent instead of transparent. The ulcers gradually disappeared from the visible mucous membranes and the application of medicine was discontinued. About two ^^•eeks later the animal was brough up for final examination and dismissal. But it was found that another crop of ulcers had appeared. This time the catarrh was much less severe, and the visible ulcers were very few, limited in size and closely resembled the one on the prepuce of the inoculated rabbit. The animal was subjected to another course of treat- 146 ment. Iodoform incorporated in vaseline was applied at intervals of three days by means of a swab of gauze introduced into tlie vagina and so manipulated as to smear the salve over all parts of the vagina. Rapid im- provement followed. About three weeks later another examination was made and a few^ small transparent vesicles but little larger than a pin-head were found. These vesicles were kept under observation one week. No change oc- curred in size, but they became somewhat more raised and translucent. There was no zone of congested capil- laries surrounding the vesicles, but the vaginal mucous membrane remained more congested than normal. This is believed to be the third crop of colonies. Where could this renewed infection have come from? The tail and external parts were carefully disinfected and cleaned from all locia. Evidently the source of re- infection was from the uterus (8) Fig. 12 — through the OS uteri. There is no doubt that the microbe inhabits the womb. Law and Moore found it on the "uterine mucosa and foetal membranes." Then, the successive reinfections of the vagina is ac- counted for by the fact that the microbe growing in the uterus (8) is protected from therapeutic measures and passing out through the os uteri (7) re-establishes a footing in the vagina as soon as the field is free from disinfectants. This, doubtless, also accounts for the almost invariable failures, however thorough the meas- ures may have been to rid aborting animals of the in- fection. Modes of Disti'lbution. 1. The infection may be introduced into a herd bj the admission of cows or bulls from infected herds. When a newly purchased cow is the carrier, whether she may abort or not, transmits the disease to cows I 147 usually iu adjoining' stalls, whieli miscarry, sometimes one after another in consecutive order down the line of stalls. The disease may be confined to one side of the barn for years. If the bull distributes the infection, in- fection occurs promiscuously through the herd. 2. Allowing the bull to serve infected cows or pat- ronizing a bull which has served infected cows. 3. Shipping in cars and keeping in pens or stalls \\ hich have been occupied by aborting animals. 4. An attendant who removes the afterbirth of an infected cow has been known to transmit the disease to other cows operated on afterwards. 5. It is possible to have the infection transmitted from one herd to another by the interchange of help or by securing milkers, herdsmen, etc., from dairies where the disease prevails. Overalls and like clothing which are worn at one farm go with the owner to new locali- ties, of times without even a washing. 6. The manner of handling manure in cow barns w here one trench receives the excrement from a whole row of cows in open stalls may be responsible for the spreading of the disease in the herd. It is the rule to begin at one end of the trench and push the manure along uutil enough accumulates to shovel in quantities, thus the discharge from an aborting cow may be scat- tered behind a dozen or more animals. How the germ gains access to the genetal organs may be explained as follows: When the bull is infected, it is easily understood how germs would be introduced into the vagina at copula- tion. There are a number of instances on record where the purchase, borrowing or patronizing of bulls have been responsible for serious outbreaks. More often the disease spreads from one cow to the next nearest, and so on as already indicated. 148 Fig. 12. — 1, backbone; 2, rectum or last gut; 3, broad ligament of womb; 4, ovary or pride; 5, Fallopian tube; 6, vagina or first divi- sion of womb; 7, os uteri or opening between the two parts of the womb; 8, uterus or deep portion of womb; 9 and 10, horns of the womb; 11, bladder; 12, pelvic bone. [Nos. in () refer to Fig. 12.] In order to understand how this niav occur the reader who has no knowledge of the female generative organs, is referred to the diagram Fig. 12. To exemplify one possible course the infecting agents might take, we will sav : A cow Ijing in the stall has the switch on the tail soiled in a manure trench, which 149 has been smeared with infection from an aborting sub- ject. The cow goes out to pasture; the filth dries and is scattered over the rump by the switching tail. Some ii:erms lodge upon the vulva and find their way into the vagina (6) where they multiply with prodigious rapid- ity. The germs are actively motile, and make their way through the os uteri (7) into the uterus or inner division of the womb (8), thence through the horns of the womb (9 and 10), and possibly up the Fallopian f tubes (5) to the prides or ovaries (4). Kemembering the catarrh caused by the microbe, it • would be strange indeed if its presence in the small ; Fallopian tubes did not sometimes result in obliteration \ of the passage and sterility. In fact, many animals do become sterile. The existence of the Microbe in the Womb. The indications are that the germ causing abortion remains in the infected womb for years, though no more than one, two or three abortions may occur. This is not incompatible with our knowledge of germ life. A little blood from one of our Southern cattle, apparently in perfect health, injected into the circulation of cattle brought from the North is followed by violent fever, typical of Southern cattle, or Texas fever. In this -way it is proved that an animal which has had no fever for one, two or more years harbors the living parasite in its blood, and is capable of transmitting the disease to susceptible animals. Authorities are now agreed that the infection causing swine plague, often mistaken for hog cholera, live in the lungs of the pig after recovery from the acute attack, and continues to be a source of infection for other pigs many months and possibly years. This explains the reason the disease breaks out year after year when once introduced. 150 Nelson, after the second year's experience with the disease in the herd at the New Jersey Experiment Sta- tion, observed that either the microbe had modified its life habits to better suit the cow or the cow acquires a tolerance for the germ. At any rate, the cow carried her calf longer the second time and often carried the full period the third time. But newly purchased cows were attacked with renwed violence and vouna: cows were more susceptible than old cows. One young cow, 1^ years old, aborted 2^ months after conception, and two cows, each 2 years old, aborted at 2 months, while older cows aborted after the fifth month, and the second year no cow aborted under 6 months. Immunity. This tendency on the part of the microbe and its host to adjust themselves to each other results after two or three abortions in a form of immunity. How- ever immunity in this case is not meant to convey the idea that the cow is rid of the germs, but that she sim- ply will not abort again, while for a long period the germs remain in the womb and may be transmitted to susceptible animals. Symptoms. — The first one or two months of preg- nancy abortion occurs without labor pains or straining, and sometimes the fcetus lodges for a few hours in the vagina with portions of the foetal membranes hanging from the vulva or the foetus mav be found in the stable or pasture. If these evidences pass unobserved, the dis- charo;e from the vulva mav be mistaken for heat; but if the cow refuses the bull then, and allows service in due course of time, the evidence, in connection with supposed previous pregnancy, though circumstantial, is quite conclusive that abortion had occurred. Known 151 iKHi-infcctious casas are traced to some misfortune or accident. But cases caused by infection, not being ex- pected, more frequently pass without due consideration. However, it mav Iw a serious mistake to nearlect such cases because of the danger of disseminating the dis- ease. Though many have chiimed that abortion seldom occurs before the fifth month, the contrary is quite prol)able, but, being of apparently little consequence, is not taken into account. deferring again to Nelson's experience, four cows supposed to be pregnant required service again, and alx>rtioii was suspected, tlumgh no expelled fcetus was found. This supposition was strengthened by the fact that these cows had already al)orted or did abort later. The last half of pregnancy the symptoms are more marked and the conse([uences more grave. One, two or three da^'s before delivery the ligaments relax, the flanks sink, the vulva enlarges, and the milk has a colostrum-like appearance. The discharge from the vagina is less thansparent than normal — yellowish red in cows and white in mares. Labor pains precede delivery. The animal walks around in a circle, looks at the side, lies down and gets up again; strains; and the foetus is expelled. The foetal membranes pass out with the foetus in the early stages of pregnancy, but are liable to be retained during the last half. This not infrequently happens after regular birth, but more is liable to occur after pre- mature deliveries. The afterbirth may come away in the course of three or four days, and no further trouble be experienced. Occasionally the placenta is retained until it decays in the womb. The animal ceases to rum- inate, and eats sparingly and irregularly. She stands alone with the head down, or occasionally turns to look at the side. She is dull, weak and listless. The dis- 152 charge from the vulva may be profuse or slight; it is watery and carries more or less decayed tissue, mak- ing it heavily turbid and giving a dirty, nasty appear- ance, and an offensive odor. The tail is soiled by the putrid discharge. Frequent efforts are made to urinate. The animal becomes lean and bony (emaciated), and may linger weeks in this condition. The system may cast off the putrid matter, and the cow recover, or if the condition grows worse, she grows weaker and weaker- until death. Less frequently the animal dies from blood poison. Prolapsus of the uterus or inversion of the womb is sometimes a sequel to abortion. Inversion of the womb is recognized by a tumor-like mass projecting from the vulva, moist and red at first, but becoming dark — almost black — and dry after long exposure. Treatment. — Eetention of the afterbirth (placenta) and inversion of the womb occur so frequently in con- nection with abortion that it is deemed advisable to in- elude these accidents in the treatment. Where the womb is inverted, secure the cow in a nar- row stall; wash with 2 per cent, creolin solution; oil with vaseline or lard and when the cow is not straining replace by pressing against the mass with the palms of the open hands. If the effort is not successful, or if the womb is inverted again as often as replaced, obtain the assistance of a surgeon or some one who has had ex- perience with such cases. An afterbirth retained longer than three or four days should be removed by manual effort. Secure the animal in a narrow, open stall. The arm bare to the shoulder, is washed in 2 per cent, creolin solution and introduced. . The os uteri (7) will be found dilated as long as the afterbirth remains 153 connected with the womb, and should the afterbirth de- cay in the womb, the os uteri will remain sufficiently open to admit a man's hand long after delivery. (If all the f(Etal membrane is expelled when the calf is born the OS will close in one to three days.) Whatever parts of the afterbirth i>rotrudes from the vulva is grasped by the free hand and gently pulled while the hand in the womb traces the membrane to its attachments and each attachment is separated by teasing with the ends of the fingers. In neglected cases where the afterbirth has decayed, the membrane will be found in a semi-fluid state collected in the deepest cavities of an apparently paralyzed womb. The putrid content is scraped or scooped out with the hand, fingers kept close together and bent half way to palm. Fig. 13. — A womb irrigator that may be used by connecting it to a fountain syringe. The womb is flushed, with 2 per cent creolin solution, and again scooped out and the process repeated until the womb is clean. Creolin solution may be introduced by means of an ordinary fountain or rubber bulb syringe with a long rubber discharge tube, the free end being carried arm's length into the womb by the hand. Prevention. — Keferring now to the disease proper prevention is urged as the only economical course to pur- sue. Enough has already been said to imply that the in- fection once introduced will baffle the most careful effort to effect its destruction. Some of the principle means by which the disease is distributed have been detailed 4 154 and it is not noc*essai\y to refer to the subject again, ex- cept to urge that no animal be purchased from any herd where the disease prevails, or has been known to exist in enzootic or epizootic form. Equal care should be ex- ercised over the bull's patronage where the disease i« suspected in the vicinity. After the disease has appeared in the herd the affected animals should be isolated, at any rate given a special corner in the barn to themselves. And immediately after the bull serves an infected cow the penis and prepuce should be thoroughly disinfected. The different methods of treatment have given uncer- tain results : 1. Efforts have been made to control the disease by injecting small quantities of some antiseptic, like car- bolic acid, under the skin at long or short intervals, or by requiring the animal to consume such remedies with the food. But it is quite probable the only good accom- plished was to satisfy the owner until the affected cow acquired immunity. 2. Flushing the womb with solutions of disinfectants have not been attended with the results expected. Per- sons who have applied these remedies with the great '.'st care and thoroughness have been surprised to see the dis- ease appear again in the subjects treated. We have al- readv considered the structure of the female generative organs, and it is readily understood how the germ in- habitinir tlu^ deener portions of the womb, cut off from the outer portion with the exception of a small opening, the OS uteri (7), could escape the most thorough effort to apply remedies in such manner as to be efl&cient. 3. Attempts to stamp out the disease by means of antiseptics has met with so little success that some writ- ers have recommended the slaughter of all animals af- fected. Disposing of the animals with a vicAv to pur- 155 chasing new subjects is, however, an unsatisfactory prac- tice. All experience goes to prove this. For example, Morck refers to a herd where the animals were sold off as they aborted and new ones purchased to take the place for a period of eight years without improvement. The owner then resolved to keep the animals at all haz- ards, and within two years abortion disappeared from the herd. This method would be practicable where the owner is prepared to sacrifice all exposed animals for slaughter and begin business with new stock and in dif- ferent (|uarters. A cow, it matters not how valuable her milking qualities, should never be sold for breeding pur- poses if she is suspected of having infectious abortion. 4. There is another recourse for the breeder; he can establish immunity in his herd. This will, perhaps, en- tail the loss of two or three calves, for each cow, and a re- duction of milk during as many periods of lactation, but, after all, it is doubtles the most economical course to pursue. In making uj) a forecast for a line of treatment we are reminded that cows which miss one calving period and abort before the next or those which carry almost full time, often give a full flow of milk, seeming to suffer no inconvenience from the mishap. Also the num- ber of living calves delivered by aborting cows implies that it may be possible to bring the infected cow to the full period of pregnancy, thereby securing a viable calf. Then, presupposing irritation, as previously inti- mated, to be the active cause of abortion, the first ob- ject of treatment should be to tide animals which show signs of aborting over the crisis by giving anodynes. Such a course of treatment gave highly satisfactory re- sults at the Vermont Experiment Station. After four abortions had occurred three out of nine other cows pregnant, showed signs of aborting, but 'the act was pre- 156 vented by the administration of laudanum and all the animals delivered without accident at the proper time. These animals were kept under the influence of the drug two weeks. Pulverized opium or laudanum may be used. For the cow the powder may be given in 2 or 3 drachm doses, or the laudanum in wine glass doses six hours apart. To counteract the tendency of the opium to con- stipate the animal one-fourth pound of Epsom salts may be given in the feed or as a drench dissolved in water twice a day. Fluid extract of Indian hemp is a better remedy, if a reliable quality of the drug can be had. Its effect endures longer and it also has the advantage of not interfering with the action of the bowels. The dose is one fluid ounce two or three times a day. In either case the remedy should be given several days, and weeks, if necessary. If by this means cows can be rendered immune with- out ill effects upon the animal or loss of calf or milk product to the owner, all will be accomplished that could be expected. Much can be done to prevent the spread of infection by disinfecting infected cows and bulls and premises occupied by such animals. As a matter of fact treat- ment is not complete without the general use of disin- fectants. There is a bare posibility of freeing the ani- mal of infection if the case be taken in hand immediately after delivery before the os uteri (7) has closed. Then the deeper parts of the womb (8) may be irrigated with the solution to be used. Creolin or lysol in the proportion of 1 part to 50 of water is preferable for flushing out the womb. Either solution may be left in the womb with little danger, since neither drug is poisonous. However, if the animal does not eject the surplus fluid, which usually happen? within half an hour, it may be well to wash out the 157 womb with water which has been boiled and cooled These applications should be made two or three times a day while the os uteri (7) remains open, but after the OS closes the application once a day should be continued for ten days. Other antiseptic solutions, as carbolic acid 1 to 40 parts A\ater, or corrosive sublimate 1 to 3,000 or 1 to 5,000 parts water, may be used, but requires to be washed out in a very short time because of the poisonous nature of the drugs. The tail and other parts near the vulva should be fre- quently cleaned with the antiseptic solution employed. An ordinary fountain or a rubber bulb syringe may be used for injecting solutions. The nozzle should be car- ried arm's length into the womb. To disinfect bulls the nozzle of the syringe is intro- duced into the prepuce, and the fore-sldn is held tightly about the nozzle until the cavity flows full. The practice of irrigating the genital organs with antiseptic solu- tions just prior to service is not to be encouraged, since conception is very uncertain after such applications. Every precaution should be taken to disinfect premises occupied by aborting animals. All dead foetuses and membranes should be burned or enveloped in quick- lime and burned. Litter in the stall where abortion occurs should be piled up in a corner, or, better, shoveled into a box and mixed with milk of lime (1 measure of freshly slaked lime with 2 measures of water). Mop the stalls with bluestone solution (4 pounds bluestone, 4 pounds fresh lime, dissolved in 40 gallons of water), and whitewash as soon as dry. Abortion occurring in cows which have been pur- chased from herds the reputation of which are not known should arouse suspicion and be isolated from other ani- 158 mals, and uot allowed service by a bull kept for general use. Some young or old bull ready for castration maj be used to test such cows. MILK FEVER. Dropping After Calving. — Parturiant Fever. Cause. — The cause is unknown. Opinions on this part of the subject are very numerous and varied. Some claim the disease is caused by the growth of bacteria in the udder or the elaboration of bacterial products which are absorbed into the circula- tion. Others hold that it is due to a bloodless condition of the brain or, on the the contrary, to the congestion of the brain. The view once held that the shock at the time of calving could be responsible for the disorder is hardly tenable, since it seldom, if ever, occurs in connection with difficult parturition. More recent investigators have turned their attention to the modification of the blood, finding it extremely rich and dense, so dense in fact, that the red blood corpuscles are reduced fully one-half normal size. Whether this is due to the blood being surcharged with albuminous and fatty matters stored up for the formation (sf colostrum or first milk, failing to be excreted by the udder, or whether the cur- rent of nutrition intended for the foetus failing to find its way out through the usual channel, reacts on the system through the blood, has not been determined. Another line of argument purports to establish the theory that toxic products are produced in the womb and absorbed, leading to a form of intoxication. The arguments adduced are interesting. The fact is pointed out that the os uteri or neck of the womb (7) is open 159 quite a loug' period of time before the expulsion of the foptus, tlius {ulmitting infection and allowing time for the development of poisonous products. The absorption of these products is facilitated by the absence of a material placenta in the cow to which the disease seems jK'culiar. The parts are retracted and the blood irreg- ularly distributed in the womb and intestines. This in connection with the presence in the womb of a profuse adherent and semi-solid gelatiuuous mucoid substance, translucent in appearance and far less ropy than the clear and liquid discharge after normal delivery partic- ularly favors this idea. As a matter of fact (waiving is an essential condition; the disease never appears except in connection with calving, usually one or two or three days after that act, and, in rare instances, may occur a few hours before- hand. Tw(j other conditions, less essential, but quite as constant, should be mentioned. First, the cow is nearly always a deep milker and in full flesh. Second, the disease occurs in mature cows seldom earlier than the third cahing, and when delivery is easy. More or less disorder of the digestive organs always accompany the disease, but this is probably secondary, though som(»- have thought this a source of a part, at least, of pri- mary cause. All breeds are subject to the malady, but the leading milk breeds. Jerseys, Holsteins, Geurnsej'S and Ayer- shires are the most frequent victims. An animal which has once suffered with the disease is liable to have it recur at the next calving. Symptoms.— The cow calves with ease, in most in- stances the afterbirth (placenta) is passed with the calf. For a period of time varying from a few hours to three and rarely four days, the cow is in apparently gooo health. Then, if the first signs are noticed, the cow 160 looks anxiously after the calf ; the gate is unsteady ; the knees appear weak and the hind quarters rock from side to side, and the hind feet are awkardly lifted and re- placed one after another in order to regain equilibrum. This is the treading act sometimes noticed. The tail also swings back and forth, following the motion of the body. The temperature is now 102-103°, the normal being 101°. Pulse only slightly accelerated, full strong and regular. In the course of half an hour the cow staggers, bellows, walks blindly against objects, anld, at times, tries to mount the manger. The hind feet are lifted high and awkardly, ape^iring to strike at the abdomen. She stumbles over objects and falls completely or only to the knees, but rises again. The eyes wander, appear wild and glassy or peculiarly lusterless, the rays ap- pear to be reflected rather than transmitted. The head hangs pendant from the withers and is disposed to swing far to one or the other side. The animal seems to lose her balance and falls ; falls with the limbs sprawled as if under the influence of an intoxicant. She is now unable to rise again to her feet, but at times, seeming to recover, momentarily from a torpor, an effort is made to rise. The result is characteristic. The cow comes to her knees, but the effort of the hind limbs to bear up the posterior part of the body overbalances the equili- brum at the front and the cow tumbles a half length for- ward. The pulse is now rapid, weak and irregular ; tem- perature uncertain, but may be 103-105° ; head and horns are said to be hot ; membranes of the eye red and tears flow freely. The sphincter muscles at the anus relaxes ; heat radiates from the part and rectal temperatures be- come less and less reliable. After a varying period the torpor passes into complete coma. The cow lies on her breast with her head turned 161 aronnd to one side, the muzzle resting on the ground. This [position illustrated in figure 14 is a characteristic Fig. 14. — Characteristic position of cow in comatose condition. Fu.inel, rubber tube and milk-tube arranged for injecting Schmidt's solution. symptom. Or the animal may stretch broadside upon the ground. While in this position the paunch (rumen) is more elevated than the head and fluids from the paunch flow to the head. About one gill of green fluid carrying particles of masticated food in suspension col- lect in the uppermost nostril. The presence of this fluid accounts for the rattling, gurgling sound which now accompany breathing. The muscular tissue of the gullet ((esophagus) is paralyzed. So, also, are the muscles of the voice box (larynx). Thus, when the head rests on a plane lovrer than the paunch liquids may 162 gravitate unhindered to the head, collect in the nose and when the head is raised, which occurs periodically, the fluid flows back to the pharynx, thence between the paralyzed vocal cords and down the wind pipe to the lungs. Ordinarily this would cause violent coughing, but the cow is not now capable of the act. However, in fatal cases, when the wind pipe is opened after death, particles of food are found adhering to the surface of the inflamed mucous membrane. Tlie rattling, gurgling sounds just referred to should be distinguished from sonouous vocal sounds emitted by animals when no fluids have been allowed to come in contact mth the vocal cords. These sounds are low and moaning, and are due to the vibrations of the relaxed vocaJ cords during ex- piration. Sensibility has disappeared, the animal no longer re- sponds to pin pricks. A better test for the comatose state, however, is to place the finger nn the eyeball: If the eyelids do not close the animal is insensible. Res- pirations are slow and indicate deep sleep. Tempera- ture normal or below normal. • Course — The disease appears one, two and rarely three or four days after delivery. The sooner the more serious will be tlie consequences. Taking a case of average severity, the couse will be about as follows : One-half hour after the first symp- toms, which are seldom observed, appear, the cow is staggering, bellowing and falling; a half to one hour later she is down, but able to make efforts to rise; one to three hours she lies in a semi-conscious condition, then passes into a state of coma. In order to test whether the cow is conscious oft'er to put the finger in the eye, if the eye is not sensitive to the touch, the coma- tose stage is reached. Coma persists six to fifteen hours in favorable cases, or in fatal cases, until death, which 163 transpires from one to four days after the first symp- toms are noted. Treatment — All cows which are heavy milkers and in good flesh, especially cows which have suffered an attack of milk fever, should have the feed reduced, or, what is better, be turned out to find a living on scant pastures. Lean cows are seldom (if ever) att;.cked, therefore an ef- fort shauld be made to reduce the cow's flesh as a pre- ventative iiu'n.sure. Some regime of exercise on a reduced food supply should begin not less than two weeks, and longer, if possible, before the cow is due to deliver. The practice of giving a purgative when the cow begins to spring is of questionable utility, if rot objectionable. It is not a good practice to give purga- tives to heavily pregnant animals. Three courses of medicinal treatment are admissible and attended with varying degrees of success. 1. Give a purgative while the cow is conscious, but bv all means never administer drenches after the ani- mal is unable to hold up the head. Medicines are then liable to go down the wind pipe, causing pneumonia and death. During the comatose stage the animal must be kept braced in a normal position . This is one of the most important features of treatment, and should be executed even if it is necessary to watch over the animal day and nioht. Bags filled with straw or cotton-seed hulls are very convenient for bracing the animal on the breast. If she lies stretched upon the side, bags should be used to elevate the head as high as the highest part of the body. For a good purgative use Epsom salts 1 pound, com- mon table salt ^ pound, ground ginger 1 ounce, and aloes ^ ounce. Mix in two quarts of water ; shake and drench. 164 Drench always through the mouth and never through the nostrils. 2. The second course of treatment aims at the same result, i. e., to empty the bowels, but has the advantage of avoiding the dangers of giving drenches. Divide two grains of eserine sulphate in three parts, dissolve each part in a little water and inject into the wind pipe at half hour intervals by means of a hypodermic syringe. Repeat in twenty- four (2-1) hours if the animal shows no signs of recovery. This course is attended with mod- erate success. 3. The third course is that of Schmidt. This is by far the safest and most successful treatment known, 90 per cent, of cases are said to recover. Dissolve 2 drachms of iodide of potash in one quart of water which has been boiled and cooled to blood heat. Inject one-fourth of the solution into each teat after milking out thoroughly. Leave this in the udder 12 hours ; milk out and repeat if the animal shows no signs of improvement. A funnel, rubber tube 3 to 5 feet long, and milk tube, connected as illustrated in Fig. 14, may be used for in- jecting the solution. The milk tube is inserted into the teat and some of the solution is pQured into the funnel by an assistant. If the liquid refuses to flow at first compress the rubber tube a few times in the hand. This will force out some of the air and start the flow. If a milk tube cannot be secured, almost any druggist can make a tube that will serve by heating a glass rod of suitable size in an alcohol flame and drawing it out to the proper proportions. Then the broken ends of the glass are rounded in the flame. A rubber bulb or fountain syringe may be used in- stead of a funnel. All vessels and apparatus to be used 165 for injecting medicine should be thoroughly disinfected in boiling water before use. Fig. 15. — Female catheter. Some think it advisable to introduce the hand into the womb, remove the mucous and portions of placenta that may have been retained, and irrigate the womb with 2 per cent, creolin, or some other suitable anti- septic solution. The foregoing courses of treatment should be supplemented by one-half grain doses of strychnine given hypodermically, or one grain doses given in capsules on the root of the tongue every three or four hours. Keep the animal braced in a normal po- sition or the head elevated and expect recovery in 15 to 24 hours. In some instances the animal suffers with debilitv after recovery from the acute attack. The writer's ex- perience with such cases is limited, but usually the animal eats sparingly, digestion is impaired, and the excrement softer than normal, and lacking color. If there is no improvement, death occurs in the course of one, two or three weeks. Some animals never fully overcome the effects of an attack of milk fever. This is manifested bv the re- duction in milk flow. In order to ascertain approxi- mately the amount of permanent injury sustained from milk fever, questions were addressed to four parties taken at random, whose cows had been successfully treated with Schmdt's remedy. Mr. L. H. : Has your cow given as much milk since she had milk fever, and how much has been the reduc- tion? Ans. "My cow does not give as much as before the 166 attack. She gave a little more than three gallons, but since she has given but little more than two gallons, and I have never been able to get her above two and ont^-half gallons per day." Mr. J. T. : "My cow has had two attacks, the first se- vere, and the second very mild. There was a reduction of one-half gallon in the milk flow after the first at- tack, but have not noticed any reduction after the sec- ond.'' Mr. S. T. : "My cow has her third calf. Nearly two months ago she suffered a severe attack of milk fever. The milk yield is now nearly three gallons per day, which is better than at any time in her previous history." Mr. W. : "My cow suffered a severe attack of milk fe- ver about one month ago. She is 10 or 12 years old. She improved rapidly and as evidence that her health is unimpaired she has a ravenous appetite. She gives as much milk as ever, about 3 1-2 gallons, without extra feed." These animals Avere treated by the writer or Dr. C. A. Gary, and we testify that the cases were genuine milk fever or parturient apoplexy of a severe type. Each animal passed through a stage of complete coma lasting for several hours. INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER — GARGET— MAMMITIS — MASTITIS. The udder of the cow is divided into four distinct glands or portions, with complete partitions, i. e., one- quarter is not connected with another. Prominent among the causes are imperfect milking, allowing some of the milk to remain in the udder which becomes infected, curdles, begins to decompose, and in- flammation follows. Heavy milkers are most frequently attacked. Ex- 167 treinely easy and extremely difflciilty milkers are equally liable. Hard milkers because these are more liable to be imperfectly milked; easy milkers because a drop of milk is often carried suspended to the p(Mnt of the teat, which, becoming infected, infects the milk within the udder. Milk is an ideal medium for the growth of bacteria. Injuries to the udder, like kicks, blows, etc., and even the calf punching the bag while sucking, are claimed to cause the disease. i^ijniptonis. The bag is swollen, feverish, painful, and red with congested blood. Milk flow is reduced, and the milk is changed in appearance and character. The milk is lumpy or watery and may be tinged with blood. As the disease progresses it assumes the appearance of whey, containing shreds or floccules of solid matter. In some cases there is little flow or none from the teat, the bag becomes hard and unyielding, if a hind quarter the inflammation extends far up toward the vulva. Pus or matter may form and decay progress till the affected quarter literally rots out or if inflammation is limited the pus may be discharged, the bag softens and recoveiy follows, though the power of the gland to se- crete milk may be permanently diminished. Often the diseased products are not cast off through the teat, but an abscess forms between the teats or to one side of the bag, antl opens. Pus in varying quantities discharge and stringy, ragged particles of decayed tissue may be diawn out. Such cases are prone to recover after appar- entlv successful treatment. Treatment. Prevention : Milk cows with new-born calves, espec- ially heavy milkers, not less than four times a day for 168 a few days after delivery. Forbid the filtliy practice of moistening the teat with milk before milking. Allow no filth from the bedding or portions of the after-birth to adhere to the udder or to the legs near the udder. Provide clean stables and clean bedding. Cleanliness, in all probability, is the best preventative. Kemedial : Treatment is systemic and local. Drench the animal at once with the following: Epsom salts, 1 lb., common table salt, 1-2 lb., powdered ginger 1 oz., powdered belladonna (roots or leaves) 1-2 oz., mixed with two quarts of water. Supply abundance of fresh cool water. Begin local treatment by injecting into each teat 1-2 pint of Schmidt's iodide of potash solution (potassium iodide 2 drachms, water which has been boiled and cooled, one quart.) After the first application inject onece per day, 1-2 pint into the affected quarter only. Rub the affected part once each day with campho-phenol (a saturated solution of camphor gum in carbolic acid; carbolic acid 1, camphor 3-5. ) This medicine may be ap- plied with the bare hands with perfect safety, and is the remedy par excellence for external use in garget. It relieves pain, and penetrating destroys infection, and acting as a counter-irritant (a mild blister) it softens the parts and hastens absorption of diseased products. A simple treatment for which much is claimed is the application of water as hot as can be borne, at frequent intervals, followed by glycerine, vaseline or lard smeared over the parts. Glycerine is to be preferred. Empty the teats frequently by hand or by means of a milk tube, if necessary. (Fig. 10.) BULLETIN No. 126. OCTOBER, 1903. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Alabama Polytechnic Institute. A.UBUIlISr. A LEAF-CURL DISEASE OF OAKS. With 1 plate and 3 text-figures. E. MEAD WILCOX. Ph D. Harvard). MONTGOMEKY, ALA.. THK BROWN PRINTING CO., PRiyTERS AND BINDERH 190.S. STATION COUNCIL. C. C. Thach President. J. F. DuGGAR Director and Agriculturist. H. B. Ross , Oh emist and State Chemist. C. A. Cart Veterinarian. E. M. Wilcox Plant Physiologist and Pathologist. R. S Mackintosh Horticulturist and State Horticulturist. J. T. Anderson . . Chemist in Charge of Soil and Crop Investigations. ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. T. U. Culver Superintendent of Farm. W. L. Thornton Assistant in Veterinary Science. J. M. .Tones Assistant in Animal Industry. H. O. Sargent Assistant in Horticulture. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. Plate 1. — Quercus nigra,. one of the common shade trees in Alabama. A LEAF-CURL DISEASE OF OAKS. BY E. MEAD WILCOX, Several of the native oaks are widely planted and highly prized in this State as shade trees both along city and town streets and about private dwellings. No small part of the beauty of a city or town is to be found in the number and character of tJie shade trees along its streets. While shade trees about private dwellings add much to the general appearance and attractiveness of the home and contribute largely to the comfort and pleasure of the occupants of the house. In fact, the general condi- tion of the shade trees along the streets of any town may well be taken as a fairly accurate index of the prosper- ity and intelligence of the people of the community. Many of our people now appreciate the value of good shade trees and are desirous of protecting them against all their enemies. The purpose of the present bulletin is to call attention to one of the fungus diseases of some of our native oaks that threatens now to de- stroy many of these trees, particularly in our cities and towns. If, incidentally, more interest is aroused in home and city adorament through the agency of good shade trees, a useful purpose will have been accomplished in that direction. It is a pleasure to acknowledge here the kindness of numerous correspondents in this and other States who have sent the Avriter specimens and notes of great value. I wish also to give expression here to my indebtedness to Dr. N. L. Britton, Director-in-chief of the N. Y. Bo- tanic (lardens, and members of his staff, and Miss Jose- phine A. Clark, Librarian of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for many exceptional favors and helpful as- sistance rendered in the consultation of the extensive lit- earture in their charge. 172 NATIVE OAKS USEFUL AS SHADE TREES IN THIS STATE. The distribution over the state of the oaks that are most iinportant for shade purposes in this state follows. Quotation marks enclose the statements made in Mohr's Plant Life of Alabama regarding the special habitat of each of the species. The species are arranged alphabeti- cally by the scientific names. SCAKT.ET OAK. Qucrcas coccinea ]\ruench).— This well knoAvn oak is frequent in the mountain region in "dry uplands, sandy and rocky soil." LAUREL OAK. (Qtiercus laurifolia Michx — .This species occurs over the southern half of the state but is most characteristic of the central pine belt and the coast plain. It occurs in "low rich woods." This is one of our most highly prized shade trees on account of its ever- green foliage. WATER OAK. (Quercus nigra L.) — This oak is rather common from the Tennessee river valley south to the coast occurring naturally in "low rich woods and sandy pine-barren swamj)s." This tree is very mdely planted as a shade tree in every part of the state. WILLOW OAK. (Quercus pheUos L.) — This species is found from the Tennessee river valley southward to the central pine belt of the state but is not common in the southern half of the state. It occurs "in the bottom lands, borders of swamps. Most frequent in the coves of the Tennessee basin in low woods of a cold damp soil." This is also widely planted as a shade tree and in some towns practically to the exclusion of all other oaks. BLACK OAK OR QUERCITRON OAK. {Quercus vehitUui Lam.) — This species occurs from the Tennessee 173 river valley south to the upper portion of the coast pine belt. The bark is the so-called "quercitron bark" em- ployed for tanning and as a dyestuff while the timber is of some value. LIVE OAK. {Quercus virginiana ]Mill. ) — This oak oc- curs only in the coast plain district and rarely extends north of about 31°. This, one of the valuable timber and tanning- trees of the state, is at times in the coast plain counties a verj- important shade tree. SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE. The disease now under consideration makes its appear- ance early in the sprinj^ before the new leaves are ma- ture. A number of grey or bluish spots appear on the leaf and the more rapid growth of the parenchyma of the leaf at these points renders the surface convex on one side and concave on the other. The concave side of this spot or area is frequentlj^ on the upper side of the leaf but the spots on the same leaf may show variation in this regard. Some trees have been seen in which tlie great majority of the concavities were upon the lower surface but this is by no means the rule. These characteristic depressions, or '"pockets," in the leaf re- sult from the more rapid growth set up in that part of the leaf by the presence and action of the fungus caus- inj; the disease. These areas varv in diameter from 0.25 to 1 cm and are either isolated or confluent. In some of the narrow leaved oaks, such as Quercus phellos and lau- ri folia, it is not rare to find the spots confluent over so large a part of the whole leaf that the leaf is as badly curled as occurs in the peach leaf-curl, a closely related disease. The rapid spread of the disease from one leaf to an- other may lead to a partial or even complete' defoliation 174 of the tree in early summer. However serious the out- break of the disease and the resulting defoliation may be, the tree generally attempts by the formation of new leaves to compensate itself for the foliage lost. In ex- treme cases of defoliation it is not uncommon to see a tree with an entirely new foliage covering in midsum- mer. In most cases tlie second growth of leaves is not so badly injured by the disease as was the first and it may entirely escape the attacks of the disease. It is plain therefore from what has been paid that the general effect of the disease upon the tree is much the same as defoliation due to any other cause. The effect of such a disease upon the life of the tree may best be ap- preciated when one recalls the fact that one of the most important functions of the leaves is to elaborate witliin their tissues the food material for use by the various parts of the plant in the building up of new tissues and other purposes. Even the roots are dependent upon the leaves for the food required for their growth and the defoliation of the tree may result in the most serious damage to the root system of the plant. Defoliation may result also in the great reduction of the growth in diameter of the stem, and particularly in the reduction in the amount of reserve food material stored up in stems, roots and buds for the following year's growth. The second growtli of leaves results from the proleptic development of buds intended for the following year's growth. And since, as just stated, these buds have had stored in them less food than usual owing to the dis- eased condition of the foliage of the tree, it is natural that the second growth of leaves developing from them should not be so luxuriant as was the first leaf covering of the tree. Under such conditions, therefore, the tree enters upon the second year's growth with a very small supply of reserve food material. The cumulative effect of the disease may therefore result in many cases in the death of the tree from actual starvation. It is very rare 176 however that the most severe attack of the disease will re- sult in the death of the tree during the first year. FUNGUS CAUSING THE DISEASE. The fungus causing this disease is one of the lower As- comijcetes, a group characterized bv the formation of "ascus." its spores in small sacs of "asci," singular This fungus is very closely related to the hJxoascus de- formans causing the w(41 known leaf-curl disease of peaches. Unlike the latter our fungus does not possess a perennial mycelium and is carried over from one year to another entirely through the agency of the ascospores. These germinate in the spring and form a mycelium that spreads out beneath the cuticle of the leaves of the host to form there a more or less extensive network of hyphsp. Vvorn. this vegetative mycelium the asci arise in large numbers. These areniore or less cylndrical in form and are packed closelv together side bv side. See Fisf 1. Fig. 1. — Cross section of a portion of a diseased leaf, sliowing the young asci of the fungus. Each division of the scale is equiva- lent to 10 mu. 176 The asci arise between the epidermal cells and the true cuticle and break through the cuticle toward maturity. Each ascus contains at maturity a large number of small spores though it is probable that in younger stages the typical condition is the 8-spored ascus. These original 8 spores however luultiply to a large extent within the as- cus resulting in the much larger number that is to be found in the mature asci. The asci in the material we have examined are from 50 to 75 mu long and from 15 to 25 mu wide. The spo.res measured vary from 1.5 to 2.5 mu in diameter. As has been mentioned in the discussion of the syrapto- moloy of the disease, the asci arise in small roundish areas upon the surface of the leaf. In the original de- scription of this fungus Desmazieires states that the spots arise on the lower surface of the leaf but this is certainv not uniformlv the case. We have no- ticed that in Qucrcus vchitina, the black oak, the spots are generally upon the lower surface only. The same fact is recorded for this species by Robinson 1887. In Quer- cus nigra, the water oak, and some other species the spots occur on both the lower and upper surfaces of the leaves. In all the species examined these spots are at first rather definite but sooner or later several of the spots fuse to- gether so that the spore bearing areas became very in- definite and large. Like many of the fungi the species under consideration has been referred to under a rather large number of names in the past. Desmazieres in 1848 published the new genus Ancomyces Mont. & Desm. to include the sin- gle new species Ascomyces cocrulescens Mont. & Desm. But the genus Tophria had been established by Fries in 1815 who assigned to it but one species, Taphria populina, now known as Taphria aurea. Fries in 1825, however, complicated matters by altering his first 177 published name Tophna to Taplirina, to avoid, as he stated at the time, confusion with Taphria a genus of insects, Tulasne in 1866 revised the genus Taphtnna of Fries and made it include also the species of Exoascns. Robinson followed Tulasne and Johanson also in including all the species of the genera Ascomi/ces and Taphrina and Ea-ooscus in the genus Taphrina, as ex- tended by Tulasne. In my judgment the plan followed by Schroeter 1894, in taking up the original genus Taphna Fries is by far the best and is in accord with present practices. Schroeter assigns to this genus all those spe- cies whose asci at maturity are multisporic and to the genus ExoiiscHH Eiickcl he assigns all those sjx^cies whose asci at maturity are 8, or rarely 4, spored. In accord- ance with the above statements our species shold be Avrit- teu Taphria coerulescens (INlont. &Desm,) Schroeter, and the following would be its synonomy : Ascomyces coerulescens Mont. & Desm. 1848. Taphrina coerulescens (Mont. & Desm.) Tulasne. 1866. Ascomyces quercus Cooke. 1878 . Ascomvces alutaceus Von Thuemen. 1879. Exoascus coerulscens (Mont. & Desm.) Sade- beck. 1887. Taphria coerulescens (Mont. & Desm.) Schroeter, 1894. PREVENTION OF THE DISEASE. The fungus causing the disease now under considera- tion is an annual and its mycelium does not perennate within the tissues of the host as is true of many of the closely related forms, such as the peach leaf-curl fun- gus. The treatment of such fungi is very much more readily carried out than is the case with perennial fungi, 178 a portion of whose mycelium lives over winter within the host plant itself. In fact in the case of the particu- lar fungus causing this disease no part of the mycelium enters the host plant farther than directly beneath the cuticle of the leaf. During the spring of 1902 an attempt was made to pre- vent the appearance of the disease upon a specimen of the water oak, Qncrcus nigra. The ordinary Bordeaux mixture was employed, made according to the following formula : Copper sulfat or "blue vitrol' ' .... 4 lbs. Unslaked lime 4 lbs. Water 50 gallons. Place the copper in a coarse cloth sack and dissolve it by suspending the sack in a wooden vessel holding abont 15 gallons of water. The lime is then to be slaked with just enough water to ensure thorough slaking. The slaked lime is then to be made into a paste having the consistencv of thick cream bv adding water and stirring. When the solutions thus prepared are cold the lime water is to be poured into the copper sulfat solutioil through a fine sieve. Water is then to be added to make the solution up to the required 50 gallons and the whole thoroughly stirred before and while using. If too little lime has been employed the solution may injure tender foliage and the potassium ferr^Tonaid test should be ap- plied to determine this point. The test consists in add- ing to a small sample of the prepared mixture a few drops of a solution of potassium feiTocyanid made by adding one part by weight of the salt to five parts of wat- er. If, upon the addition of a few drops of this solution, the bordeaux mixture becomes a reddish-brown one may knoA^' that not enough lime has been employed in the prep- aration of the spraying solution. After the addition of more lime test again in the same manner and consider 179 the solution ready to use only when no discoloration ap- pears after the addition of a few drops of the test solu- tion to a small sample of the sprayino mixture. The tree employed in our experiment was thoroughly sprayed alx)ut ten days before the buds opened and then at intervals of ten days three more sprayings were given. The dates were as follows : February 26, March 9, March IS, and March 26. Of course the first and all subsequent dates must be determined by the advancement of the sea- son. Although the sprayed tree was in close proximity to unsprayed trees of the same species that were badly injured by the disease, the sprayed tree was only very slightly affected by the disease. More extensive experi- ments must be undertaken before one could say with any certainty that this line of treatment will in all cases be effectual in preventing the outbreak of this disease. But the one positive demonstration of the value of this treat- ment renders it very probable that the disease may be held in check by such treatment as that outlined above. It is expected that further experiments along this line wnll be undertaken during the coming spring with several species of oaks that are known to have had this disease during the present season. HOST INDEX OF THE FUNGUS. The fungus noA\' under consideration has been reported as occurring on the following species of oaks in the states named. Qiiercus alba L. White Oak. Conn. ;5^. J. Quercus hrevifolia (liam.) Sargent. Blue Jack. Ala. S. Car. Quercus coccinea Muench. N. J. Wise. Quercus digitafa (Marsh.) Sudworth. Spanish Oak. Ala. 180 Quercus laurifoUa ]\[ichx. liaurel Oak. Fla. Quercus marylandica Muench. Black Jack. Ala. Quercus tninor ( Marsh. ) Sargent. Ala. Quercus nigra L. Water Oak. Ala. Fla. Quercus phellos L. Willow Oak. Ala. Fla. Quercus rubra L. Ked Oak. N. H. N. Y. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE DISEASE. The distribution of this disease by states is shown in Figure 2. Fig. 2. — The disease described in this Bulletin is known to be pres- ent in the states shaded. It is very likely that the particular fungus causing the disease herein considered is found outside of the areas there indicated but serious outbreaks of the disease are to be expected only in the gulf states. It would ap^ pear that the climatic and other conditions are in that region more favorable to the development of the fungus 181 than those prevailing to the north and Avest. Specimens of leaves showing the disease and the fungus herein de- scribed have been examined by the writer from the fol- lowing States : Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecti- cut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Fig. 3. — The disease described in this Bulletin is known to be pres- ent in the counties shaded. 182 In fio^re 3 is shown the local distribution of the dis- ease in tliis State by counties so far as the writer has been able to examine material. The disease no doubt does much damage in every county of the State but par- ticularly in the counties south of the Tennessee river valley. Material of the disease has been examined from the following counties: Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Cal- houn, Chilton, Clarke, Coffee, Cullman, Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Montgomery, Suuiter and Ttiscaloosa. OTHER SPECIES CLOSELY RELATED TO TAPHRL\ COERULESCUS. The following notes upon related species described as growing upon species of Qucrcus may be of interest. Ascomyces extensus Peck .1886. Keported on leaves of Qucrcus macrocarpa from Nefw York state. Exoascus kruchii Vuillemin. 1891. This species was found by Kruch in Italy upon leaves of Quercus ilici^, and is by Schroeter referred to Taphria. Ascomyces qucrcus Cooke. 1878. This was reported by Cook in Rovenel's Auierican Fungi upon leaves of Qucrcus cinera. It is identical appa- rently with our Ta'phrki cocrulescens. Ascomyces ruhro-hrunneus Peck. 1887. This was re- ported by Peck upon leaves of Quercus rubra. It is quite probable that all the above species belong in the genus Taphria but their specific standing we have not determined with sufficient certainty to refer to the mat- ter in this connection. BIBLIOGRAPHY. The following bibliography contains a list of the most important books and articles consulted by the author in the preparation of this bulletin. The titles are arranged 183 alphabetically with the year of publication printed di- rectly beneath the name of the author. Atkinson, G. F. 1897 Some Fuuiii from Alabama. Collected chiefly during the years 1889-1892. Bull, of the Cornell University 3 :l-50. On page 13 Taphrina coer- uk'scens is reported from Alabama upon Qiier- cus aquatica, oinerca, falcata ohtiisiloha, nigra and phellos. Cooke, M. C. 1878 RavenePs American Fungi. Grevillea 6 :129- 146. On page 112 is the original description (.. Ascomyces quercus sp. n. This is reported from South Carolina upon leaves of Quercus cinerea. Cooke, U. C. 1883 North American Fungi. Grevillea 11 :10G-111. On page 106 are notes upon Ascomyces quercus (^ooke. Desmazieres, J. — B. H. — J. 1848 Dizieme notice sur les plantes cryptogames re- cemment decouvertes en France. Ann. Sci. Nat. • Bot. 111,10 :342-361 . On pages 345-346 he estab- lishes the new genus Ascomyces Mont, et Desm. to hold Ascomyces coerulescens Mont, et Desm. sp. n. Fries, E. 1815 Observationes Mycologicae. 1 :217. On the page cited Fries gives the new genus Tapliria Ft. and list8 but a single species under it, ie "Taphria populina'^ on leaves of Popuhis nigra, tremula and dilatafa. Fig 3 on plate 8 shows Taphria popuUna. Fries, E. 1825 System orbis vegetabilis. On page 317 he gives the generic name Taphrina which he substitutes 184 for the pi*eviousIy published name Taphr'ui. His reason for so doing is stated to be to a\oJtl eon- fusion with the genus of insects named Ta]vhria. Fries, E. 1829 Systema mycologieum. On pages 520-521 are notes on Tuphrina Fr. Fries, E. 1849 Snmma vegetabilium Scandinavia? sen euui'ie- ratio systematica et critica. . . .2:518. On the page cited is a description of TaphrUia Fries with Taphrina populina as the first mentionf'i species. Fuckel, li. 1860 Enumeratio Fungorum Nassovise. On page 29 he gives a description of the new genus and f^ • e cies Exoascus pruni, and gives a figure of the same species in figure 26 on plate 1. This es- tablishes the genus Exoascus. Fuckel, L. 1869 Symbolse Mycologicse. Beitraege zur Kenntniss der rheinischen Pilze. On page 252 he gives un- der the genus Exoascus Fuckel the following species: pruni, dcfomnans and alni. Fuckel .here states his preference for separating the multispored species from the 8-spored, assigning the former to the genus Ascomyces and the lat- ter to the genus Exoascus; and his objection to the inclusion of both genera in the one genus Taphrina as done by Tulasne in 1866. Ikeno, S. 1903 Die Sporenbildung von Taphrina- Arten. Flora 92 :1-31. pi. 1-3. fig. 1-2. Johanson, C. J. 1885 Om svampslaegtet Taphrina och dithoerande svenska arter. Oefversigt af K. Vetens. Akad. 185 Forhandl. 1885 :2947. pi. 1. Figures of the fol- lowing species are given : Taplirina borealis, earned, nana, polyspora, potentillae and sade- heeMi. Jolianson, C. J. 1885 Studien ueber die Pilzgattung Taplirina. Bot. • Centralbl. 33 :222-223, 251-250, 284-287. The author reports Taplirina coeriileseens in Sweden and Norw'ay. Krucli, O. 1890 Sopra un caso di deformazione (Scopazzo) der rami dell' Elce. Nota preliminare. Malpighia 4:424430. Kecord of Taphrina Qncrcus on ilieis in Italy. This fungus was described as Exoaseus Kruchii by Vuilleniin in 1891. Patterson, F. W. 1895 A study of North American parasitic Exoas- cacea\ Bull. Lab. Nat. Hist. State Univ. Iowa 33:89-135, pi. 1-4. Peck, C. H. 1886 Eeport of the Botanist in 39th Report of the Kegents of the University of N. Y. On page 50 he describes the new species Ascomyces extencus on Querents macroearpa. Fig. 1-3 on plate 1 represent this species which Peck states is dis- tinct from Aseomyecx qiiercus in "the character of the spots and also the spores." Peck, C. H. 1887 Report of the Botanist in the 40th Report of the New York State Museum of Nat. History for the year 1886. On page 67 he gives a de- scription of the new species Ascomyces rubro- hrimneus on Q. rubra. 186 Robinson, B. L. 1887 Notes on the (lenus Tuphrina. Annals of Bot- any 1 :163-176. Saccardo, P. A. 1880 Fnngi dalniatici paiici ex herb, illustr. R, de Visiani additio nno alterove mycete ex agliaet pannonia. Michelia 2:150-153. On page 153 is a description of Ascomyces alutaceus Tliueni. upon Qucrcus rohor. Saccardo, P. A. 1898 Sylloge Fungomm. 13 : Host list for the species of Taphrina. Sadebeck, R. 1887 Die Pilze (Winter^ 1^ :10. Sadebeck here as- signs Taphria cocrulesccns to the genus Exoas- cus. Sadebeck, R. 1893 Die parasitischen Exoasceen. Eine Mono- graphic. Jahrb. d. Hanib. Wiss. Anst 10^ :1-110. pi. 1-3. Sadel)eck, R. 1895 Einige neue Beobachtungen nnd kritische Be- merkungen ueber die Exoasce?e. Ber. Dent. bot. Uesell. 13:265-280. pi. 21. Tchroeter, J. 1894 Protodiscinea^. Engler u. PrantFs Nat. Pflan- zenfani. li:157-161. fig. 136, H and J. Smith, W. G. 1894 Untersuchung der Morphologic und Anatomic der dnrch Exoasceen verursachten Spross — nnd Blatt — Deformationen. Forst. naturw. Zeitschr. 3 :420-427, 433-465, 473-482. 1 plate and 18 text figures. Thuemen.F. von. 1879 Zwei neue blattbewohnende Ascomyceten der Flora von Wien. Verb. d. K. K. Zool. — Bot. Ge- 187 sell. AVien 29 :523-524. He describes as a new species rLsconu/ccs alutuccus ou Qucrcus puhes- cens. Tulasiie, L. 11. ISG(> Suix^r I'^riesiauo Taphrinarniii genere et Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. V-o :222-13G. He refers As- comyces coernlescen.s of Mont, and Desni. to Taphrinn cocrulcsccns. Viiilleniin, P. ]S91 L'Exoascns Krucliii sp. nov. Kcv. Mycol. 13: 141-142. This species was collected by Krnch in Italy and its effect upon Qucrcus ilicis described bv him in 1800. BULLETIN Xo. 127. FEBRUARY, 1904. A.LA.BA^MA^. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Alfalfa in Alabama. By J. F. Dl-ggar, Director and Agriculturist. MONTGOMEKY, ALA.. THK BROWN PRINTING CO., PEiyTERS AND BINDERS. 1904. STATION COUNCIL. C. C. TiiACH President. J. F. DuGGAK Director and Agriculturist. C. A. Caet .Veterinarian. B. B. Ross. Chemist and State Chemist. E. M. Wilcox Plant Physiologist and Pathologist. R. S. Mackintosh Horticulturist and State Horticulturist. J. T. Andersox. .Chemist in Charge of Soil and Crop Investigations. ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. T. BiiAGG Second Assistant Chemist. C. M. Fi.oYD Superintendent of Farm. J. M. .Tones Assistant in Animal Industry. W. L. Thornton Assistant in Veterinary Science. H. 0. Sargent Assistant in Horticulture. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. ALFALFA IN ALABAMA. IJV J. F. DUGGAU. TJu' present bulletin combines the results of exi>eri- nients made by this station and the experience of a num- ber of farmers who have begun to grow alfalfa in differ- ent parts of the State, as kindly furnished in correspond- ence with the writer. This is intended as a preliminary report. Extensive experiments on alfalfa in co-operation with the United States Department of Agriculture were undertaken by this station during the fall of 1903. It is the expectation to present those results, and others, in a future publication. Alfalfa, or lucern, {Mcdicngo sativa), belongs to the family of plants that normally bear enlargements or tu- bercles on their roots, through A\hich these plants are able to take the introgen of the air. Alfalfa is a peren- nial, living for many yeai*s without reseeding. Great numbers of buds put out from the old root each year as soon as the coldest portion of the winter is past. During the first few months of its life alfalfa may be regarded as a tender plant, both as regards cold and drought. After it has passed through its first summer, alfalfa is extremely resistant both to cold and to drought. The name lucern, which also is properly applied to al- falfa, has led some men, unfamiliar with alfalfa and ac- quainted with sweet clover or melilotus, sometimes in- correctly called lucern, to confuse the two plants. These are much alike when young. Alfalfa is a much smaller, fine stemmed plant, having purple blossoms and a coiled seed' pod. Alfalfa has, for many centuries, been an important plant, especially in the warmer portions of Europe. Above all other crops alfalfa may be credited with the foremost place in the development of the arid regions of the United States. At no distant day it will doubtless assume iinportant proportions in the agriculture of Ala- bama. On all sioils suitable to it in this State, it w;ill doubtless become one of the pi'incipal foundations on which the live stock industrv will be based. USES. Alfalfa is useful for hay making, for feeding green (or soiling), for pasturage, and for the fertiliization of the soil. Its most important use is as a hay plant. Alfalfa yields more hay per acre than any other leguminous for- age plant. Indeed, in yield it has few superiors, sorghum perhaps being the only one of importance in Alabama, and this falling far behind alfalfa in nutritive value. Alfalfa hay i;^ much more nearly a complete food than is the hay of Johnson grass, sorghum, crab grass, etc. The following table gives the composition of green and cured alfalfa, and for comparison the composition of cer- tain other forage plants, the chemical data being taken from Henry's "Feeds and Feeding" and from ^McBryde's tables. Pounds of food material in 100 pounds of forage. d OJ o X • \ a ' ^ -3 ^-* 03 >, Prot mus( form Star suga Fat, Woo fiber Ash. a; Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Alfalfa hay ; . Cow pea hay Johnson grass hay Crab grass hay Cured corn blades Sorghum hay (verydry.) Green alfalfa Green rye Lbs. Lbs. t 1 34 43 2 25 7 17 42 2 20 8 7 46 2 29 6 7.8 45 2 28 8 6 36 1 22 5 4 37 3 24 4 5 12 1 7 3 2.6 7 .6 12 2 9 11 10 9.2 30 28 72 75.8 The imtrieiits of most value are those iu the first three colnmus. An arrragc quality of cowpea aud of sorgluiiu hay is believed to be a little pooi"er, and corn blades (fodder) a little richer, than shown by the figures in the table. From the above table it will be seen that alfalfa is about as rich as other hays aud corn blades in starchy materials aud sugar, and about twice as rich in muscle- formiug material. Alfalfa hay is about equal in composi- tion to the best grades of cow pea hay, but is not so coarse. Alfalfa hay is suitable for horses, cattle of all ages, and sheep. It is sometimes used in the Southwest as the exclusive food for farm teams, but it is generally advisable: for working animals to have some corn in ad- dition to alfalfa. However, the use of alfalfa hay greatly reduces the amount of corn necessary to keep workinir 6 teams in condition. For six weeks last summer Capt. J. C. Webb, of Demopolis, Ala., fed all the mules on one of bis plantations on alfalfa alone. Although they were at work they kept in satisfactory condition. Alfalfa hay has also been successfully used as part of the winter ra- tion for hogs. Alfalfa hay is similar to melilotus hay in composition, but much more palatable. It is less coarse, makes a better appearance, and, unlike melilotus hay, it is salable. As a soiling plant, alfalfa may be utilized througiiout every x)ortion of Alabama, since the small area needed for this purpose will enable the soil to be suitably manured or limed or otherwise brought into condition for its suc- cessful growth. The especial advantage of alfalfa for soiling is the early date at which it is available, rye be- ing the only other practicable crop which may be cut as early in the season. Alfalfa remains green throughout the year except in December, January, and February. In Central Alabama, alfalfa has been cut for food for horses as early as March 11. In nutritive qualities, green al- falfa is decidedly superior to green rye, and is eaten with relish by all farm stock and poultry. Alfalfa is sometimes used as a pasture plant on soils to which it is well adapted, but is too valuable for hay or soiling to justify its general use for pasturage, until the acreage in alfalfa is greater than is needed for hay mak- ino" and soiling. Pasturage shortens the life of the al- falfa plant by enabling weeds to outgrow it, and by pack- ing the soil too closelv around the crown and roots, and also by the injury resulting from very close continuous, o-razina,-. Stock should never run on an alfalfa field when the ground is wet or frozen, nor during the first year after the seed are sown. Cattle and sheep are sub- ject to bloat when grazing on alfalfa. It is safer in this respect for horses, and perfectly safe for hogs. No one can afford to graze cattle or sheep on alfalfa unless thor- onglily informed in regard to all possible precautions for decreasing the amount of bloat and unless he has a sur- plus of alfalfa over and above that which he can use for hay and soiling. The principal precautions against bloat are (1) feeding dry food before cattle or sheep are first turned on alfalfa; (2) gradually lengthening the daily gTazing period; (3) allowing sftoek grazing on alfalfa to have access at the same time to a pasture containing pala- table grass. Alfalfa makes an unrivaled pasture for hogs. One may conservatively estimate an acre of good alfalfa pas- ture as capable of supporting a sufficient number of hogs to weigh at least 1,000 pounds. This record has been greatlv exceeded. F. 1). Coburn savs : "Ten vouug hogs l>er acrt^ will not damage alfalfa, and should make 1,000 pounds of gain in a season, under ordinary conditions, without ni'ain.'' While hogs make satisfactory and econ- omiical growth on green alfalfa alone, they more com- pletely utilize this crop when a little corn is fed. Alfalfa used as a hog pasture, should be mowed whenever it be- comes tall or coarse, to promote fresh tender growth. King.-; in the hog's' noses are advisable to prevent destruc- tion (if alfalfa pastures by rooting. The young shoots on alfalfa remain green practically all winter in central Alabama. Alfalfa has been made into silage with varying success. In our climate where we have frequent rains, the silo might prove a profitable means of utilizing cuttings of alfalfa too much injured by rains to make good hay, but still succulent. In Alabama alfalfa should be uesd for soil-improve- ment only after it has outlived its usefulness as a food plant. Alfalfa g^reatly enriches the soil in nitrogen gathered from the air. 8 YIELDS OF ALFALFA 'hay. The following- estimates of their yields of alfalfa hay obtained are reported in correspondence b}^ the parties named below : Total no. tons. No. Date per acre. cuttings. Reported by County. 1st cutting. 3 unmanured | 4 to 7 5 to 6 manured \ J. C. Webb Marengo 4 to 5 4 to 5 J. L Thornton Greene May 1. 114 medium land } 4 5 on bottoms y Dr. W. J. McCain Sumter May . . V2 to 21/2 3 P. G. Lightfoot Greene May 10 3 or 4 E. F. Bouchelle Greene. .April 20, '03 1 to 5 3 or 4 J. O. Hays Greene May 10 2 to 4 4 to 6 S. Selden Greene April lyz prairie ) 1 post oak V J. McKee Gould, Jr Greene May 10 0 sandy land ) 4 W. M. Hill Hale May 1 4 or 5 B. B. Rudolph Lowndes May 10 3 3 M. H. Traylor j Fall sowing May Lowndes | Spring sowing June 1 to 3 4 J. A. Dillard Montgomery . . Mch 24 3 3 Judge W. H. Tayloe . . . Marengo 4 Cobb & Macmillan .... Sumter April 2}4 3 E. H. Allison Morgan The yields estimated bv the above named alfalfa grow- ers as the average production under their condi'tions in- dicate that after the first season alfalfa can be cut three to six times (usually 4 times), and that the yield of hay on good land is three or six tons per acre. Land pro- ducing less than two tons per acre may yield a profit, buit should not be selected for alfalfa without first being fertilized with some legume, with manure, or with fertilizers. The most usual date for the first cutting as found by the above named growers is about the first of May or earlier. When sown in the spring one would expect no cutting of consequence for a month later, and much less than a normal yield' the first season of growth. On poor lands mth unfavorable seasons no cuttings ^^•orth raking are obtained during the first season from spring sowing. 9 The following- extract from Bulletin No. 20 of the Alabama Canebrake Experiment Station, at Uniontown, prepared by the writer, illustrates the possibility of ob- taining from prairie soils large yields of alfalfa the first season, even from spring" sowing. "A tract of dark pebbly hillside of medium fertility was plowed and harrowed, and alfalfa seed was sown broadcast on ]March 20, 1903. The stand was so thick that weeds were not troublesome until the growth of al- falfa was checked by drought, which prevailed almost continuously from about the middle "of August until No- vember. "Up to that tilme alfalfa made rapid growth and af- forded three cuttings by September 3. Because of con- tinuous dry weather, growth after that date was too slow for another cutting to be obtained, though with the ordi- nary rainfall of Septeml>er and October a ftiurth cut- ting would doubtless have been secured. "This alfalfa occupied all of 'Cut 23' except. l-20th of an acre, used for another forage plant. The area of this plot, according to a survey made by ^[r. T. M. Cocoran, was 55-100 of an acre. Mr. Corcoran's sur\'ey is made the basis of the calculated yield per acre in the follow- ing table. "Each cutting of hay required only one. day im curing. It was then regarded by Mr. Richeson as dry enough to store in the bara, where it kept without molding. "The yields of hav thus cured were as follows : Lbs. per Lbs. per plot. acre. June 16 : . . 1,030 1,871 July 15 1,682 3,058 Sept. 3 1,922 3,495 Total 4,634 8,424 10 "This shows a yield of more than four tons of hay per acre when stored. It would probably not be safe to re- gard this as thoroughly cured hay, suitable for storing in large masses. If, to be thoroughly conservative^ we assume that a further drying out to the extent of 25 per cent, after being placed in the bam would be necessary before we could regard this as thoroughly cured hay, we should still have a yield of more than three tons per acre. This is an unusually large yield for spring sown alfalfa in its first season of growth, and is probably as much as can ordinarily be expected from very young al- falfa, even when sown in the fall. The conditions pro- ducing this large yield Avere a thick stand, abundant rains from March to August, thorough surface drainage, and a supply of root tubercles. ''To emphasize the statement that thite was upland prairie land of a fair degTee of fertility, the following facts are mentioned: Corn without fertilizer and with- out any special treatment, averaged in the two cuts which bordered the alfalf area 21 bushels per acre. The land sown to alfalfa in March, 1903, was in 1902 in cot- ton, without fertilizer; and in 1901 it had borne a crop of com without cowpeas. No stable manure had been applied in very recent years, and it is not known that any manure had ever been applied." The follomng is another instance showing the possi- bility of getting good yields from alfalfa the first season, even when sown in spring. Mr. W. L. Ennis, Litviugston, Ala., reports as follows: "Sowed 23 pounds of alfalfa seed, inoculated with earth from a bur clover field, on March 20, 1903, on the best land Ave had, about one acre. Yields of baled hay were as folloAvs: "First cutting, 21 bales; second cutting, 40 bales; third cutting, 17 bales. Total, 97 bales. Average weight of bales 104 1-2 pounds." This is about 5 tons per acre. 11 PRICES AND PROFITS. Those Alabama alfalfa growers who have sold alfalfa re- port that the price in recent years has been not less than |13 to ^15 per ton. Even if we assume a minimum yield of 4 tons of hay per acre on land to which alfalfa is adapted, and a minimum price of |10 per ton, there would still be larger profits in growing" alfalfa than most other field crops. Captain John C. Webb, of Demoi>olis, Ala., writes : "It has paid me better than any other crop I ever planted." Mr. W. L. Foster is reported in Louisiana Bulletin No. 72 as follows in regard to alfalfa in the bottoms of the Red Itiver, near Shreveport : "It costs an aver- age of 11.25 to 12.00 per ton to put [alfalfa hay] in shape for the market." The books of another alfalfa grower in the same re- gion showed a cost of |d.90 per ton to cut, cure, market, and bale a crop of this hay. The same publication contains this significant para- graph as to the profits of alfalfa in that region : ">Mien the land is seeded to alfalfa by the owner and rented out, he gets fifteen dollars an acre, and the renter furnishes his o-vvn harvesting tools, or he gets eighteen dollars rent and furnishes the harvesting tools. This is on land that rents for five dollars an acre for cotton." SOILS FOR ALFALFA. At present the most important question in connection with alfalfa in Alabama is the determination of soils on which it can be made a profitable crop. In determining the best soils for alfalfa we shall be helped by bearing in mind that this plant needs a soil (1) well supplied with moisture, (2) well drained, (3) having an abundance of lime, (4) rich in other plant food. 12 Alfalfa m at its best when grown under irrigation, which fact indicates its response to large amounts of water judiciously applied. In humid regions alfalfa is pre-eminently a crop for valleys, because on these low levels there is a relative abundance of moisture even dur- inc: drv seasons. On the other hand, the roots of alfalfa in congenial, well drained, permeable soils, penetrate to great depths in search of moisture. But with the poor drainage in a large part of the south" this habit of alfalfa is not fully utilized. The need for ample supplies of moisture can be better understood by the statement that ordinarily hay plants must pass through their leaves about 400 tons of water for every ton of hay produced, or 1,600 tons of water per acre for every crop of four tons. Drainage, important for most ordinary farm crops be- cause of the need of the roots for air, and because of tlie deeper growth of roots in drained soil, is doubly im- portant for any leguminous or soil-improving plant like alfalfa. For not only do the roots of such plants need water, but the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the root tuber- cles must have thorough soil ventilation in order to per- form their work of transforming the valueless nitrogen of the air into the valuable nitrogen of plant food. What- ever may be thought by some of the sufficiency of shallow ditches and levees for draining prairie land sufficiently for cotton and corn, it is certain that such mere surface drainage is insufficient for alfalfa, as, indeed, we believe it to be for the maximum results with other crops. Deep- er ditches are needed for alfalfa. No arirument is needed to shoAv the greater convenience and saving of land and work if some of these ditches could be converted into underground drains, whether box drains of plank, pole drains, or Avhether tile be the mater- ial employed. If tile drainage in Alabama can be shown to be cheap enough and continuously 13 c'ffectivo for any field cro]!, that crop will be alfalfa. AVhile few fanners ownini;' land valued only at $15 or |25 per acre will be found at present willinii, to make the large expenditure necessary for tile drainage, this investment will doubtless be found feasible on cer- tain stiff bottom lands, otherwise peculiarly- adaptcnl to alfalfa, especially as these lands advance in price because of their suitability to alfalfa. The establishment of tile factories in the south, or the co-operative purchase of tile machines would so greatly cheapen the cost of file drain- age as to make it practicable for alfalfa fields and other land farmed intensivelv. Alfalfa should endure for many years. One of our correspondents has alfalfa plants seventeen years old gTOwiug on prairie land, if a field of alfalfa, free from disease and from excessive growth of weeds, begins to fail Avhen only a few years old, deficient drainage may be suspected. Alfalfa is usually spoken of as needing an open soil. AVhile permeability is desirable, yet in Ala- bama the soils to which it has thus far proved best adapt- ed are lime soils of close texture. I'ltAIIUK SOILS. Taking up the different soils somewhat in the order of their proved or probable fitness for alfalfa we must deal first with the Central Prairie Region of Alabama, extend- ing from Union Springs in a northwest direction past Montgomery, Selma, Uniontown, Dpmopolis, and Living- ston, and into Mississippi. In this region a few very small patches of alfalfa were grown man}' years ago. So far as I can learn, Capt. J. C. Webb, of Demopolis, was the first one in that part of the State to grow alfalfa on any considerable scale. One of his earliest plantings was made on a shallow gray soil underlaid near the surface with white rotten limestone. This field lav next to the 14 Tombigbee bluffs, on the western edge of Demopolis, and hence was well drained. Steers had been fed here on cot- tonseed meal and hulls, and the growth of alfalfa was most satisfactory. Capt. Webb has since largely increas- ed the area which he devotes to alfalfa. The prinicpa] part of the alfalfa area of Alabama is now in Greene and Sumter counties. Prairie soils may be subdixdded into quite a number of classes merging into each other by imperceptible grada- tions. Those prairie soils are best suited to this crop which are best drained and best supplied with vegetable matter. Extensive inquiries were made of a number of growers of alfalfa in Alabama, and below follows a summary of their answers to the question as to the character of soil in the prairie region best suited to alfalfa. All exiDrossing an opinion prefeiT^d lime to sandy or clay soils. Black prairie is the choice of most of these correspondents, some of these expressly naming black bottoms or slough land, others fertile black upland soil. Those A\h() prefer bottom land specify bottoms that are well drained. Two prefer "hammock" land, one of these describing his favorite alfalfa soil as "alluvial land overlaying stiff prairie.'" One choses shelly prairie, two cedar "hammock," and one gray upland j)rairie and "hammock," and another 3^ellow prairie. One corre- spondent has succeeded best in growing alfalfa on the mixed soil at the base of white marl hills. On the farm of the Canebrake Experiment Station at Uniontown, alfalfa has done remarkably well during its first year's growth on upland of medium quality, and containing a small number of rough pebbles. We are far from recommending alfalfa for that grade of prairie soil that consists largely of these roughened pebbLes and that is too poor to make fair crops of cotton. Alfalfa needs fertile soil. 15 Answering the question wliat soils are unfit for al- falfa, these correspondents are almost unanimous in namino- sandv soils. Three ( inchulinc; one farmer who lias a very larije acreage in alfalfa) specify ix)st oak, and one especially designates black post oak. With the confessedly incomplete data now available the soils of the prairie region of Alabama may be tenta- tively ranked in about the following order as regards their suitability for alfalfa : First class : Black bottoms, well drained, and drain- ed alluvial lime bottoms containing a little sand. Second class : Black uplands; shelly gray uplands, and rich chocolate uplands. Third class: Poor gray to white prairie, and poor, stiff red or post oak land. . OTHER LIME SOILS. As to the suitabilitv to alfalfa of the soils of the re- mainder of the State, there is much less evidence avail- able. From theoretical considerations there is every reason for expecting alfalfa to succeed in all the lime soils of the Tennessee Valley region, and in the narrow lime vallej's in the northeastern part of the State. Messrs. E. H. Allison and R. P. ]McEntire, of Decatur, write of their success Avith alfalfa in that part of the Tennessiee Valley, and other instances of success in that part of the State have been heard of, but not confirmed by answers to our inquiries. There is reason to expect the best red calcareous soils of Talladega, Calhoun, and counties north of these, to give satisfactory results with alfalfa. In a word, there is a prospect for the successful growth of alfalfa on rich, well drained lime soils in any part of the State where they occur. Rich' bottoms in every part of the State, if not subject 16 to long or otherwise injurious overflows, and not too wet or too sandj', are probably suitable for alfalfa. If they are deficient in lime it can be added with the proba- bility of profit. SANDY SOILS. While it is possible that alfalfa can be grawn under garden conditions, on almost any soils in Alabama, yet it is probable that it will not be a profitable sale crop on upland sandy or clay soils deficient in lime unless they are exceptionally richi. In order for it to be grown at all siuccessfuUy, on these soils, great care will be re- quired and in many cases heavy applications of stable manure or lime (the latter being supplemented by large amounts of commercial fertilizers) will be necessary. It then becomes a question whether it is more profitable on these sandy uplands thus to coddle alfalfa or to rely on hardier foi'age plants, as hairy vetch, cowpeas, soy beans, sorghum, etc. We are certainly not yet in a position to recommend alfalfa for non-calcareous upland soils except on a very small scale. However, the great value of the plant on congenial soil makes it worthy of trial in a small way on every class of soils. LOCAL EXPERIMENTS IN PROGRESS. To determine the suitability to alfalfa of each of the principal soils of the iState, this station in co-operation with the United States Department of Agriculture, last fall arranged for an experiment with alfalfa in nearly every county in Alabama. The unusually dry fall,~lieces- sitatiug late planting, and the early occurrence of frost and freezes, destroyed the stand of alfalfa in many of the experiments referred 'to. It is planned to continue the work alouir this line. 17 FERTILIZERS FOR ALFALFA. One ton of alfalfa bay contains ajiproxiniately 44 lbs. of nitrogen, 10.2 lbs. of pbospboric acid, and 33.6 lbs. of potasli. Hence a crop of four tons contains as mucb nitrogen as is found in 2,450 lbs. of cotton seed meal, as mucb pbospboric acid as is contained in 330 lbs. of bigb grade acid pbospbate, and as mucb potasb as is contain- ed in 1,075 lbs. of kainit. It would cost, to buy all these amounts of plant food in tbe form of commercial ferti- lizers, approximately |35.00. Fortunately not all of this is removed from the soil, the greater part being the value of the nitrogen, the largest proportion of which the al- falfa doubtless gets from the air. It would, however, re- quire about |8.75 worth of phosphate and kainit to re- place the amount of phosphoric acid and potash which would be removed from the soil of an acre by a crop of four tons. Hence it is evident that even the richest prairie soils, if cropped for many years in alfalfa, will need to have their supplies of phosphoric acid and pot- ash replenished by the application of manure or ferti- lizers. This will be especialh' true if Johnson grass hay has previously been removed from these soils for a num- ber of years, thus making heavy drafts on the soil's sup- ply of these two minerals. According to Wolff, one ton of alfalfa hay contains 70 pounds of lime, or 280 pounds in a crop of four tons. In three experiments on the station farm at Auburn lime has proved highly beneficial to the gTowth, permanency and hardiness of alfalfa. In the case of soils not rich in lime it will be necessary from the beginning to apply this material, as is clearly shown in the experiments on the station fanii at Auburn. Not only do lime and phosphoric acid directly stimu- late the growth of alfalfa on soils deficient in these min- J8 erals, but their presence is believed to favor the devehjp- ment of tubercles, on the abundance of which larwlv de- pends the thrift of the alfalfa plant. From 6 to 12 bar- rels, equal to ^ to 1 ton of unslaked lime, or to at least f to 1^ tons after slaking-, may be applied per acre. Liming (or the use of manure or wood ashes) will be indispen- »sable for alfalfa on acid soiils, of which there are large areas in Alabanm. To test a soil for acidity, a strip of blue litmus paper should be kept in contact with the moist soil until damp. If the i-oil is acid the color of the paper will change to pink. On application to the writer litmus paper for this test will be furnished free. Where there is no local experience to guide one in se- lecting fertilizer, the following formula (or stable ma- nure), is suggested as a fertilizer for alfalfa, in regions where the use of commercial fertilizers is general : 400 pounds acd phosphate per acre and 50 pounds muriate of potash i>er acre. The above is not intended to take the place of lime, where the soil is deficient in lime, luit tos upplwuent it. When lime and acid phosphate are both used for any crop they should be applied separately, and one should l)e worked into the soil before the other is ajiplied. Tuber- cles on the roots of alfalfa should supply it with nitro- gen. But if the roots are devoid of tubercles, nitrate of soda or cotton seed may be needed. FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS AT AUBURN. On reddish sandy upland soil at Auburn, capable of j.ri)dU'Cing only about 10 to 12 bushels of corn per acre, without fertilizer, ten filots of alfalfa were sown, Octo- ber 29, 1900. The soil was not acid. All plots were at that time fertilized at the same rate per acre, namely, 320 pounds of acid phosphate and SO pounds of sulphate 19 of potash. An effort was made to inoculate tlie seed, but this was not entirely successful. A good stand of plants was found on all plots the lat- ter part of the following- March and the early part of April, when different nitrogenous fertilizers were ap- plied to these plots as shown in the next table. Alfalfa made extremely poor growth in 1901 on the plots receiving no manure. On all plots, weeds, leaf rust, a; sclerotial dij«ease of the roots, and perhaps nitrogen starvation, killed the larger part of the plants. The lime and the stable manure plots suft'ered least and kept the best stands. No plot made a yield worth harvesting separ- ately. October 7, 1901, without i)lowing, an additional amount of seed was disced in on all plots. Again in the ph(niomenally dry summer of 1902, the alfalfa on most plots did not yield enough hay to justify raking it up. However, the plots were clipped four times in 1902— :May 6, June 17, Sept. 13, and October 10. On the best plots, those to which stable manure had been applied about 15 months before, and which were now reduced by disease and dry weather to a mere frac- tion of a stand, the yield was only about one ton of hay for the entire season. The extreme drought of 1902, extending practically from the middle of April to Aug- ust, will be recalled by most readers. In the summer of 1902, the poorest plots of alfalfa were plowed up and planted in New Era cow peas in drills. These made slight growth, but were kept clean by late cultivation. The plots then plowed up as being the poorest were those which 18 months before had re- ceived per acre either 200 pounds of nitrate of soda or 500 pounds of cotton seed meal or no fertilizer. September 13, 1902, inoculated alfalfa seed, 20 lbs. to the acre, were sown on these plots, first running a 20 disc harrow several times over the small growth of cow pea vines, a procedure that in ordinary seasons would not suffice to dispose of a crop of cow peas of the usual luxuriance, but which is sometimes a satisfactory treat- ment of cow pea stubble. On all these plots and nearly all other plots, 2,000 lbs. of slaked lime (equal to about 1,200 lbs. of unslaked lime) were harrowed in. Next March certain other plots where the stand had become very thin were plowed and sown in alfalfa. The stand of alfalfa on other plots, ( those wiiich eighteen months before had been fertilized with either manure or lime), was thickened by drilling in with a grain drill a small amount of alfalfa seed, mixed with sand to make the distribution more uniform. The yields of hay obtained in 1903 on each plot are shown in the following table : u u . IB^OJ, SS Idas •9C A'lnr Oo ^^M CO o> Oi o o o o o o o Irt CO T— 1 T-( tH o 11 OS Mm M l-H a o 6 u 13 a <1> Clj a B 03 CM OS a CO o 05 ■a o o OS 03 CM o O o o OS C3 CM O CO o 01 S-i o o OS CM o O CO o OS ,0 o CO o 22 The results for 1903 shown in the above table mav be summarized as follows : (1) — Spring- and fall sowing afforded practically the same yields, about one ton of hay per acre the first sum- mer. (2)' — Nitrate of soda applied at the rate of 80 pounds per acre with the seed in spring failed to increase the yield. (3) — Six tons of stable manure more than doubled the yield tlie first season when applied in Februai'y to fall sown young alfalfa plants. (4) — Eighteen tons of stable manure enabled alfalfa to 3ield 3.4 tons of hay per acre the third season after the application. (5) — Lime, at the rate of 20 barrels per acre, result- ed the third year after application in a crop practically equal to that obtained by the use of 18 tons of stable manure at the same time. (6) — The application of both lime and large amounts of stable manure together did not increase the yield the third year after application as compared with either ap- plied alone. The first cutting of hay was nearly pure alfalfa, the second contained considerable crabgrass, and the third cutting contained more crabgrass than alfalfa. EFFECTS OF LIME AND INOCULATION COMBINED. On October 3, 1902, three plots of sandy soil of fair quality on the Experiment Station farm at Auburn were sown with alfalfa. Phosphate and muriate of iwtash were used on all plots. Polt 3 had neither lime nor in- oculation; plot 4 was not limed, but inoculated as fol- lows: Soil from an old alfalfa field 100 yards distant, 23 was stirred into water, tlie seed dipped into this water, and tlien thirty bushels per acre of the same soil was sown •broadcast and harrowed in promptly, riot 5 was simi- larly inoculated and 1,000 pounds per acre of slaked lime was applied. ^V inter killing was severe on all plots, but much more severe on plots 3 and 4 than on the plot which was both limed and inoculated. Figure 1 shows in the lower part that on the plot both limed and inoculated the young plants had covered the ground; few and small were tlie plants surviving plants on plot 4, as shown in Fig. 1. Below, ground is covered with young plants, which have been inoculated and limed; above, lime omitted, and ground nearly bare. 24 the upper part of Figure 1. Figure 2 shows typical plants taken in A^jril from each plot; Note the abund- ance of tubercles on the plants from the plot tliat was both lilued and inoculated. The liming and inoculation seemed to make the Toung plants hardier and more re- sistant to cold. No one of these plots was a success, therp being left at the end of winter only about half a stand on plot 5, and much less on the other two plots. The total yield for the season was 2,266 pounds per acre where lim- ing and inoculation had been emplojed, while on the other plots thiere was not enough hay to be raked. Fig. 2. Small plants not inociiated; central plant, not limed; larg- est plant, inoculated and limed. 25 An adjacent plot was sown in crimson clover at the same time that the alfalfa Avas sown, and after the cutting of the crimson clover, the same plot Avas sown in June in broadcast sorghum. The yields obtained give an interest- ins; illustration of the fact that under ordiuarv conditions on sandy land unsuited to alfalfa, other crops often fur- nish a far larger quantity of forage. The yield of crimson clover on this adjacent plot was 0;100 pounds per acre, and the amount of sorghum hay obtained at one cutting during the same seas^ou was 13,000 pounds per acre. These are exceptionally good yields of both crimson clover and sorghum. This is an extreane case where all conditions Avere highly faA'orable for crimson cloA'er and sorghum, and exceedingly unfaA'orable for alfalfa. FEllTILIZEU EXPERIMENTS ON PRAIRIE LAND. A series of fertilizer experiments on 10 plots Avas be- gun in 1002 in co-operation Avith Mr. J. O. Hays, Sumter county, Ala., by Avhom the fei-^ilizers Avere applied in ac- cordance Avith the Avriter's plan. The seed Avere not sown until April 3, only a fcAV Aveeks before the beginning of the memorable drought. In the absence of any consid- erable amount of rain until August 28, the fertilizers were Avithout effect. No hay was raked, but Mr. Hays reports that this alfalfa, though soAvn late, "stood the drought better than any other forage plant, and is the only one that kept a good lively green color, Avhile Ber- muda grass Avas parched perfectly yelloAv, and sorghum was tAvisted and stopped groAving." It should be added that eight of the plots Avere inocu- lated Avith soil from an old alfalfa field. In 1903 Mr. Hays again undertook a fertilizer ex- periment for this station. On June 13 he writes : "Plots 9 and 10, the ones most highly fertilized, are the best." 26 These both received per acre 200 pounds cotton seed meal, 240 pounds acid phosphate, and respectively 200 and 100 pounds of kainit. MANURE. For the prairie region it may be said that no fertilizer except stable manure has yet been sufficiently tested on alfalfa to determine its suitability. In numbers of in- stances stable manure has greatlv increased the yield of alfalfa on prairie lands, and the most experienced grow- ers of alfalfa use it so far as the limited supply permits. The benefit from the use of stable manure is a common experience in west Alabama, and the application of ma- nure bas immensely increased the yield of alfalfa on the lime land of Mr. J. A. Dillard near Montgomery, Ala., as the writer can testify from a personal insi>ection. However, the question may well be raised whether al- falfa is the best crop on which to apply stable manure which is so scarce and so sure to largely increase the ^ield of any crop. So far as concerns the nitrogen of stable manure, alfalfa could well dispense with that. For alfalfa thoroughly inoculated and on land sufficient- ly well drained to insure fair soil ventilation, should be able to obtain through its root tubercles unlimited quantities of nitrogen from the air. On the other hand, sorghum or cotton, not having this means \of securing nitrogen, would make good use of the nitrogen as well as of the other constituents of stable manure. In favor of the application of manure to alfalfa is the fact that this application in winter promotes early development of the i^lants, and forces the alfalfa to a sufficient height for cutting at a time when other forage is scarce. More- over if immense quantities of stable manure are used it will serve as a mulch, retaining the moisture in the soil 27 and alleviatiuo- the effects of drought. On the other band, surface application of manure without incorpora- tion with the soil results in great loss of the valuable portions of the manure and is ordinarily a wasteful method of application. INOCULATION. .Ufalfa belongs to that family of plants able to derive a large part of their nitrogen from the gaseous nitrogen of the air. This is done through the agency of enlarge- ments on the roots, called tubercles or nodules. With- in these tubercles dwell countlei^s numbers of micro- scopic vegetable organisms, usually referred to as nitro- gen-fixing bacteria or germs. Eoot tubercles of alfalfa, clovers, vetches, cowpeas, velvet beans, and other legiimes, are essentially ferti- lizer factories engaged in the manufacture of nitrogen. This is a fertilizer material, which, when bought in the form of cotton seed meal or nitrate of soda or ainmon- iated giiano, costs alwut 15 cents i)er pound. The im- portance of the Avork of root tubercles may be realized frcmi the fact that a crop of any one of these plants growing on an acre usually contains from 75 to 200 pounds of nitrogen in roots and tops taken together. When the genus necessary for causing tubercles to develop on the roots of alfalfa are absent from the soil and from the seed, the roots of alfalfa have no tuber- cles. The proper germs, which we may designate as al- falfa germs, are usually absent from the sandy and non- calcareous soils of Alabama, and often from other soils. More frequently there are a few of the proper germs present either in the seed sown or in the soil, so that tubercles develop on a small proportion of the plants. A legiiminous plant without tubercles is a drone ■ 28 that no fanner can afford to provide for. Such plants depend entirely upon fertilizers for their expensive nitrogen or draAv it from the earth, thus impoverishing the soil. The farmer has it in his power to cause tubercles to develop on the roots of his alfalfa, and thus to force the plants to provide their own nitrogenous food, and to enrich the land in )iiitrogen. When leguminous plants form their tubercles without aid from man we may speak of the process a® natural inoculation. Experi- ments on a number of soils jaii Auburn and observations of young alfalfa plants in a number of other localities, lead us to conclude that the alfalfa germ is wanting or not present in sufficient numbers iai inost of the sandy and cla^^ soils of Alabama that are deficient in lime. On such soils the necessary germs must be supplied by the process of inoculation, or more accurately, by arti- ficial inoculation. The material used for inoculating alfalfa may be soil from a field where alfalfa or bur clover (a plant of the same genus) has in recent years been well supplied with root tubercles, or it may be a concentrated patent- ed material now being manufactured in the laboratories of the United States Department of Agriculture. To inoculate with soil we have used the following methods, depending on convenience and on the amount of inoculating soil available. (1) With small amounts of inoculating soil: To about a peck of soil from an old alfalfa or bur clover field add several gallons of water; stir well; allow a few minutes for settling and then moisten everv alfalfa seed thoroughly with the muddy water, which contains the necessary germs. Then dry the seed by mixing with them more of the same iuoculatino- earth in a drv condition and crushed as fine as possible. Cover seed promptly. 29 (2.) With lar^e amounts of inoculatiing earth: Moisten the seed as above; idi'T as above, if convenient; sow broadcast per acre 20 to 30 bushels of the same earth in as fine a condition as possible, and harrow in seed and' inocnlating earth as promptly as possible. The method of inoculation and the amount of inoculating soil can be varied accordiing to convenience. Directions for use accompany the pure cultures sent from Washington. Dr. A. F. Woods, under Avhose di- rection this inoculating material is distributed; author- izes me to state that the Department will supply free inoculating material for alfalfa to any parties whose names I shall send in, and who will furnish their own seed. Applicants isliould state the number of acres that they >\ill plant. On prairie soil the writer has repeatedly' observed that alfalfa plants are, when young, well stocked with tubercles. The cause for this is evident from the recent investigation of Dr. C. G. Hopkins, of the Illinois Ex- periment Station. Under date of February 2, 1904, he writes as follows with reference to his bulletin now in press, and gives pennission for tliis use of his results: "The investigations reported in this bulletin prove con- clusively that the bacteria of sweet clover are similar to the bacteria of alfalfa.-' RESULTS OF INOCUI-ATIOX OF ALFALFA ON SANDY LAND. In an inoculation experiment with alfalfa made by the writer in February, 1897, the yield of alfalfa at the first cutting was increased 336 per cent as the result of in- oculation. The soil within the plots was from a sandy field near Auburn, and the inoculating material was the dust gifted out of bur clover seed and derived from the soil on which bur clover had grown. In several later 30 field experiments the use of bur clover earth has pro- duced tubercles and greatly increased the yield of al- falfa. Figure 2 shows typical alfalfa plants taken in April, 1903, from three plots at Auburn, sown the preceding October. The small plants on the right liad been neither limed nor inoculated and were free from tubercles ; those in the center had been inoculated, but not limed; the largest plant had been inoculated and limed, and here the supply of tubercles is abundant. Soil from an old alfalfa field was used in this experi'ment as inoculating material. INOCULATION OF AI>FALFA ON PRAIRIE SOILS. In the light of Dr. Hopkins' demonstration we can now see why it is unnecessary to inoculate alfalfa on fields where melilotus (sweet clover) has recently gTOwn, and produced tubercles, as it almost invariably does on prairie soil. It would still seem advisable, however, to inoculate alfalfa seed to be sown on such prairie land as has not recently grown melilotus. While these germs have probably l)een widely distributed by wind and water and otherwise, in the prairie region, we have no proof that they are present in all fields of prairie land in sufficient numbers for best immediate results with alfalfa. Indeed the observation made by Mr. J. O. Hays in our fertilizer experiment on gray prairie land in Greene county, pre^doush' referred to, seems to indicate that there is an advantage, at least during the first few mouths of growth, in inoculating alfalfa on some lime land. In 1902, on land which had been used as a pas- ture for a number of years, he reports that on the six- months-old inoculated alfalfa plants tubercles were 31 abuudaiit, wlille up to tliat time none liad been found on the plots not inoculated. Relative to a similar experiment in 1903, lie writes under date of pTune 13, 1903, as follows: "I inoculated all plots except No. 8, which seems to be the poorest of any of thein.'" In view of Dr. Hopkins' conclusions, we can now rec- ommend that earth from an old melilotu's field be used for inoculating- alfalfa, where this is decidedly more convenient tlian to use earth from alfalfa or bur clover fields or than the pure culture of the laboratory. TIME TO sow. The following is a summary of results of sowing al- falfa on the station farm during the eight years tliat work has been under the writer's charge : We liave records of fall sowings on ten different dates. In everv case when alfalfa was sown broadcast after November 1, the stand was mined by cold. In one case alfalfa sown as early as October 7, (1901), was al- most completely winter killed. Plants from seed sown as early as September 13 (1900), and as late as October 29 (1899) survived the winter, although in other years a considerable proportion of the sowings made in late October resulted disastrously. We have records of eight dates of spring sowing of alfalfa on the station farm. These point to the first half of March as better than a later date. In our co-operative experiments with alfalfa in 1903- 1904, arranged for in nearly every county in the State, fall sowing was made undulv late by drought, and cold weather came on unusually early, and has been unusual- ly continuous. ]Moreover, in most cases there wasi in- sufficient moisture to cause the young plants to grow 32 rapidly. Under these conditions, it is estimated from reports thus far received that in considerably more than half the experiments the stand of alfalfa was ruin- ed. These reports afford an jjnteresting comparison of the relative hardiness towards cold of the young plants of alfalfa, crimson clover and hairy vetch. The first two, when vei'y young, are almost equally sensitive to cold, while haiiy vetch is much hardier in this respect than either. Alfalfa has been successfully sown in Alabama, both in the early fall and in the early sprihg. The principal advantages of fall sowing are the following: (1.) A larger yield of hny obtainable the first sum- mer ; (2.) Less danger of having the alfalfa overtaken and crowded out by crab grass and weeds; (3.) Use of teams in preparation for alfalfa in Aug- ust and September, when they would not be employed iii preparing for the usual crops. The chief advantages of spring sowing are as follows : (1.) Freedom from risk of winter killing, to which fall sown alfalfa, especially that sown late, is liable. (2.) Opportunity to sow alfalfa after cotton, the best of the hoed crops to precede it ; (3.) Usual better condition of the land for plowing in December and January than in August and Septem- ber. Each reader must contract these opposibg advantages in the light of his own conditions. By far the larger proportion of alfalfa sown in Alabama on prairie soils is put in after Christmas, which suggests that this is 33 ffenerallT the most conveniont time. Some years it is the only practicable time, the ground being too dry and hard in the early fall. Several extensive growers of al- falfa who sow chiefly in the spring, nevertheless express a preference for fall sowing when there is sufificient moisture for thorough preparation and for sowing early in the fall. Fall sowing should occur at a date early enough to permit the roots to penetrate deeply before freezes be- gin, and thus to anchor the plants against heaving. Not only are young alfalfa plants easily heaved or lifted out of the soil by alternate freezes and thaws, but the very 3'oung plants are otherwise and more directly injured by severe cold following mild weather. In Central Alabama we would recommend that fall sowing be done, if practicable, from September 15 to October 15, with the preference for the earlier part of this period. While a date as late as November 1 oc- casionally gives success, the risk of winter killing is then too great. If alfalfa cannot be sown before Octo- ber 15 in central Alabama, we would recommend that sowing be postponed until March. The safest period for spring sowing is from March 1 to 20. Some sow on prairie land as early as February 20, but from Febiiiary sowing at least one instance of loss of stand from cold has come under our notice. While seed sown in April sometimes succeed, the suc- cess is less uniform than with March sowing. The more weedy the land the stronger the reason foi' fall sowing. PREPARATION. There is no field crop that pays better for thorough preparation than alfalfa. The man who is content to prepare land for alfalfa as he would for oats had best 3 34 leave this crop to some one else. The plowing for al- falfa should be deep and thorough and it is highly pro- bable that subsoiling on praiiie and other stiff land would be more profitable for alfalfa than for any other field crop. Harrowing must be done, not once, but from two to four or more times, according to the condition of the land. Usually two liarrowings with a disc har- row and two with a tootli liarrow (including the one given after sowing the seed) will suffice. Harrowing for fall sowing will be most effective if done within a few hours after plowing. For spring sowing this is less imperative. It is important that be- tween the time of plowing and the time of sowing a suffi- cient interval should elapse for rains to compact or set- tle the soil. If sufficient railn does not fall to settle the soil, this should be done by repeated use of roller or weighted drag. One of the most common causes of fail- ure to secure a satisfactory stand in alfalfa growing consists in having the soil too loose at planting time. For fall sowing plowing should occur at least several weeks before the seed are to be sown. If alfalfa is to be sown about the first of March the plowing nia,y be done iiu November or December, or January, more satis- factorily than just before planting. Land plowed be- fore Ghristnms will only need to have the surface layer freshened with the harrow at the time of sowing. While the above statements embody the general ex- perience, success siometimes attends the sowing of the seed immediately after plowing. A farmer in the north- eastern part of Texas who has many hundred acres of alfalfa, describes his method of preparation of black prairie for alfalfa as follows : "I use a disc plow Avith four good mules, run a subsoil plow drawn by six mules eighteen inches deep behind the disc. Then I follo\v with a disc harrow with four mules, then float 35 the land with an iniplemeut eight or niiaie feet long and five feet wide, made by 2xG's spiked together; six mules draw this. I can reverse the float, turn it over and use it to level the land in rough places. I am not yet ready to seed this land prepared in this way. I must have a rain on it that will settle it and take the air cells out. Then, with a light toothed harrow I break the surface, sow the seed with a a\ heelbarrow seeder and cover with a light harrow followed by a heavy steel roller. Good black land seeded in this way will return .|J:0 or |50 per acre everv vear, at verv little cost for labor." One grower in West Alabama subsoiled his land for alfalfa last fall, but it is too early for the effects of subsoiling to become apparent.. One grower in the same neighborhood harrowed his land seven times, an extreme case. Others report satif.- faction from one or two harrowing."^, a number often insufficient. It should be lK)rne in mind that preparation for alfalfa is expect- ed to suflice for from three to twenty years, and should therefore be thorough. .SOWI\(i r.KOADCAST VEKSl'S l.\ WIDE DRILLS. It is maintained by some parties that in the Gulf States drilling alfalfa, with such distance between rows as to permit of cultivation, will be more satisfactory than l)roadcast planting. In three experiments at Au- burn and in one at Uniontown, drilling was unsatisfac- tory. On the station farm at Auburn it was found diffi- cult in planting by hand in drills to avoid covering the seed too deep, and it was found that the amount of cul- tivation required to keep the grass and weeds subdued in drilled alfalfa was greater than it is practicable to give to a hav field. On the Oanebrake experiment farm at Uniontown, 36 where the drills were about 24 inches apart and no cul- tivation given, crab grass and weeds crowded the al- falfa more than in the portion of the field sown broad- cast. However, for a small patch of alfalfa kept for feed- ing green, drilling and cultivation may be necessary and feasible, especially on highl3' fertilized sand}^ soils filled with the seeds of crab grass and weeds. Planting in vei*3^ narrow drills by the use of grain drills is a favorite method in alfalfa-growiug states. This of course does not permit of cultivation. SOWING. Most of the successful growers of alfalfa in Alabama have used about 20 pounds of seed per acre, and this is the amount that has invariably been used on the station farm at Auburn. Capt. John C. Webb uses 40 pounds The excellent stand obtained in 1903 at the Canebrake station resulted from sowing a little more than 20 pounds per acre. One grower in Alabama reports the use of 30 pounds, or half a bushel of seed. Yet this grower is one who most emphasizes the presence of large amounts of crab grass and fox tail grass, indicating that sowing large amounts of seed is not always effect- ive in crowding out weeds, though it has that tendency. If ten or more acres are to be sown, it is best to use one of the ordinary patterns of seed sowers instead of sowing by hand. The Cahoou is the one used at this station, and this seems to be in most general use in this State. One grower makes use of the seed attachment to the disc grain drill, a method which is common and satisfactory in states where this machine is in general use. When alfalfa seed are sown by hand, the most even distribution is obtained by dividing the seed into two parts and going over the land twi'ce. 37 In Alabama alfalfa should be sown alone and not with grain, which is so much used as a nurse crop for alfalfa, clover and grasses in the North and West. In covering alfalfa the procedure must necessarilv differ according to local conditions, the preparation of the land, and the state of the weather. The most com- mon custom in Alabama is to cover Avith a spike tooth harrow, teeth inclined backward. An equally good or better wry employed by a few gTowers is to cover the seed with a weeder, which affords a more sliallow cover- ing than any form of harrow. A carefully made brush drag can also be used, but either of the preceding imple- ments is preferable. We have found it advantageous when the land is dry to use the roller immediately after sowing and then to use the haiTow or weeder. This order could be reversed, but at the risk of having the rolled surface transfonued into a dense crust, should a heavy rain fall occur before the seed germinate. Co- bum, an authority on alfalfa, advises that when from any cause a crust has been formed prior to the appear- ance of young plants, that this crust should be broken with weeder or harrow, even at the risk of briufrinur some of the sprouting seed to the surface. It pays to buy the best alfalfa seed, even though they should cost several cents more than inferior seed. Im- ported as well as old should be avoided. So far as this information can be obtained, it is desirable to purchase »eed grown in regilons where love vine (dodder) is not abundant. In anv case it is advisable to buv seed that have been run through a machine that is claimed to be able to remove the seed of dodder. As indicating the need of buying the best alfalfa seed, even at an increas- ed price, one of the farmers who is conducting one of our alfalfa experiments in Wilcox county, under the 38 writer's direction, reports as follows, imder date of January 23, 1904 : "All the seed sent from Washington came up readily to a good stand. * * * The seed we bought did not make a 15 per cent, stand." To test the germinating power of alfalfa, dampen two small pieces of cloth ; place 100 seed between the two pieces of cloth. Then put tlie whole thing in a plate or saucer, cover it, and leave it in a warm room, repeatedly moistening the cloth before it dries. Count the seed that sprout within ten days. BEST CROPS TO PRECEDE ALFALFA. A crop selected to get land in best condition for al- falfa should be one that either leaves the land clean and unusually free from weeds and weed seed, or one that adds vegetable matter, and hence enricbes the soil. Cotton fulfills the first requirement, and cow peas or melilotus the second. The land that is to be sown in alfalfa next fall should be sown thickly in a running variety of cow peas in May, 1 1-2 to 2 bushels per acre. The vines should be cured for hay about a month or more before the time for planting alfalfa. On soil very deficient in vegetable matter it may be profitable to plow under the entire growth of cow peas. If the latter plan is followed, this mass of material should be plowed under in ample time for rotting to occur, or from 40 to 60 clays before the date of planting. When green vege- tation is plowed under at this season it is desirable to compact the soil with the roller or heavy drag, other- wise this vegetable matter before rotting will injurious- ly dry out the soil by preventing the ri^e of capillary moisture from the moist subsoil. On soils deficient in lime tlie lime necessary for alfalfa can be applied before 39 the j>Teeu growth of cow peas is turned imder, thus has- teninji rottius and obviatiuo: the souriuji: effect that might otherwise occur. Melih)tus furnishes vegetable mat- ter and nitrogen for alfalfa, and also by means of the decay of its large and deeply penetrating roots assists in the drainage of prairie soils. It is advisable to let one carefully worked cotton crop, intervene! between the turning under of the second yeai's' growth of melilotus and the sowing of alfalfa seed. This interval permits the owner to free the land from any volunteer plants of melilotus and from weeds. JOHNSON GRASS LAM> KOU Al-FAI-FA. One of tlie important advantages of alfalfa is its ability to grow in land too thickly set with Johnson grass for the profitable cultivation of corn or even of cotton. By the introduction of alfalfa or hairy vetch into a Johnson grass meadow, the soil will be to some extent enriched in nitrogen, the nutritive quality of the hay improved, and the total yield of hay increased. An effort was made by correspondence with leading growers, to learn whether the successful growth of al- falfa in Johnson grass meadows was conditional upon such preparation of the land as would kill a large part of the Johnson grass. Tlie general experience is that alfalfa thrives in old Johnson grass meadows even when the preparation for alfalfa is such as would ordi- narilv improve the orowtli of Johnson grass. The ver- diet was almost unanimous that Johnson grass did not crowd out the alfalfa in the second or third year after the alfalfa was i-own. Those with the longest experi- ence ^\^'Ye as emphatic as others in stating that alfalfa was quite equal to a contest with Johnson gi-ass, hnd some growers even stated that the alfalfa was tending 40 to crowd out the Jolinson grass. When alfalfa is sown in land stocked witli Johnson grass, fall sowing gives the alfalfa an advantage over its competitor. A still further means of giving the ascendency to alfalfa con- sists in breaking the Johnson gTass land and sowing thickl}' with cow peas, cutting the cow peas and John- son grass for hay, and turning under the stubble a month or more before sowing alfalfa seed. PRINCIPAL ENEMIES OF ALFALFA. Among these first rank must be given weeds and weedy grasses, chief among which is crab grass. Crab grass and absence of tubercles have been responsible for the majority of failures that have come under the writer's observation. Other weeds that have given trouble in al- falfa on the station farm are evening primrose, morning glories, pepper grass, and even lespedeza or Japan clover. Among weeds most troublesome in prairie regions are crab grass, Bermuda gTass, Sida spinosa, (a rather low branched weed with small yellow flowers and solid leaves), morning glories, fox tail grass, prairie or wire grass, horse nettle, and cow itch vines. The only method known for decreasing injury from weeds is one of prevention rather than cure. The in- jury from weeds is best prevented by growing just be- fore alfalfa, cotton or some other crop requiring care- ful cultivation. The avoidance of manure made fix)m feeding hay abounding in weed seeds is also advisable. Manure from cattle fed on cotton seed meal and hulls is the best kind for alfalfa. Fall sowing is one of the best means of enabling alfalfa to get a start and tri- umph over its many enemies among the weeds. Judi- cious use of the disc harrow and even the use of the weeder when crab grass has just appeared is sometimes helpful. 41 Dodder, which is often introduced in alfalfa seed, is a thread-like, yellow vine, feeding on and destroying- al- falfa. j\rowing and burning in place is the most conven- ient of several remedies. The most successful method of combatting weeds consists in frequent mowing during the first year, even when the alfalfa plants have not attained sufficient height for hay making. Kepeated clipping with the mower during the first summer will do much to repress weeds and to thicken the stand of alfalfa by making the plants throw out a greater number of stems. Leaf rust on alfalfa, appearing in the fonn of small black spots on the leaves, has been very destructive to alfalfa on the station farm, especially during damp weather. When it becomes serious, the best thing to do is to mow the alfalfa, the new growth usually escaping injury* for quite a while. A more fatal disease occurring on alfalfa on the sta- tion farm is a sclerotial root disease, which, however, the writer has not observed in other alfalfa fields. In- deed this root disease has been the principal cause of failure of our most promising fields of alfalfa, a large proportion of the plants in certain fields being killed by it. CLIPPING AND DISCING ALFALFA. After the young plants appear the most effective aid that can be given them is to use the mower frequently. Clip young alfalfa whenever weeds crowd it, and when- ever it rusts or turns yellow from any cause. If the growth is slight, leave the mown material on the ground as a mulch and fertilizer, provided it is of a kind that will not give trouble when hay is raked after a later cut- tins;. 42 Old alfalfa, wlio.se growth has been arrested ,and which has become unthrifty, is often benefited b}- prompt mow- ing, even though the gTowtli be too light for harvesting. The next most important treatment usually recom- mended for alfalfa more than a year old is to run a disc harrow over it when needed. This is sometimes done after each cutting, but judgment is needed in this matter. The discs are set straight so as not to cut off the plants. Discing sei^ves as a cultivation and to thicken the stand of old alfalfa. On sandy land at Auburn we have found the weeder useful in young alfalfa in killing very young grass and weeds just germinated. At Auiburn crimson clover sown early in October in old drilled alfalfa was ready for cutting at the same time as the alfalfa, and the combined yield was large. This combination is not advised except when the stand of al- falfa has become so thin that it is about time for it to be plowed under. TOLERANCE OF ALFALFA TOWARD OVERFLOWS. When excessive rains occur and poorly drained soil remains saturated for a long time, alfalfa sometimes take on a pale yellowish, sickly color. This plant is classed as among those least able to endure prolonged saturation of the soil. Yet the large yields obtained on bottom lands make it worth while to take some chances of Injury from overflows, especially on soils so drained naturally or artificially that the ground soon dries after the waters subside. An overflow does not necessarily mean the destruction of the alfalfa plants. Experience in other states indi^ cates that alfalfa may pass safely through a submerg- 43 ence of several days if all conditions are favorable. Its endurance of overfow is greater when the . water is moving thaui when it is stagnant, and greater during the cooler periods of the year than when the plant is in a more active stage of growth. The deposit of much sedi- ment on the plant, and hot, faik* weather immediately after the water passes off are conditions unfavorable to recovery, Kains, washing otf the sedilnent, are favor- able to recovery. In a bulletin of the Texas Experiment Station are cited two instances in which alfalfa in the Brazos River bottoms was under water for five or six davs in summer without the destiiiction of the stand, except where the deposit of sediment Avas great or on poorly drained areas. These are extreme cases, and refer to soil that was well drained. Mv. R. P. McEntire, of Decatur, Ala., gives his experience with overflow as follows: "In the fall of 1901 I sowed 3 acres October 15, and got a good stand. In January we had an overflow from the Tennessee River, which was out over the land for two weeks. In a few days Ave had a hard freeze. Then on February 15 we had another overflow, which lasted 10 davs. As the water went off we had another freeze. When spring opened I had something like half a stand." It would seem that one might raise alfalfa on land naturally well drained and where the OA^erflows occur chiefly in winter, and where it is unusual for the water to remain on the land as long as three or four days in winter or two days in the Avarmer part of the year. 44 HARVESTING ALFALFA. A discussion of the methods of harvesting alfalfa and of the machinery and devices employed would unduly ex- tend this bulletin. In brief, alfalfa should be cured with the shortest practicable exposure in the swartli to the sun. The leaves are the richest portion of alfalfa, and if the hay is sunned too long the leaves drop off. The pre- ferred time for cutting alfalfa is when about one-fourth in bloom, but this varies with the weather and with the thrift of the plants. SUMMARY. Alfalfa is a perennial leguminous plant, useful for ha}',, feeding green, pasturage, and for soil improve- iiie t. In nutritive qualities alfalfa stands in the front rank, and when fed to farm teams the ration of corn can be greatlv diminished. On suitable soil the vield of hay exceeds that of any other hay plant. On prairie soils in Alabama yields of more than 3 tons per acre vejc in two instance* obtained within seven months iiitvY sowing the seed, and the yield continues to increase for several years. Farmers report 3 to 5 tons per acre as the usual yield of hay per acre on prairie soil in Ala- bama, and in a number of instances these yields are greatly exceeded. Alfalfa makes an unrivaled hog pasture, and is also recommended as a pasture plant for horses and mules. Cattle and sheep sometimes bloat when grazing on al- 45 falfa. Pasturiuo-, especially diirin.ii- the first year, in- jures and sometimes kills alfalfa. Soils for alfalfa should be rich, well drained, well supplied with lime and vegetable matter. Alfalfa has been repeatedly demonstrated to be a success on the best gradesi of prairie soil on both uplands and lo^vlands. There is reason to belieTe that alfalfa will thrive on the lime soils of the Tennessee Valley region and on other- calcareous soil in Alabama, and on fertile, well drained, alluvial soils in nearly every part of the State. A crop of 4 tons of alfalfa hay contains 176 pounds of nitrogen, 40.8 pounds of phosphoric acid (equal to that in 336 pounds of high grade acid phosphate), 134.4 pounds of i>otash (equal to that in 1,075 pounds of kain- it, or in 2()9 pounds of muriate of potash, and 280 pounds of lime. To replace only the phosphoric acid and potash by commercial fertilizers an expenditure of about |8.75 would be required. The preparation of the land for alfalfa should be thor- ough, including plowing as deep as practicable, and re- peated use of disc and spike tooth harrow. Generally it is best to plow a number of weeks before the seed are to be sown. A weeder or light harrow is the preferred mode of covering the seed, which are sown broadcast at the rate of 20 pounds or more per acre. Fall planting before Oc- tober 15, when practicable, gives alfalfa a start ahead of weeds, but spring planting ( early in March ) , is usually more convenient. Alfalfa, especially that sown in the spring, requires land as free as possible from seeds of weeds, crab grass, etc. Eepeated use of the mower during the first year is the preferred method of combatting weeds in alfalfa. Planting alfalfa in drills and cultivating it may be 46 suitable for a small patch kept for feed Jig oreeu, but this system was fouud impracticable for a hay field. Usually the best crop to precede spring- sown alfalfa is cotton, especially if cotton follows melilotus (sweet clover) . The best crop to prepare the land for fall sown alfalfa is cow peas, sown very thick. Numbers of farmers have found that alfalfa thrives ^ when sown on Johnson grass meadows, holding its own, at least for the first few years, agaiiist this aggressive grass. Dodder, a yellow thread-like growth, is a serious enemy of alfalfa. One of the remedies consists in mow- ing and burning. Seed merchants often pass alfalfa seed through a machine which is claimed to remove the dodder seed. On sandy upland soils at Auburn alfalfa has not af- forded very profitable yields. On such soils it requires heavy applications of lime or barnyard manure, and it is believed that more profitable use can be made of ma- nure. At Auburn neither nitrate of soda nor cotton seed meal very greatly increase the yield of alfalfa that was properly stocked with root tubercles. Acid phosphate and potash fertilizers are considered indispensible here, and generallv advisable on sandv or other soils not rich in lime.* Inoculation with soil from old fields of either alfalfa or bur clover greatly increase the jdeld of alfalfa grow- ing on sandy land. The germ that causes tubercles to develop on sweet clover (meliltous) also causes tubercles to dcA^elop on the roots of alfalfa. Hence artificial inoculation of al- falfa is not necessar^^ Avheu it is grown on prairie land that has recently borne a crop of melilotus. Artificial I 47 inoculation of alfalfa is probably advisable even for prairie soils when it is uncertain whether either the me- lilotus or alfalfa genus are present in great numbers. In regions in Alabama where neither alfalfa, melilo- tus, nor bur clover is extensively grown, inoculation of alfalfa is advisable. Foi-^this purpose one may use soil from old fields of either of 'these plants or inoculating material prepared in the laboratory. ^U.££^ y ^ -S -/ V? ^ BULLETIN No. 128. JUNE, 1904. AL^BA.M^. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Alabama Polytechnic Institute. xVUBLTRN. Feeding and Grazing Experiments witli Beef Cattle. By J. F. DuGGAR, Director and Agriculturist. MONTGOMEKT, ALA.. THE BROWN PRINTING CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 1904. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. J. M. Carmicheal Montgomery. T. D. Samfoed Opelika. W. C. Davis Jasper. STATION COUNCIL. C. C. Thach President. J. F. DuGGAR Director and Agriculturist. B. B. Ross Cliemist. C. A. Cart Veterinarian. E. M. Wilcox Biologist. R. S . Mackintosh Horticulturist. J . T . Anderson Chemist ( Soils and Crops) . ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare First Assistant Cliemist. A. McB. Ranson Second Assistant Chemist, N . C . Rew Assistant in Animal Industry. T. Bragg Third Assistant Chemist. C. M. Floyd Superintendent of Farm. W. L. Thornton Assistant in Veterinary Science. H. O. Sargent Assistant in Horticulture. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. FEEDING AND GRAZING EXPERIMENTS WITH BEEF CATTLE. Bv J .F. DuGGAR, R. W. Clarke, and Jesse M. Jones.* Summanj. Using twenty young grade steers of the beef breeds, the following comparisons of foods were made: Cotton seed with cotton seed meal (Lots II and I) ; sorg- hum hay with a mixture of cowpea and sorghum hay, (Lots III and II); sorghum hay with shredded corn stover (Lots III and IV). The feeding period covered 84 days, in addition to preliminary feeding. In all rations a small proportion of corn chop was used. As much grain was fed as the appetites and health of the steers permitted. As much roughness was fed as the steers would eat. The average daily gain per steer was as follows : With cotton seed and cotton seed meal 2.23 lbs. With cotton seed and mixed cowpea and sorg- hum liav 1 . 93 lbs. With cotton seed and sorghum hay 1 . 19 lbs. With cotton seed and shredded corn stover 98 lbs. *R. W. Clark was Assistant in Animal Industry from September, 1899, to January, 1903, when he was promoted to a professorship in the Utah A. & M. College. Jesse M. Jones occupied the same position from January, 1903, to April, 1904, when he resigned to engage in farming in Alabama. These gentlemen had immediate charge of the experiments during the periods indicated. The Director is responsi- ble for the plans of the experiments and the preparation of this Bul- letin. 52 To produce one pound of increase in live weight there was required of concentrated food, "grain/" Avith the cot- ton seed meal rations and sorghum hay, 4.82 ll)s. ; with the mixed hay and cotton seed ration, 5.41 lbs. ; with the sorghum hay and cotton seed ration, 8.12 lbs. ; with the corn stover and cotton seed ration, 0.41 lbs. The amounts of roughness required to produce one pound of gain were, respectively, 6.56, 6.85, 11.09, and 10.23 pounds. • The cotton seed meal ration afforded the largest per cent, of dressed meat. A decline in the price of cattle while the experiment Avas in progress reduced the margin between the buying and selling prices to less than six-tenths of a cent a pound, a margin nsually too narrow for profitable feed- ing. On the basis of the very high prices of foodstuffs prevailing in the winter of 1903-4, there was with all cot- ton seed lots a profit during the first 56 days of the ex- periment, but a loss after this time with all lots, if no account be taken of the manure. On the basis of moderate prices of feed, Lot II was fed at a profit for 84 days. With low prices of food, Lots I, TI, and III afforded a profit, in addition to the manure. The profit in feeding beef cattle is made, not by pro- ducing new growth at less cost per pound than it sells for, but in the increased value of the original weight, due to fattening. A margin of one cent per pound be- tween purchase price and selling price is desirable. About 7 pounds of raw cotton seed was fed in the daily ration without injury to the health of the average steer. Account was kept of the cost of food consumed by three grade or crossbred steers. Up to the average age of 24.3 months the average steer consumed .|18.39 worth of skim milk, grain, hay, and pasturage, of which 53 amount tlio first year's food cost flO.Jto, aud that of the second year f 7.94, At 24.3 months, the average weight Avas SG7 pounds, worth at 3 cents per pound, |26.01. The average cost of food per pound of gain up to this age was 2.12 cents. [n feeding calves rice meal proved decidedly inferior to corn meal. A'Mien inferior shredded corn stover was fed to calves, 37 per cent, of it was refused, and when good shredded corn stover was fed freelv to steers, 44 per cent, of it was rejected. The waste in feeding coarse sorghum liay, slightly mouhled, to steers, averaged 20 per cent. A Jersey calf, kept stal>led until 6i/> mouths old, pro- duced manure (with accompanying bedding) at the rate of 9.4 pounds per day. Yearling steers, kept in a barn, averaged a daily pro- duction of 20 pounds of manure per day, exclusive of bedding. Yearling steers on rye pasture alone gained 1.67 lbs. daily per head. Grade calves made on pasture alone an average daily gain of .72 of a pound, or 151 pounds per season. Grade yearling steers made an average daily gain of 1.43 lbs. per day, or 307 pounds per season, on native pasturage alone, or 91 pounds of live weight per acre. This was equivalent to a rental of Jj?2.73 per acre for the land. In a co-operative experiment made on an unimproved sandy-land pasture, in Macon county, Alabama, a study was made of the rate of growth of scrub cattle that re- ceived no food, even during winter, subsisting entirely on native pasturage and the winter range, and other- wise managed in the most primitive manner. During a pasturage season of 7 months the average gains in live weight and percentage of increase as com- pared with weight in the spring, were as follows : 54 Mature cow, nursing calves, 59 lbs., or 8 per cent. Heifers (2 years old, etc.), 172 lbs., or 39 per cent. Yearlings, male and female, 103 lbs., or 38 per cent. Sucking calves, 141 lbs., or 51 per cent. Young steers and bulls, 149 lbs., or 35 per cent. Young steers weighed for two pasturage seasons in succession increased in weight 42 per cent, as yearlings, and 44 per cent, as two-year-olds. On the winter range, cattle of all ages became very thin, and in the opinion of the writers, it would have been highly profitable for the owner to have supplied them with hay and other food during the winter. The principal essentials to the profitable production of beef cattle in Alabama are the use of pure-bred bulls of the beef breeds, the economical production of hay, es- pecially from the leguminous plants, the substitution of this hay for a part of the grain ration, and an increased study of the best methods of handling and marketing cattle. J^'EEDiNG Experiment With Grade Steers. The steers used in tins experiment consisted of seven- teen head, bought at Starkville, Mississippi ; and of three head raised v.n the Station Farm at Auburn. The Miss- issippi steo's were sired by a Shorthorn bull weigliing 1700 pounds, and were out of native cows, about one- fourth of the steers showing strong evidence of Jersey blood. These streets were bet1i^•een two and three years old when bought. They reached Auburn November 5, 3903. The three steers raised on the Station Farm con- sisted of a Red Poll grade, an Angus grade, and a cross- bred Holstein -Shorthorn. 55 From November 5 to November 20 the entire lot of twenty steers subsisted on a pasture where frost had killed most of the grass on October 24. November 20 they were placed on a bare lot and the feeding of grain, (chiefly cotton seed), and sorghum hay was begun. For the first week they received only two pounds of grain per head daily, which was evidently insufficient. This amount was gradually increased. Throughout this time as much sorghum hay was fed as they would eat. Our experience with these steers confirms conclusions previously drawn that the feeding of grain to animals intended for slaughter the same winter should begin earlier in the fall than is usual or as soon as the pastures begin to fail. November and December are months in which cattle on pasture shrink rapidly, and doubtless a little grain at this time, even wliile the cattle are on pasture, will avoid this source of loss. During the entire time of the experiment each lot of cattle received as much forage as it would consume. The kinds of forage fed to each lot are stated below. An ef- fort was made to make each lot of steers consume ap- proximately the same amount of grain or concentrated food. However, this was found impracticable, but the amounts for the different lots were kept as nearly identi- cal as the appetites and health of the animals would per- mit. The forage was fed in racks above the grain trough and was not cut, nor was any of it mixed Avith the grain ration except such as dropped into the grain trough from the rack above. Tt is believed that there would have been an advantage in cutting a small part of the hay and mixing it with the grain. Feeding of both grain and hay was done twice a day. Salt was accessible constantly, and twice a day the steers were driven to a pond for water. The water 56 supply was not satisfactory, and during cold weatlier the steers would not drink sufficient water. The feeding was done under a rough shed covered with boards and Imt- tens, and boarded up on the north side. The south side was left open and each lot of steers had at all times the choice between remaining under shelter or staying in the small lots located on the south side of the feeding pen. The lots w^ere on a steep, dry, sandy and stony hill- side, well drained, and never became deep with mud. Even in wet weather the steers seemed to prefer the lot to the shed. The figures, which are not all on the same scale, show the steers as they appeared at the end of the experiment. The steers were charged with all of the forage put in- to the rack, and what they failed to eat was used as bed- ding. The amount of this refused material was deter- mined at several times and the average results are stated elsewhere. RATIONS FED. The object of this experiment was to compare, (1) Cotton seed with cotton seed meal. (Lot III and Lot L) (2) Horghum hay with a mixture of cowpea hay and sorghum hay. (Lots III and II.) (3) Sorghum hay with shredded corn stover. (Lots III and IV.) « All cotton seed was uncooked. On December 3 the twenty steers were divided into four lots, each containing five steers. In making this di- vision both the weights of the steers and their individual conformation were used as a basis for the division. It is believed that the lots were very much alike in average quality as well as in weight. The weights of Lots I, II, III, and IV on December 9 Avere respectively, 3878, 3915, 3858, ajid 3889 pounds. T^ot I . Fed cotton seed meal, corn chop, and sorghum hay. Lot II. Fed cotton seed, corn chop, and a mixture of cowpea and sorghum hay. Lot III. Fed cotton seed, corn chop, and sorghum hay. Lot IV. Fed cotton seed, corn chop, and shredded corn stover. 59 The interyal from December 3 to December 9 was con- sidered as a preliminary period, and during this time each lot was fed on the kind of food which it was to re- ceive throughout the experiment. The experiment proper began on December 9, and con- tinued for 84 days, or three periods of 28 days each. During all periods the feed for any given lot was the same in kind and nearly the same in amount, the latter being determined entirely by the health and appetite of the steers. The weight of each steer was determined at the begin- ning of the experiment by three weighings made on three successive days. Similarly, the final weight Avas the av- erage of three daily weighings. March 1, 2, and 3, 1904. The rations fed were as follows: Lot I — Cotton seed meal, two-thirds; corn chop, one- third; sorghum hay. Lot II — Cotton seed, three-fourths; corn chop, one- fourth: sorghum hay, one-half; pea vine hay, one-half. Lot III — Cotton seed, three-fourths; corn chop, one- fourth: sorghum hay. Lot IV — Cotton seed, three-fourths; corn chops, one- fourth : shredded corn stover. As much of each kind of forage was fed as the animals would consume without excessive waste. The average amount of forage wasted was as follows: Lot I — Sorghum, 17.1 per cent. Lot II — Sorghum and cowpea hay, 20.7 per cent. Lot III — Sorghum, 23.5 per cent. Lot IV — Shredded corn stover, 44.2 per cent. It will thus *be seen that the waste of hay was about one-fifth of the amount fed, while the waste of shredded corn was more than double that of hay. This wasted food, as well as that consumed, was charged against the steers. 60 A coiisklerable part of the surglium liav had passed ihrouglj a heat in the barn, and ^yas somewhat discohir- ed and sligiitly monlded. It was all coarse, having been grown in drills and cut after the seed had colored. The cow pea hav, which constituted half of the roughness fed to Lot II, was not pnre cow pea hay, bnt consisted of cow pea liaA', 61.5 per cent.; crab grass, 21:. 7 per cent.; weeds, 7.8 per cent.; dirt, (sand, etc. raked up with liav), 6 per cent. The corn stover was bright and of fairh' good quality. It had never been baled. The corn chop was too coarsely ground to serve the principal i)urpose for which intended, viz., to mix with the cotton seed in order to increase the iDalatability of the seed. Indeed, the chop used during the last three weeks of the experiment was slightly moulded and not relished, which may partly ac- count for the relativelv slow gain made at that time. The foods used were charged at the following prices, which are cost prices for purchased articles, and for home- grown forage a figure somewhat aboA^e the cost of pro- duction : (V-'tton seed, per ton ..^^ll.OO Cotton seed meal, per ton 22 . 00 Corn chop, per ton 26.00 Cow pea hay, per ton 10 . 00 Sorghum hay, ]ier ton 6.67 Shredded corn stovei', per ton .... 1 . 00 The following table gives by periods the average amount of grain and of roughness consumed by the steers in each pen, the average vreight per steer at the beginning of each period, the average gain per steer per day and per 28 days, and most imp.ortant of all, the amount of grain and of roughness required to make one pound of increase in live weight. It also gives a summary of results for the first two periods (56 days) and for the entire experiment (81 days) : 61 Arcranr results of fcediiKj c.rpcr'Diwnf iritli .steers, 190S-0',. Period I — Dec. 9-Jan. 6: i Food Der lb. Average daily ration per steer. vt. per )egin- jain per n28 Avg. daily gain per head of gain. Grain, ' Rough- ness, ■<■ ■ 2 o Grain. Rough- ness. Chief food. Avg. V steer 1 ning Avg. g steer days. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. \ 10.88 |C. S. M. & corn } 776 83.4 2.97 4.10 5.06 i { 10.41 13.3 [sorghum. ( ! Cotton seed, ( 783 63.2 2.25 5.15 6.36 II. III. IV I 9.72 ) j 9.46 12.9 |sorg. & pea. \ iCotton seed, \ 12.8 ; sorghum. j 1 Cotton seed, | 9 . 3 stover. ] 772 778 58.2 55.0 2.08 1.96 4.66 4.81 6.15 4.71 ( Period II — Jan. 6-F'eb. 3: I j 11.2 "i4!8' C. S. M. sorghum. Cotton seed 1 859 846 65.4 66.4 2.20 2.38 4.79 4.37 6.38 5.45 II. in. IV 1. \ 10.1 ( "9.3 I 12.9 12.9' "9^9' sorg. and pea. C. Seed, sorghum. C. Seed stover. 830 833 25.6 14.6 .91 .52 10.99 17.9.1 14.14 18.90 Periods I-II — 56 days: I. j":.. 14. II. S 10.4 'l2.''d' Ill [ 9.91 12.9 IV. \ 9.38 } gie C. S. Meal sorghum. C. seed, sorg. and peas C. seed, sorghum. C. seed, corn stover. 148.8 129.6 83.8 69.6 2.511 4.25 2.31| 4.49 1.50 6.60 1.24 7.57 5.45 5.57 8.59 7.68 Period III— F eh. 3-March 3: I. II. Ill IV, ( 10.4 I |C. S. Meal, I I 15.8 Isorghum. I 10.5 I |C. seed, ) I 13 . 8 I sorg & cowpea. \ 9.3 I |C. seed, j ] 13.9 I sorghum . j 8.9 I |C. seed; ) I 11.0 Istover. 920 913 855 849 43.2 32.2 16.4 12.8 1.52 1.15 .58 .45 7.19 9.09 15.89 19.43 11.43 12.02 23.74 24.06 62 Three Periods — S-'t days : o o Average daily ration per steer. Grain. Rough- ness. Chief food. . bO f a; ^•^ til a3 ^ > dj c ^.4 -^^ '^ < CO C u a ■;;5 ^ TO q; 2 (j3 0; Pood per lb. of gain. I II, III IV. 10.8 *]0.43| "i.'to "'9.'22 . . |C. S. meal, 14 . 6 sorghum. C. seed, sorg. and peas. C. seed, sorghum. C. seed, corn stover 13.2 13.2 10.' Lbs. Lbs. 192. 161.8 100.2 82.4 Lbs. I Lbs. 2.23 4.82 1.93 1.19 .98 5.41 8.12 9.41 Lbs. 6.56 6.85 11.09 10.23 The most important portion of the above tables is the snmmary giving the results of 84 days. From this we observe that to produce one pound of increase in live weight required : Rough- Grain, ness. Lot I, fed cotton seed meal, sorghum hay, etc 4.82 6.56 Lot TI, fed cotton seed, cow pea and sorg- hum hav, etc 5 . 41 6 . 85 Lot III, fed cotton seed, sorghum hay, etc.8.12 11.09 Lot IV, fed cotton seed, corn stover, etc ... 9 . 41 10 . 23 This clearly indicates the superiority of cotton seed meal compared with an equal weight of cotton seed ; the superiority of mixed cow pea and sorghum hay over sorghum bay; and the great advantage of the ration con- taining cow pea hay as compared with those in which the roughness consisted of sorghum or corn stover. In rapidity of gains the rations stand in the same rank. The average daily gain per steer was as follows : Lot 1, cotton seed meal, sorghum, etc 2 . 23 lbs. Lot II, cotton seed, cow pea and sorghum, etc. 1.93 lbs. Lot III, cotton seed, sorghum, etc 1.19 lbs. Lot IV, cotton seed, corn stover, etc 98 lbs. 63 Effect of Feed on Quality of Steers. The steers were sold in the lots at Auburn to Phillips & IJnnjermaiin, Packers, Birmingham, Alabama. Naturally there was considerable individual difference between the steers, so that the differences in the price put upon each by the packers are not entirely chargeable to the food used. The packers' estimate of the value of the steers fed on the different rations is shown Iw the following table, giving the selling prices. Prices of steers icJien sold. oi CO i xi ::^ JS C x; aj — 6 Principal foods fed. -t-> o 6<-^ d-^ 6) per cent. In other words, (in this basis alone, tlie luicker conld liave afforded to i>ay a preniinni of one-fonrtli cent per |)ound oross for Lot I, in comparis(;n with Lot III. It is bnt fair to add that if Mac weights in Bir]uin!.iham conld have been ascertained the percentages of dressed nii^at wonld doitbtless have ranged C(nisiderably higher. Fl XAXCIAL IvETURXS. For o() aid for this larger and more uniform lot of cattle in ^Mississippi. During the period between the purchase of these cattle, in November, 1903, and their sale, in ]March, 1904, to a packing house in Birmingham, Alabama, the prices of cattle fell. The estimated decline in the price of cattle of this grade Avas about i/.c per pound. Hence, under normal conditions and with a market neither ad- vancing nor declining, we should have realized i-iC more X3er pound than the cattle actually l)rought, which would have given a fair profit on eacii of the four lots. The price paid in our lots at Auburn was Sy-> cents ])(']• pound for the best ten steers, 314 cents per pound for the five steers ranking next, and 3 cents per pound for the five poorest steers. Bince the sains made bv most of the steers wevv (luite unsatisfactory during the third period, and since this is 65 believed to have been laroelv due to the inferior quality (mouldiness) of the corn chop purchased, we have cal- culated the financial returns at the end of 56 days' feed- ing, as well as at the end of 84 days' feeding. For the 56 days embraced in the first two periods of the experiment, the financial results were as follows : Lot I: To 3878 lbs. live weight, at 2%c $106.64 To 3948 lbs. sorghum hay, at $6.67 per ton 13.16 20.54 lbs. cotton seed meal, $22 per ton 22.60 1025 lbs. corn chop, $26 per ton 13.33 155.73 By 4602 lbs. live weight, at 3VjC and ZV^o $153.69 Loss on 5 steers in 56 days 1 . 84 Lot II: To 3915 lbs. live weight at 2-v,c $107.58 To 1805 lbs. cowpea hay, at $10 per ton., 9.02 1805 lbs. sorghum hay, at $6.67 per ton 6.02 1940 lbs. cotton seed, at $14 per ton 10.88 970 lbs. corn chop, at $26 per ton 12.61 146.11 By 4563 lbs. live weight at S^^c 159.71 Gain on 5 steers in 56 days 13.60 Lot III: To 3858 lbs. live weight, at 334c $106.10 To 3608 lbs. sorghum hay, at $6.67 per ton 12.03 1844 lbs. cotton seed, at $14 per ton 12 91 923 lbs. corn chop, at $26 per ton 12.00 143.04 By 4277 lbs. live weight, at 3^4 and 3c.. $132.40 Loss on 5 steers in 56 days 10. 64 Lot IV: To 3889 lbs. live weight, at 2%c $106.95 To 2676 lbs. shredded corn stover, at $4.. 5.35 1756 lbs. cotton seed, at $14 12.29 878 lbs. com chop, at $26 11.41 136.20 By 4237 lbs. live wt, at 31/2, 314, and 3c $138.78 Gain on 5 steers in 56 days 2.58 66 In this period of 56 days there is a profit of |13.60 from tlie lot fed on a mixture of cowpea and sorghum hay and cotton seed ; a profit of |2.58 from the lot fed on corn stover and cotton seed ; a slight loss from Lot III, the lot fed an cotton seed meal ; and a considerable loss from- the lot fed on cotton seed and sorghum hay. For 84 da ijs.— During the third period of 28 days, the cattle in all lots made very slight gains, largely due, it is believed, to the poor quality of the corn chop fed during the last three weeks of the experiment. Hence the unsatisfactory results of the third period greatly reduce the financial returns for the entire experiment of 84 days. Financial returns for 5 steers per lot for 84 days ivith low, medium, and high prices of foodstuffs. Low. Cotton seed, per ton Cotton seed meal per ton Corn chop, per ton Cowpea hay, per ton Sorghum hay, per ton . . Shredded corn stover, ton $10.00 18.00 20.00 5.00 4.00 2.50 Medium. High. S12.00 20.00 23.00 7.50 5.00 3.25 $14.00 22.00 26.00 10.00 6.67 4.00 Lot I By 5 steers, selling price. . To fi steers, bought at 'i%c To food fed Profit or I,o«s. Lot II. By 5 steers, selling price. . To 5 steers, bought at 2%c. To food fed Profit or Loss. Lot III. By 5 steers, selling price. . To .5 steers, bought at 2%c To food fed Profit or Loss Lot IV. By 5 steers, selling price . , To a steers, bought at 2%c To food fed Profit or Loss Dr. 106 64 .5.5 . 55 Or. 164 47 Profit 107 58 39.81 Profit 106.10 36.56 8.37 iOii 95 29.50 2.2H 166 35 19.86 134 29 Loss 139 55 ProfitI 3.10 Dr. 106 64 64 03 «.20 107.58 47 94 Profit 106.10 44.38 16.19 106 95 32.99 0.39 Cr. 164.47 Loss 166 25 10.73 134.29 Loss.. 139 55 iLoss. Dr, 106 64 74 . 55 16.72 107..'S8 60 31 0 64 106.10 53 24 2o.05 106 95 41.38 8.78 Cr. 164.47 Loss 166 . 25 Loss.. 134.29 Loss.. 139.55 Loss. 67 At the abnormally high prices of feed prevailing dur- ing the past winter, there was a financial loss with every lot of steers fed for 84 days. .On a basis of medium prices for food stuffs on the farm, Lot II, fed on mixed cowpea and sorghum hay, cotton seed, and corn chop, afforded a profit of |10.73, in addition to the value of the manure, all other lots entailing a loss. With un- usually low prices for food, every lot, except Lot III, af- forded a profit, Lot II leading. Whatever the price of feed the ration of mixed cowpea and sorghum hay, cotton seed, and corn chop, was the most profitable. As before stated, the fall in the price of fat cattle be- tween the time of purchase and of sale of these cattle was about half a cent per pound. Had there been a sta- tionary, instead of a declining market, there would have been an additional credit of at least |20 for each lot, or sutficieiit to make a profit on every lot except Lot III, with food stuff's at the highest rating. The production of beef in the South should be thought of as two distinct lines of business, which may be com- bined on one farm or \\'hich may be entirely separate. These divisions are: (1) The growing of cattle from the time of conception until the animal has reached stifii- cient size to be fed or finished for market, which is usu- ally when a grade of the beed breeds is between two and three years of age; (2) Feeding or finishing cattle, usu- allv between two and three vears. The first operation to be most highly profitable re- quires an abundance of good pasturage and the almost exclusive reliance on foods grown on the farm, many of which could not be marketed at all unless first con- verted into some form of livestock. In feeding operations on the other hand, use can often be made of purchased 68 food, especially of cotton seed meal. But even in feed- ins cattle in winter there will be, as a rule, most clear profit to the farmer who utilizes crops raised on his own land, for example, such foods as were fed in this experi- ment to Lot III. It is generally recognized in states where immense numbers of beef cattle are fed for market from 4 to 5 months, that the profit consists chiefly in buying cattle at a low price per pound and in selling them when fat- tened at a considerably higher price per pound. It is a common saying that the difference between the buying and the selling price must be at least one cent per pound if the feeder is to obtain a satisfactory profit in addition to the manure. Keaders are cautioned against concluding that a cer- tain feeding operation is unprofitable simply because every pound of increase in live weight has cost more than the same pound will sell for. The profit lies chiefly in the enhanced value of every pound of the animal's weight when feeding was begun, an increase in value due to the superior quality (or degree of fatness) of the fin- ished steer. The following example of a steer weighing 900 pounds when feeding was begun, may make this im- portant statement clearer : Dr. Cr. To cost of feed, 100 days, at 12c per day $12.00 By value of 200 lbs. increase in wt, at 3i-^c $7.50 By increased value of original wt. 900 lbs. at Ic 9.00 $16.50 Profit $^-50 $16.50 Here the feed cost more than the value of the increas- ed weight, or one pound of gain cost 6 cents, but sold for only 3V2C. Yet this transaction was directly profitable, to 'sav nothing of the indirect profit from the manure 69 and from the utilization of food that Avould otherwise have been wasted. The essentials to the highest profit in producing beef in Alabama are : (1) The use of thoroiighhred bulls of the beef breeds, and, as soon as practicable, of dams having some beef blood ; ( 2 ) Abiuidance of good pastures ; (3) Economical production on the farm of cowpea, sorghum, and other hay, and other foods needed in win- tering cattle; (4) Intrusting the care of cattle to men who have studied the business both of crop production and of feeding; (5) Increased attention to marketing, including the raising of sucli numbers of beeves and of such quality as will be worth shipping in carload lots to the best mar- kets North or South; equitable freight rates; increased appreciation on the part of local butchers of the super- ior value of well bred and well fattened beeves ; and co- operation in selling and shipping. Health of the Steers. This was good throughout the experiment, with the exception of an occasional case of scouring. The conclusion was drawn that for these particular lots of steers fed the specified kinds of roughness ad lihitum it is not safe to feed more than 7.5 pounds of cotton seed meal per day per steer to steers fed as those in Lot I, nor more than 7.8 pounds of raw cotton seed to Lot II, nor more than 7.5 pounds of raw cotton seed to Lot III, nor more than 6.9 pounds of raw cotton seed to Lot IV, which also received corn stover. Although corn stover is considered as constipating, jet cotton 70 seed, a verv laxative focxl, had to be fed in smaller aiuoiints with the above named ronj^hness than when fed with cow pea hay and sorghum, both of which are considered more laxative than the stover. Our experi- ence that between 7 and 8 pounds is the maximum daily ration of raw cotton seed which can be safely fed to steers, without inducing scouring, agrees closely w^ith results at the Oklahoma Station, where the maximum amount recommended was 8 pounds. (Okla. Sta. Bui. No. 58, p. 37). Manure produced. — As elsewhere stated, the steers spent far more time in the yards than under shelter, and most of the manure dropped in the yards was lost, due to drainage of lots. About a week after the steers were sold, all the ma- nure lying under the sheds and also the thick layer of manure extending out about six feet from the sheds was weighed before being hauled to the fields. Tlie total amount hauled out from the four sheds aggregated 29,- 600 pounds of excellent manure. Making allowance for that produced during the preliminary period, it is estimated that about 27,000 pounds was produced dur- ing the 84 days of the experiment proper. In other words there was saved from the sheltered manure about 161/2 pounds of manure per steer daily, and doubtless the amount wasted was much greater. No bedding was used except the rejected stems of the hay and stover. Bedding should have been used. At |2.00 per ton the manure saved would average an additional credit of $6.75 per lot. Cost of Producing Beef. To afford final conclusions as to the cost of produc- ing beef, it will be necessary to raise a number of ani- mals in different years and under widely different con- ditions. However, the following data based on the re- 71 suits with three steers is offered as a preliminary con- tribiitioij to our knowledge on this subject. An account Avas kept of the amount of food consum- ed by eacl) of three calves from the age of two or three weeks until taken from the pasture at the end of the second grazing season, November 1, 1903, when we were offered 3 cents per pound for them by a local butcher. These animals were Dangus, a steer sired by a register- ed Angus, and out of a large cow that seemed to be about 1/2 Jersey; Toom, a steer sired by a registered Red Poll bull, and out of a large native cow, apparently a Shorthorn grade; Holstein, a cross-bred Shorthorn Holstein. All of these were dropped between Septem- ber 21 and December 17, 1901. The history of these in- dividuals is as follows : For the first one or two weeks after birth the calves, then belonging to private indi- viduals, subsisted on the milk afforded by one teat of the dam. One of these calves, Holstein, dropped on the Station Farm, was never allowed to suck, but Avas fed for the first few weeks on whole milk or part whole milk. The account for food stands as follows : Dangus — Dr. Cr. 2009 lbs. skimmed milk, at Xic $5.02 172 lbs. bran and corn meal, first winter, at Ic 1.72 214 lbs. leguminous hay, first winter, at i^c 1.07 180 lbs. grain, first spring at Ic 1.80 Eight months' pasturage at 25c 2.00 294 lbs. cotton seed, second winter, at %c 1.84 132 lbs. cotton seed meal and wheat bran, second win- ter, at Ic 1.32 399 lbs. hay, second winter, at l-3c 1.33 86 lbs. green rye. at i^c 11 81/^ months' pasturage, at 30c 2 . 55 To cost of food up to age of 25 months 18.76 By weight at 25 months (Nov. 1, '03) 888 lbs. at 3c. . 26.64 Excess of value over cost of feed 7.88 $26.64 $26.64 Cost of food per pound of live weight, 2.11c. 72 Toom (Yn Red Poll) — ^ '-^ Dr. Cr. 2100 lbs. skim milk, at 14c $5/25 131 lbs. wheat bran, first winter, at Ic 1.31 248 lbs. rice meal, first winter and spring, at %c 1.55 311 lbs. leguminous hay, first winter, at y2C 1.55 8 months' pasturage, at 25c 2 . 00 361 lbs. cotton seed, second winter, at %c 2. 25 180 lbs. wheat bran and cotton seed meal, second win- ter, at Ic 1-80 484 lbs. sorghum hay, second winter, at l-3c 1.61 86 lbs. green rye, at %c 11 8^/^ months' pasturage at 30c 2.55 To total cost of feed to 25 months 19 . 98 By 848 lbs. live weight, at 3c 25.44 Excess of value of steer over cost of feed 5.46 $25.44 $25.44 Cost of food per pound of live weight, 2.35c. Holsteinr^lLorthorn — 1554 lbs. skim milk, at 14c 3 . 88 144 lbs. wheat bran and corn meal first winter, at Ic. . 1.44 150 lbs. leguminous hay at %c 75 8 months' pasturage, at 25c 2 . 00 374 lbs. cotton seed, second winter, at %c 2.35 200 lbs. wheat bran and corn meal, 2nd winter, at Ic. 2.00 393 lbs. corn stover, second winter, at l-5c 79 51 lbs. vetch hay, second winter, at i^c 26 84 lbs. green rye, at i^^c -11 8% months' pasturage at 30c. 2. 55 27 lbs. cotton seed meal at 1.1c 30 To total cost of feed to 23 months 16.43 By 865 lbs. live weight at 3c 25 . 95 Excess of value over cost of feed 9.52 $25.95 $25.95 Cost of food per pound live weight, 1.9c. From the above financial statement, it will be seen that at the high prices of recent years, the total average cost of food eaten by each animal from the age of two to four weeks until 24.3 months old, averaged |18.39, and that the value of tlie averaoe steer at this age, weis^hin,^ 867 pounds, was |26.01. This gives an average differ- ence of |7.62 between cost of food and selling price, and must cover the cost of the calf at 2 to 4 weeks old, and other items of expense, A much more favorable financial showing could have been made had not each of these steers been used in feed- ing experiments during each of two winters. There was no spcial effort to grow the animals as economically as possible when economy conflicted with experimenta- tion as to the comparative value of foods. It is planned to grow in future a lot of grade beef calves with the pri- mary object of producing beef as cheaply as the condi- tions at Auburn permit, and we are confident that with this end in view the cost can be greatlv reduced below the figures given above by the following changes in the method of handing the animals: (1) By decreasing the amount of grain in winter and the substitution for it of leguminous hay and winter pas- tures. (2) By, the use of cheaper grain food, chiefly cotton seed. (3) By causing the calves to be dropped after Christ- mas and keeping them only two winters if they are ready for market. In order to make it easier for each reader to draw his own conclusions from the data above and to place his own local prices on the foods used, the following sum- mary of the average amounts of food consumed per ani- mal up to the age of 24.3 months, has been prepared. 74 Average amount of food consumed hij grade steers from age of 2 to 4 iveeks to age of 24.S months. Fir^t year — 1888 poimds skim milk. 258 pounds grain. 225 pounds liay 8 months' pasturage. Second year — 480 pounds grain, chiefly cotton seed. 1276 pounds sorghum hay and corn stover. 8I/0 months' pasturage. From the above detailed data previously noted we learn that the average cost of feed and pasturage for a steer up to the age of 24.3 months was |18.39. Of this, the cost incurred during the first year for calves dropped in the fall was |10.45 ; the cost of food and pasturage the second year was |7.94. The average cost of food per pound of live weight was 2.12 cents, which cost could have been reduced if the prime object in feeding these animals had continually been the cheapest production of beef. EiCE Meal versus Corn Meal for Calves. Calves dr<:>pped in the fall of 1901 were used in this experiment. They Avere grades of the beef breeds. Each calf was fed a moderate ration of skim milk, as much iespedeza (Japan clover) hay as it would eat, and as much of the grain mixture named below as it Avould eat without waste. The calves were first fed for nearly two months on the ration which each was to receive during the experiment proper. Dviring these two months the amount of grain eaten was small, and especially during this time the rice meal 75 proved decidedly inferior in palatability to the corn meal. Indeed, it was impossible to make the calves eat sufficient of the rice meal, so that it became necessary to use wheat bran as one-third of the weight of the rice meal ration, and of course wheat bran likewise consti- tuted one-third of the corn meal mixture. The experimental period proper extended from Janu- ary 1 to April 2, 1902, a period of ninety-one days. The detailed records for each calf are given in the table be- low: Rice meal versus corn meal for calves. ( Name. Grain, Hay, lbs. s a. CO 2>^ Breed. Rice meal lot — Toora Foxella 153 252 237 1620 300 417 180 195 152 137 Red Poll Angus Total 405 537|2037| 375| 289 Corn meal lot — Andrew Dangus 261 138 306 214 475 1609 192 125 150 200 V2 Angus Angus Total 399 1 520 20841 317 350! The calves receiving rice meal made an average daily gain per head of 1.6 pounds, while the lot eating corn meal averaged 1.9 pounds per head. To make one pound of increase in live weight, the fol- lowing amounts of food were needed : Rice Corn meal. meal. Lbs. grain required to make 1 lb. of gain. . .1.40 1.24 Lbs. hay required to make 1 lb. of gain 1.85 1.49 Lbs. skim milk required to make 1 lb. gain. 7.04 5.70 76 From the figures given above it will be seen that corn meal was decidedly superior to rice meal in giving more rapid growth, and in requiring a smaller amount of food per pound of growth. Corn meal is also superior in com- position and palatability. The rice meal used evidently consisted partly of ground rice hulls. After an experience of five months in feeding rice meal to calves, we are led to the conclusion that it is not an especially desirable food for calves. However, the gains made bv these calves on rice meal indicate that when the price is very much cheaper than that of corn that it may be thus used. A briefer experience in feeding rice polish suggests that it may be found to be a very desirable food for calves, as also we have found it for hogs. Shredded Corn Stover versus Sorghum Hay. During the winter of 1902-03 an experiment was be- gun to determine the relative values of shredded corn stover and sorghum hay, using yearling cattle, most of which were grades of the beef breeds. The experiment was interrupted by sickness of two of the animals, which was not due to the feed. In the fifty days before this in- terruption the rate of daily gain was much greater with the sorghum lot than with those fed the corn stover. The latter was of medium to poor quality and was decidedly unpalatable. Of the corn stover offered, 37 per cent, remained un- eaten in the troughs, although this food was fed in such limited quantities as to make the animals consume as large a proportion of it as possible. During a part of the time the stover was sprinkled with brine, but this did not noticeably increase its palatability. The sorghum was eaten clean. At first it was cut into short lengths, but this was found to be unnecessary, the 77 yearlini>s oonsiimiiio- a bright good grade of sorghum hay fed whole as well as when cut. The grain ration fed in connection with both the stover and the sorghum hay consisted by weight of four parts cotton seed, one part cotton seed meal, and one part wheat bran, a very satis- factory combination. Manure Made. Manure from a young calf. — A Jersey heifer calf, dropped October 15, 1901, was kept in a box stall from November 3 to April 30, 1902, except that for one day every two weeks she was allowed to run in a lot, and the manure for this day was thus lost. Pine loaves were freely used as bedding, and in more liberal quantity than is customary. The t«)ia] amount of manure, including bedding, as weighed a week after the close of the experiment was 1(;15 lbs. pro'luced in 176 days. This is about 9.4 lbs. of manure and bedding per dny, which is a larger amount than would be obtained with the usual amount of bedding. During this time this calf consumed 204 lbs. of wheat bran, 323 lbs. hay (chiefly lespedeza and crimson clover), 92 lbs. of whole milk, and 1191 lbs. of skim milk. Assuming 6 lbs. of skim milk as equivalent to 1 lb. of grain, we have a total amount of feed eaten, equivalent to about 740 lbs. of grain and hay. Hence for every pound of air-dry food consumed there was produced about 2.2 lbs. of manure. Manure produced hy yearling heef animals. — Begin- jjing January 17th, 1902, the combined liquid and solid manure dropped by six head of yearling cattle, most of which were grades of the beef breeds, was saved and 78 weighed daily. The arrangement for catching the drop- pings consisted only of the usual wooden manure gutter and the use of pine leaves as bedding. The floors of the stalls were of clay, and hence there was some loss of the liquid manure from the four steers. The cattle had to be taken from the barn for a short time twice a day for water, which represented the loss of such manure as was dropped during a daily period of about one-half hour, h^rom these statements it will be seen that the effort was rather to determine the amount of manui^e that the fai'- mer could expect to save from cattle of this kind, kept under shelter, than to determine from a scientific stand- point the actual and exact weight of the excreta. The results for the twenty-day period were as follows : Lbs. Solid and liquid manure saved from 6. yearlings in 20 days, excluding bedding 2402 Bedding used l'i'9 Total manure per head daily, excluding bedding. . . 20 Total manure per head dailj^ including bedding. . .21.5 Total cotton seed, cotton seed meal, and wheat bran fed 825 Total sorghum hay and corn stover actually con- sumed 497 Total food 1322 Pounds liquid and solid manure saved per pound of dry food fed 1-8 At this rate six yearlings in one month would produce 3600 lbs. of manure, or, including bedding, about two tons. In other words, a beef animal weighing about 500 lbs. would produce a ton of manure in about 3 months. Grazing Yeariing Steers on Green Rye. For three weeks, beginning March 11, 1903, four year- ling steers, averaging about 500 pounds in weight, were placed on a field of rye, sown on thin upland on the Sta- 79 tion farm at Auburn during- the preceding September. Before being placed on this pasture they had for several davs been accustomed to eating green rye and had been all allowed to make the fill that usually occurs when cat- tle are first placed on green food. The increase in live weight was 1.G7 pounds per head per day. The rye was about two feet high when the cattle were turned on it, and although too old and coarse to be as palal;able as at a younger stage, yet it was eaten clean. To determine the increase in live weight made by thoroughbred and grade cattle of the beef breeds, weigh- ings were made throughout the pasture season for such beef animals in the Station herd as were kept continu- ously on pasture. The following table gives first, the data for five calves, grades of the beef breeds; and for five mature cows, thoroughbreds and grades of the beef breeds, for the time that they were kept continuously on pasture. Gains of Station heef cattle on pasture alone. Name. Breed. •'- bX) TO .Q '~' C >. (Tj a C3 O Toom ihii Red Poll, Dangus [% Angus . . . Holstein !Hol. shoi't . Short horn %, Angus . V- Angus . Red Poll . , Gazelle I Short-horn Aubelle Foxella Dangus 2nd. Clementina. Baroness. Fancy. . . Grade Angus. Grade Angus. Sally I Angus 345 340 315 455 370 238 1050 1010 1045 880 855 160 152 177 95 135 187 200 240 185 145 245 214 214 214 214 214 184 183 183 183 183 183 .74 .71 .82 .44 .63 1.01 1.09 1.31 1.01 .78 1.34 80 From the above table it will be seen that the average daily gain of calves having from 50 to 100 per cent, of beef blood, was .72 pound, and that the^average daily gain of thoroughbred and grade beef cows was 1.1 pounds. The pasture was strictly unimproved, or in its natural condition, and consisted chiefly of old poor upland fields, too poor for cultivation, on which the principal growth lespedeza and broom sage. In order to determine the amount of beef which might ])e produced frcmi an acre of pasture, a portion of the pas- ture of the Alabama Experiment Station farm was fenc- ed oft' and four young steers were kept on it from April 1 to November 1, 1903. The following table gives the breeding of the animals, their weight on April 1, and the gain made during the next seven months. Gains made by four yearling steers from April 1 to No- vember I, 1903. Name. Breed. -t-J §2^ Weig April Weig Nov. Gain pastu Toom I i/o Red Poll . . Dangus [Vz Angus .... Holstein JHolst-shorthorn Cull IScrub 590 848 535 888 555 865 445 715 2581 1.20 353| 1.64 310| 1.44 2701 1.26 The area in this pasture was 13.11 acres, of which about 3 . 1 acres was covered by a dense growth of alders and other timber. On this area the total increase in live weight made by the four steers was 1191 pounds, or at the rate of 91 pounds of increase in live weight for each acre, including thickets. At 3 cents per pound, this is equivalent to a rental of |2.73 per acre for the entire tract, although, if cultivated, the rental value of the en- tire tract would not have exceeded half this amount. 81 Moreover, in the season of 1903, when rains were so favorably distributed for the growth of pasture grasses the steers were not able to consume the entire growth . We estimated that there was food enough for two more similar steers. For three weeks in November this* pas- ture snppoi'ted seventeen two-jear-old steers, without other food. The average daily gain per head for the three yearling steers with beef blood on pasturage alone was 1.43 lbs. and the average gain for the pasturage season was 307 lbs. per head. Gains Made by Scrub Cattle on Pastures. Conditions of the experiment. — It seemed a matter of importance to study the gains made by scrub cattle (unimproved natives) during the grazing season. Hence \n the spring of 1001, an experiment was begun in co- operation with a farmer living in Macon county, Ala- bama, who every year pastures a large number of cattle of scrub or Jersey blood. One of the principal objects in view was to ascertain Avliat class of animals, or rather animals of what age, made the most rapid gains, or brought the most profit to the dealer or stockman pastur- ing cattle. The Station furnished the scales and its representative weighed the cattle several times each year. The pasture is so large and the cattle so wild and the stock so fre- quently changed by sales and new purchases that only for a few of the several hundred animals weighed are the records in any sense complete. However, by combining the results for the three years, we obtained averages which are believed to have some suggestive value. The pasture on which these cattle grazed consisted of old fields and swampy thickets with a small amount of switch cane. The principal growth relished by cattle 3 82 consisted of lespedeza, l)room sage, crab grass, swamp grasses, and switch cane. This is strictly an unimprov- ed pasture, no seed of any kind having been sown in it. It is probably an average native or unimproved pasture on sandy land. Most of it is made up of old fields, some that have been uncultivated for many years, and other areas recently thrown out of cultivation. The soil would rank as poor sandy land, worth, perhaps, if in cultiva- tion, |3 to |6 per acre. Relative gaws dm'ing fhc past lira ge season in grazing scruh cattle of different ages. By averaging the results for the different years, it was found that during the portion of the pasturage season covered by our weighings the daily gain made by the dif- ferent classes of stock for periods of 138, 183, and 236 days (these being the respective intervals between weighings during the three years, were as follows : T)aily gains made hy scruh cattle on native pasturage alone. 9 cows averaged per day 28 lb. 14 heifers (300 lbs. and above) averaged 82 lb. 7 yearlings, male and female, averaged 49 lb. 4 sucking calves averaged 67 lb. 13 steers and bulls (above 300 lbs.) average. . .71 lb. It was impracticable to make weighings early enough in the spring and late enough in the fall to include the entire pasturage season. However, we are confident that the period during which cattle made average gains was at least seven (7) months, or from April 15th to No- vember 15th. Hence, in order .to make the results clearer we have calculated from the figures above the gains for a pasturage season of 210 days and the results are gi^ en below : 83 Gains made by scrub cattle during a season of 7 months on pasture. Value of in- Lbs. crease at 2V^c Mature cows, suckiug- calves .... 59 11.48 Heifers above 300 lbs 172 4.30 Yearlings, up to 30a lbs 103 2.58 Suckiug calves 141 3 . 52 Young steers and bulls 149 3.73 It is obviously unfair to compare the mature cows with the other animals, since the slight gains made by them are due in large measure to the tact that they had nursing calves at their sides. Excluding the coans, we find that the lai-gest gains were made li>' the heifers tJiat at the beginning of the season weighed more than 300 lbs. It is notable that the heifers should have beaten the steers of corresponding weight. The sucking calves made considerably greater gains than did the yeaidings, but it cannot of course be said that sucking calves are most profitable stock for grazing, for the reason that the grazing of this class of animals necessitates supporting the dam, whose gain is slow. A more accurate idea of the relative profit of grazing these ditferent classes of animals may be obtained by ascertaining what per cent of increase, as compared with the weight in the spring, is made by the average animal of each class during the season of abundant pasturage. Percent increase during pasturage season of 7 months. Avg. wt. Per cent, in spring. increase. Cows, suckling calves 615 8 Heifers 440 39 Yearlings, male and female .... 269 38 Sucking calves 272 51 Steers and bulls 428 35 According to this showing, if scrub cattle are bought and sohl at the same price, the investment should return a gross profit of 39 per cent, with large heifers. 38 per eent with yearlings and 35 per cent, with steers. Since 84 the seliiiig price per pouud is cousiderably above the purchase xjrice, the sliowing is still more favorable. Of course, from this uiust be deducted a number of ex- peuditures, iucludiug interest or rent and loss from death. If these figures are representative they indicate that either one of these three classes of scrub cattle may be pastured at practically the same profit. However, for cattle to be kept over winter without feed except the range the losses by death are greater with the calves and yearjiugs than with older animals. To form a better idea of the weights of these scrub cat- tle, the reader is referred to the table in the Appendix. Annual groicth made hy scrub cattle under range con- ditions.— It would be of interest to ascertain the weights from year to jear and the average gains for an entire year under this system of maintaining scrub cattle with- out any food in winter. From causes alluded to above our records on this point are fragmentary, the stock be- ing constantly changed. Ten head of cows averaged an annual increase in live weight of only twenty-four pounds, this poor showing being attributable, of course, to the calves that they suckled. The history of five young steers, weighed at intervals for two vears is of interest as showing the effect of age on the rate of growth of very young cattle. The following table gives the details: Growth made hy young scrub steers in tivo years. steer No. -C fci) C c ^-> o o CO 0 u CD 03 0 U TO rn 11 56 57 67 84 1 Lhs. 1 Lhs. 1 Lhs. Lhs. \ 218 120 170 290 i 238 128 190 318 1 326 168 172 340 1 304 88 170 258 1 234 64 178 242 1 Average 146 From this table we see that the average gain per steer per year was 145 pounds, worth at 21/2C per pound, |3.67. The increase made by these young steers was 85 during the first year 42 per cent over their weights in tlie spring. The same steers made during their second year an increase of 44 per cent, over their weights of the sec- ond spring. In other A^ords, there was little difference in the profits during the two years, in spite of the differ- ence in the age. Loss of iceiyht by range cattle during icinter. — The management of tliis herd of cattle included many mat- ters, which in the opinion of the writers, were at fault, or could have heen improved; for example, the almost exclusive purchase of scruh or grade Jersep cattle rather than the raising of calves from the owner's cows and sired by a thoroughbred bull of any of the beef breeds. Another great mistake in management, we belive, con- sisted in requiring the cattle to subsist throughout the entire winter without any food whatsoever except wliat they could obtain on the range from canebrakes, cotton stalks, corn stalks, etc. Since our weighing was not made until May of each year, when the cattle had been on pasturage for about a month, it is not possible to esti- mate exactly the amount of decrease in live weight oc- curring between the time that the fall pasturage failed and that the grasses put out in the spring. Of 22 animals of all ages weighed October 1, 1901, at least a month before pasturage greatly deteriorated, and again weighed May 7, about six weeks after the pastures put out in spring, 64 per cent lost in weight during this period of six and a half months. The losses in weight would have been much greater had our weighings been made about November 15th and April 1st. It is believed that the shrinkage in live weight during the winter, the utter loss of all food obtained from past- ure and range from October to May, and the consider- able number of deaths during tlie winter, more than counterbalance the saving of feed, which is the only point of advantage claimed for this system. Our advice is to winter only so many cattle and those of such qual- ity that it Avill be feasible and profitable to supply them with hay, if not with both hay and cotton seed, after the pastures or ranges fail in December, January, or Feb- ruary. d meal, id meal, d meal, d meal, d meal. u 2 a -d ■d "d -d -o 1 ■d "d d d d 1 0 "O 73 'O 'O ^C ■o Q^

0^ c) a>

O ^ Oj 1 (U ^ • 10 o m ^ -n m m ai m m zn w CO m m w M xn m m xn m CO ?!» ■6 U 0 a a a c S S3 d iS i3 CI fl fl fl 0 1:3 a c li a a to o o o c o O O O O O O O O O O 00000 0 to o .U -w -;_J -^ .^ .*-> -w +j -^ -^ -»-) -t-» -fcj -^ +J -t-> 4-' -^^ •4— ' -^ .^ 03 .f^ o +J -*.^ +^ +J -^ ■4-3 -t-i -t-^ -t-J +J -^ -^ +J +J ^_. -1^ -t-' -i-j 4^ -t-j +j 02 ^^ r-r. o o o o o o o o o o O O O O O 00000 0 0 p. _u o o o o OOOUO iQOOOO uoooo 0 to cS cS cS c^ oS c3 G <1> O 0^ O 0) e a Qt a o, a 1:- ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ <3i o o o o o u ai o c;i o o o 1 • o d, '^ *C 'C 'O '^ fl 0 fl fl C ;m ;^ ;^ ;_ ;^ ;h CO

> > > > 00000 > 5 *«?- ^ s S S P s s s 3 s ;3 s ci ci 3 Xfl XTj. Xfl Xfl Til m ^ . .:3 .£ .^.£2 .a .C .C .J3 .C .C3 .C! ^.£3^ .iS w bo M Ml M bD W) 60 bO bo bO 60 be bO 60 bO !=! c c3 PI es la .IHI ■^^ ^ (_ fc, t, s- t- t< t^ fc^ t. tH t- t^ tn ^H t^ t- Ih !-, t. ^ t; 0 O O O O O o o o o o O O O O O 00000 0 0 —1 to 00 to Tjimmmm wuimmm mmmxsixn uuooo u_ 0) en •jqSiaji. ^ «D CO t- •* CO la Oi O t- CD t- 1-1 in CO CD . * ... CO ■^ 00 CD o? •<+< CO is o -^ irt iCi oi •^ O O rH O t-l iH Oi iH 1— 1 O 0 CO 0; CO 0 0 1-1 '^ passsjQ U5 LC lO U5 -^ lO ic in Lo lo lo U5 ■^ in in in in in -^ in in m in «§0 uJ "* -^ t- lirt t- CO ■* -5f< t>. O Ol eo o -* -* O T-l Oi t- TT- T*< 05 in 00 S P OS ^ t^ lO ■>*< tH C<1 C^ c- o CD oa eg Oi 05 t— th m t- iH c^i t^ 0 00 05 Oi to >-^ CO C^J C-l 1-1 »M C-i 1-1 Cvl (N) i-H 1-1 lH 1-1 i-i rH 1-1 1-1 T-< u^ io to •sX-Bp t8 00 — eo t- t- iH 00 CD T-l ■>*< O 00 CO CO CD CD CS O 0 t- c■* iH CD ►-1 ■<*< lo CO eo eo 1-1 CO tH ■<*< 1 CO 1 rH CO rH rH iH | •!-< 00 •* ^ co" ^ .S ■Si?Bp 82 «C iH O U5 CO K5 T— 1 © iH CO O 00 CO Oi t- 00 iH CO m 05 CO CO 0 ini ■<*< § puooeg rO CD (35 t- CQ LO 1^ CO Tfi 00 t- CD t- CO CO CO CO rH rH CO 1 rt* CO T-l ^3 CD OS CO -^ to SiCBp 82 «o eq CO oo oq c t- CD 00 00 t- t- ® 15 .i»l m '.'.:'.'. • • • • \ ^1 Pig Si o 5s '-' CO ;-i ^ M ' • • • 60 'O CO 00 Cj -T-l CJ lO o 01 bO • • • C<) >*< oo CO ^ eo c iH lO Oj CO CO > > 5«fl _PQ < <_ ffitf ^ H :< © CO £52 ON^oq 1— 1 )— 1 »»> (— 1 1— ( 1— I t-< HH > 1— 1 I I 87 Weights and gains made during the pasturage season by scrub cattle in Macon County. tn u < 68 46 121 62 G8 196 189 29 Cows 4 years and older (?) 10 8 4 4 8 8 4 10 Average c (D OJ . Bg a> (3 xj •-' „ -c >.5 OJ ee o >H p ^ 1902 238 1902 238 1902 238 1902 238 1903 183 1903 183 1903 183 1903 183 a (1) C CD 03 O b£ C =^ ^ M,' .5 V. c M e ri ^ o B *- a, l> 03 O a M 652 536 520 586 666 638 700 626 6151 38 82 80 40 64 84 46 36 59 1 d bD ,28 71 79 58 81 16 22 107 107 194 187 197 193 51 101 Heifers above 300 lbs. Average 2 2 iy2 1 3 31/2 31/2 2% 2V2 1901 1901 1901 1901 1902 1902 1903 1902 1903 136 136 136 136 238 238 183 238 183 2% 1903 183 2 1903 183 2 "1903 183 2 1/2 1903 183 iy2 1903 183 5101 360 310 356 408 472 542 418 542 600 482 428 398 342 440 146| 122| 118 68 112 146 232 152 88 188 198 192 148 176 149 .82 76 84 36 81 114 124 18 Yearlings, up to 300 lbs 1 1 1 1 1 11/2 11/2 1901 1901 1901 1901 1902 1902 1902 136 136 136 136 238 238 238 258 234 256 356 218 274 272 24 86 128 68 88 94 118 I Average I |....| | 269] 89| .49 88 Weights and gains made during the pasturage season by scrub cattle in Macon County. C . XD ^ bC ■^s . u ?= be 01 eS >».S7 be . (U rt a> < !>^ Q ^ ^ be K* EC 5 a-' O bD .2 2d rH ^^ O bfl Q 40 L31 12 51 Sucking calves. Average 96 73 27 38 41 67 63 65 87 69 11 40 82 Steers above 300 lbs. Average 1901 1902 1901 1901 3 2 IV. 2 3 1% 11/2 2 2 11/0 11/2 IV2 2V2 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901 1902 1902 1903 136 238 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 136 238 238 183 230 306 262 293 273 520 584 419 426 486 304 356 477 470 361 338 304 522 4281 98 54 138 135 106 .67 90 126 67 104 114 94 104 111 156 139 94 54 200 712] 771 BULLETIN No. 129. AUGUST, 1904. A^L^BA^MA. Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Alabama Polytechnic Institute. AUBURN. The Mexican Cotton Boll Weevil. By- EDWIN MEAD WILCOX, Ph. D. (Harvard). Plant Physiologist and Pathologist. MUNTGOMEKT, ALA.. FHK BROWN PRINTING CO., PRiyTERfi AND BINDERH. 1904. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. J . M . Carmichael Montgomery. T. D. Samford Opelika. W. C. Davis Jasper. STATION COUNCIL. C. C. Thach President. J. F. DuGGAK Director and Agricultuilst. B. B. Ross Chemist and State Chemist. C. A. Cart Veterinarian. B. M. Wilcox Plant Physiologist and Pathologist. R. S. Macki.ntosh Horticulturist and State Horticulturist. J. T. Anderson. .Chemist in Charge of Soil and Crop Investigations. ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare First Assistant Chemist. T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. C. M. Floyd Superintendent of Farm. I. S. McAdory Assistant in Veterinary Science. N . C . Rew Assistant in Animal Industry. * Assistant in Horticulture. The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. *To be filled THE ]\JEXICAN COTTON BOLL-WEEVIL. By Edwin Mead Wilcox. Iiitrodnction. In tweutv veai'S the Mexican cotton boll-weevil (An- tlionomiis grandis Boh.) has developed from a rather obscnre species to one of supreme importance with res- pect to the production of the world's supply of cotton. The infested regions are taking desperate measures to destroy the pest or to adjust and modify the present methods of cultivation in such manner that cotton may still be grown at a fair profit in the infested regions. The recent appropriation of >r25(), 000.00 by the Congress of the Ignited States for the exhaustive studv of the boll- weevil problem from all points of view has given to the boll-weevil a national importance. It seems desirable to present to Alabama cotton growers our present information upon this very impor- tant snl)ject together with the suggested methods of controlling the boll-weevil should it ever become estab- lished within the borders of our State. This bulletin may therefore be said to result from an application of the old adage, ''forewarned is forearmed." No claim for originalitv is made as to the facts stated, but the reader is referred to the papers mentioned in the Biblio- graphy at the close of the bulletin for the most recent original investigations of this subject. The facts given in the papers cited have been freely drawn u])on in the preparation of this bulletin. Introduction and Present Distribution of the Boll Weevil. The boll- weevil probably crossed the Rio Grande river into Texas about 1892 — at least that is the opinion of the 92 planters in that region. By 1894 it bad spread to a half dozen counties in soutliern Texas borderius; upon the Rio Grande river and the Gulf of Mexico. At this time it was brought to the attention of the United States De- partment of Agriculture; the Division of Entomol- ogy commenced late during 1894 the investigation of the weevil and has continued this investigation to the present time. The Department of Entomology of the Texas Experiment Station has also rendei'ed efQcient aid in the investigation. The recent appropriation by Congress has nmde it possible to concentrate upon the boll-weevil problem the efforts of a large number of per- sons and the weevil is now receiving more attention than probably any other insect pest in the world. tan> 't'l'-K^' >. v-vi :,. ,t^ <-, ui-><.iV>«J '-^ ■•■■I- ^. I' - -•• ■' --'-A 4" Fig. 1. Map shoicing the distribution over Texas and Louisiana of the hall weevil at intervals since its first appearance in Texas. Bull. 1,5, Div. Ent., V. S. Dept. Agr.) 93 Tlie map shown as Fig. I presents graphically the present known distribution of the weevil as well as the advance it has made over the area indicated since its first appearance in 1892, From a study of tlie insect's means of reaching new territory it has been estimated that the weevil will be a£ work throughout the entire cotton belt of the South in 15 to 18 years. In Texas during the past ten years the weevil has made an annual ad- vance of about 50 miles. Having this danger in mind and to prevent the ac- cidental or intentional introduction of the pest into the State tlie last Legislature passed the following law, which is here quoted in full : An act to prevent and prohibit the importation of seed from cotton affected icith Texas boll weevil. Section 1. — Be it enacted hij the Legislature of Ala- bama, That no person shall import or bring into the State of Alabama any seed from any cotton affected with what is known as the Texas boll weevil, nor the seed from any place ^^•here the cotton has been affected with said boll weevil. Sec. 2. — Any person who violates the provisions of Section 1 of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than ten dol- lars (flO.OO) and not more than five hundred dollars (1500.00). [H. 877. Xo. 559. Approved Oct. 6, 1903.] Legislation can, after all, however, do nothing more in this case than build up public sentiment and arouse inter- terest in the weevil problem and if cotton planters permit the weevil to become established in this State it will be the result of their own neglect. Planters and others will confer a great benefit upon themselves and upon the State by promptly reporting and sending specimens of any suspected boll-weevil to the Alabama Experiment Station. All such insects should be killed with chloro- form or other means before being forwarded through the mails and then be enclosed in tin or wooden boxes. 94 Amount of Damage Due to Boll- Weevil. There is frequently a tendency to greatly exaggerate crop losses, but a very conservative estimate shows that the damage done by boll-weevil in Texas amounts an- nually to about 115,000,000. The loss in the weevil-in- fested counties of Texas is certainly fully one-half of the crop. If we assume that the total cotton crop of the United States has a value of .$500,000,000 it will be seen that when the boll- weevil is found throughout the whole cotton belt the annual loss will be at least $250,000,000 annually. All these estimates are based upon the fail- ure of the planters to adopt any measures to check the spread of the pest or particularly to reduce the extent of its damage. We shall see that there is much hope that cotton may be grown at a profit in the infested re- gions if the planters will adopt the modern methods of planting and cultivation suggested and urged by the Bureau of Entomology of the Department of Agricul- ture. Life History of Insect. EGG, The female weevil deposits the egg in a hole made by eating into either the square or boll. These cavities are made usually between the middle and the tip in the case of squares, but seem to occur at random in the case of bolls. The length of the egg stage in the vast majority of cases varies from 2 to 5 days. It has been observed that but a single egg is usually deposited in a boll if tlie female is able to find bolls not punctur- ed. This habit of selecting a fresh boll for the ovi- position of each egg accounts for the large number of bolls injured by a single female. It is probable that a single female may deposit as high as 200 eggs during the season. 95 Lauva. Tlu' larva wlicii it escapes from the egg is a delicate while ui-iib about 1-25 of an inch long,, and without legs. (^Ve Fijjs. '2 and 3.) If it were not for the brtjwn head aiier Avee- vils being light yellowish brown. The average color be- tween these two extremes is a grav brown or dark vel- low brown. The yellowish color of the larger specimens is due to the presence of numerous yellowish scales that are more conspicuously formed in large than small wee- vils. These scales, however, often become rubbed off, leaving the dark brown color of the cliitin. The sexes, however, cannot be distinguished as is often supposed by an}^ question of either size or color. The average length of life of the adult weevils on squares is about 10 weeks for males and 9 weeks for fe- males. On the bolls it is nearly 3 weeks for males, but onlv about 2 weeks for females. Feeding Habits. Until the females begin to oviposit the feeding habits of both sexes are alike. Bolls and leaves are seldom fed 98 upon so long as squares are available. The puncture from the outside is only large enough to admit the pro- boscis, to the tip of which the mouth parts are attached. The principal part of the square eaten consists of the anthers and pollen sacs. When these are reached the cavity is broadened out to give to the whole cavity much the shape of a flask. The males are known to make on an average about 3 feeding punctures per day, though during the first lew dpys of adult feeding existence they may make as high as* 6 to 9 punctures per day. They average, however, about 3 punctures to a square, and hence really do very little damage. The males, unlike the females, more fre- quently chose to puncture the square very near the top. After the females begin to oviposit they eat less on one square or from a single puncture than before. Since as we have said that as a rule a female oviposits but once on a square and since most of her eating is done in con- nection with oviposition, it becomes clear that the amount of damage done by the females is much greater than that due to the males. It has been demonstrated by experiment that the American upland cottons are much less subject to attack by the weevils than any others, and that the Egyptian (kit Afifi) cotton is more subject to attacks than any other variety. It is now known also that the boll weevil has no food plant, native or cultivated, other than the various species and varieties of cotton. Number of Generations. No hard and fast line can be drawn between the dif- ferent broods of the weevil — not even between the hibernated weevils and those of the first spring genera- tion. It is probable that in the southern part of Texas five broods occur between 1 May and 1 December — this is on the assumption that the average life cycle of a genera- tion from egg to egg is about 42 days. In northern Texas and probably also in this region not more than 4 broods would occur. 99 Hibernation. Even after the cotton has been entirely killed by frost adult weevils may be seen movinii' about in the fields. In southern Texas the weevil may hibernate as either larva, pupa or adult, but they most commonly hibernate in the adult condition. The majority of weevils that successfully hibernate over winter are those developed latest in the fall — whose vitality was consequently not exhausted by oviposition or otherwise before the ap- proach of winter. The average hibernation period is from 1 December to 1 April, or about 4 months. Given a dry sheltered place and as high as 1-6 of the weevils will live through the winter. Dissemination. The search for food or new squares is the principal aaencv leadins: to the migration of the weevils from one place to another. Prevailing winds may assist if these occur when the weevils are naturally most active, as does occur in Texas. Artificial dissemination will take place most common- ly along railways and water courses. The shipment of cotton baled or for ginning is nearly certain to mean shipment of the boll weevil. And the same is true of shipments of seed for planting and other purposes. Our State law already quoted (page 93) should receive the support of every person living in the State and having the slightest concern for the welfare of the State. In regard to pests of this and all other types legislative en- actment may develop public sentiment, but certainly can never replace it. Methods of Control. The methods of control may roughly be divided into two classes (a) natural, and (b) artificial. 100 Among the first group we mention in the first place cli- matic control. The factors of highest importance in de- termining the development, distribution and destructive- ness of the boll weevil are temperature, preci- pitation and food suppl^^ We have stated that the wee- vil has but a single food plant — the cotton — and it is remarkable how thoroughly adjusted to the condition of the food plant the weevil has become. Conditions favoring the growth of the cotton plant are also favor- able to the development of the weevil. High temperatures and abundant rainfall are the two climatic factors distinctly favorable to weevil develop- ment, and hence it is that at such times their injury is most noticeable. Rains tend to increase formation of squares by the cotton plant and the squares, we have seen, are the feeding places and oviposition structures for the weevils. Rains also indirectly favor weevil de- velopment by the injury they do to the natural enemies of the weevil. Too heavy rains during the winter are very apt, to kill many of the hibernating weevils and hence following a comparatively dry winter one would expect to sec a larger brood of hibernated adult weevils appear U\ the spring than following a rainy winter. Experiments have shown that overflows will not in- jure enough weevils to be of any great service. Even the larvae and pupae in eqtiares that have been under Y\ater for some time were found to be uninjured. Adult Avee- vils may float several days in the water and yet not be injured. It is very probable that the floating of adtilt and infested squares by means of high water will prove one of the most important natural agencies for wklely distributing the pest. PARASITES^ PREDATORY INSECTS;, AND DISEASES. The verv recent announcement bv .an officer oC the United States Department of Agriculture of the di.-^ 'v- ery in Guatemala of an ant that preys upon the boll weevil has called forth renewed interest in this subject of parasites or rather predatory insects. However, 101 it seems certain that tlie aut discovery has al- ready been overworked and its importance much ex- aggerated. Hunter & Hinds, 1904, say: "There is at present, therefore, no promise of any considerable as- sistance in the control of the weevil by any parasite now known. * * * Even should one be found which could attack the weevil in some stage, it would probably still fail to be an efficient means of control. * * * " Certain predatory insects other than the Guatemalan ant may serve to check the weevil, but the work of all such insects combined is comparatively of little import- ance when compared with the cultural methods mention- ed below. And there seems to be but little hope of securing a fungus parasite that Avill be of any service in killing weevils. A study of the history and outcome of the use of the "chinch bug" fungus and later the grasshopper fungus shows how utterly impracticable any such meth- od is certain to be. In connection with the appearance of such an import- ant pest as the boll weevil there is certain to be a host of useless remedial and preventive measures suggested. It would be a waste of space to even mention all these schemes here. Considerable attention has been devoted to devising some method of spraying the cotton plants in hopes of killing the weevils. We may for the present dis- miss any spraying scheme with a quotation from Hunter & Hinds, 1904, who say: "Spraying of a field crop has never been a success, and, unless entirely new methods are eventually perfected, never will be of any practical importance." Of course the suggestion made from time to time that some substance mav be mixed with the fertilizer which will be distasteful to the weevil when absorbed by the plant is absurd. It has proven impossible to devise a machine that will enable one to collect from the ground the fallen squares. And it is even more absurd to hope to find any sort of cotton that the boll weevil will not care to eat. There is a limit to the profitable variation in the cotton plant to be induced bv breeding and selection and there is cer- 102 tainly no hope of securing a strain of upland cotton that will prove resistant to the boll weevil, or to any other in- sect. Cultural Methods. It has been demonstrated that improved methods of cultivation will, enable one and does enable many Texas planters now to grow cotton at a fair profit in weevil infested areas. If the weevil can force cotton planters throughout the cotton belt to adopt more civilized and modern methods of cultivation we mav be forced to look upon the weevil as a ''blessing in disguise." It is impossible better to present the desirability and certainty of results from the cultivation methods recom- mended by the Division of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, than to quote the recommendations given by W. D. Hunter;, the official agent in charge of the cotton boll weevil investigation. "1. Plant early. If possible plant seed of the va- rieties known to mature early, or at least obtain seed from as far north as possible. It is much better to run the risk of replanting, which is not an expensive ope- ration, than to have the crop delayed. The practice of some planters of making two plantings to avoid having all the work of cliopping thrown into a short period is a very bad policy from the weevil standpoint. Under identical conditions early cotton if improved varieties has invariably yielded from two to three times as much as native cotton under the same conditions, and in many cases much more. Planted at the same time the earlv varieties begin to bloom from twelve to eight- een days sooner than native cotton. Early planted fields of either native or improved va- rieties have almost invariably yielded twice as much as late planted ones. The early varieties in general, having a small stalk and a short tap root, are adapted only for rich soil. They also fail to grow well in the very light sandy loams of many of the river valleys of Texas which, in long sea- sons before the advent of the boll-weevil, often produced the largest vields. In these situations earlv varieties 103 will yield but little more than native cotton. 2. Cultivate the fields thoroughly. The principal benefit in this conies from the influence that such a practice has upon the constant p'owth and consequent early nuiturity of the crop. Very few Aveevils are killed by cultivation. Much of the benefit of early plantiuo- is lost unless it is followed by thoroui>'h cultivation. In case of unavoidably delayed planting, the best course for the planter to pursue is to cultivate the fields in the most thorough manner possible. Three choppiugs and five plowings constitute as thorough a system of culti- vation as is necessary in cases where the land has pre- viously been kept reasonably clear. 3. Plant the rows as far apart as experience with the land indicates is feasible, and thin out the plants in the rows thoroughly. On land which in normal seasons will produce from 35 to 10 bushels of corn the rows should be 5 feet apart. Even on poor soil it is doubtful if the distance should ever be less than 4 feet. 4. Destroy, by plowing u]), windrowing, and burn- ing, all the cotton stalks in the fields as soon as the wee- vils become so numerous that practically all the fruit is being punctured. This will generally not be later than the first week in October. Merely cutting off the stalks by means of the triangular implement used for that purpose throughout the south is by no means as ef- fective as plowing, because the stumps remaining give rise to sprouts which furnish food until late in the sea- son to numy wee\'ils that would otherwise starve. The plowing, moreover, serves to place the ground in better condition for early planting the following spring. In some cases turning cattle into the fields is advisable. Aside from amounting to a practical destruction of the plants, grazing of the cotton fields furnishes consider- able forage at a time when it is generally much in de- mand. Nevertheless, cattle should never be turned into cotton fields in which Johnson grass has become started. 5. It is known that at present fertilizers are not used to any considerable extent in cotton producing in Texas. There is, nevertheless, no doubt that they should be; not that the land is poor, but that earlier 104 crops may be procured. At present it is sufficient to call attention to tlie fact that it has been the uniform ex- perience of experiment stations and planters in the eastern part of the belt that certain fertilizers, especial- ly those involving a large percentage of phosphoric acid, have a strong tendencv towards hastening the maturitv of the plants." BIBLIOGRAPHY. Mally, P. W. 1901. The Mexican Cotton-boll Weevil. Farmers' Bulletin, U. S. Dept. Agr. 130 : 30 pp. fig. 1-4. Hunter, W. D. 1903. Methods of Controlling the Boll Weevil (ad- vice based on the Avork of 1902). Farmers' Bulle- tin, U. S. Dept. Agr. 163 : 10 pp. fig. 1-2. Sanderson, E. D. 1903. The Mexican Boll- Weevil. Texas Exp. Stat., En t. Dept. Circ. 1 : 8 pp. 4 figures. Sanderson, E. D, 1903. How to Combat the Mexicon Cotton-boll Wee- vil in Summer and Fall. Texas Exp. Stat. Ent. Dept. Circ. 4 : 4 pp. Morgan, H. A. 1903. The Mexican Cotton-boll Weevil. La. Exp. Station, Circ. 1 : 10 pp. fig. 1-3. 1 map. Cook, O . F . 1 904. Report on the habits of the kelep, or Guatemal- an cotton boll weevil ant. Bull. Bureau Entom., U. S. Dept. Agr. 49 : 15 pp. Herri ck, G. W. 1904. The Mexican Cotton boll weevil. Miss. Exp. Stat. Circ. 17 : 7 pp. 2 figures. Hunter, W. D. 1904. Information Concerning the Mexican Cotton Boll Weevil. Farmers' Bulletin, U. S. Dept. Agr. 189 : 31 pp. 8 figs. Hunter, W. D. 1904. The Status of the Mexican Cotton Boll Weevil in the United States in 1903. Yearbook, V. S. Dept. Agr. 1903 : 205-214. pi. 17-21. Hunter, W. D., and Hinds, W. E. 1904. The Mexican Cotton Boll Weevil. Bull. Div. Entom., U. S. Dept. Agr. 45 : 116 pp. 16 pi. 6 figs. BULLETIK NO 130. JANUARY, 1^05. ALABAMA Agricultural Experiment Station OF THE Alabama Polytechnic Institute AUBURN Tests of Varieties of Cotton IN 1904 Bv J. F. DUGCAR Director aud Agriculturist. Opelika, Ala.: The Post Publishing Company. 190.5. COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION. J. M. Carmichael Montgomery- T. D. Samford Opelika- W. C. Davis Jasper. STATION COUNCIL. C. C. Thach President.. J. F. Duggar Director and Agriculturist.. B. B. Ross Chemist and State Chemist.. C. A. Gary Veterinarian- E. M. Wilcox Plant Physiologist and Pathologist. R. S. Mackintosh Horticulturist and State Horticulturist. J. T. Anderson. . .Chemist in Charge of Soil and Crop Investigations. ASSISTANTS. C. L. Hare : First Assistant Chemist. T. Bragg Second Assistant Chemist. C. M. Floyd Superintendent of Farm^ I. S. McAdory Assistant in Veterinary Science. N. C. Rew Assistant in Animal Industry C. T. Kinman Assistant in Horticulture The Bulletins of this Station will be sent free to any citizen of the State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station,. Auburn, Alabama. VARIETY TEw^TS OF COTTON IN 1!)04. HY J. F. DUGGAR. Tho !!ieason of l!tiU preseuted some ti'yiii«i- rouditions for the cotton plant. The rainfall for March was below nor- mal. April was exceedingly dry and the drought was not broken nntil late in May. The total rainfall for March was- 2.80 inches; for Ajtril 1.02 inches; and for the first four weeks in May. less than J5 of an inch. These conditions resulted in stands by no means as uniform as is desirable in experimental work.* The wet weather of July and the heavy rains of th^ .early part of Augnst resulted in a vigorous growth of the cotton plant and a promise of a large crop. From the latter part of August until the date of the tirst light frost there" was practically no rain. At Auburn tin* rainfall for Sep- tember was only .20 of an inch; lor October .02. ilnd for- November 2.2S inches. The extreme of wet weather in Angust. followed by very dry weather in September, resulted in ilic sliedding of an unusually large proportion of forms. The shedding of forms by dilferent varieties, and under difterent conditions, has been the subject of a co-operative investigation both at Au- burn and in Montgomery county begun jointly in 190-t by this station and the Division of ^'egetable Pathol- ogical and Physiological Investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture. Of co,urse a repetition of that *Tae writer desires to express here his grateful appreciation of the valuable assistance in these experiments afforded .hj^ Dr. J. T. Anderson, who furnished the rainfall record; Mr. C. M. Floyd, who had charge of the field work at Auburn; Mr. C. H. Billingsley, Ot" the United States Department of Agriculture, who furnished the data for indicating the relative earliness of varieties, and to Mr. C_ R. Hudson, who is responsible for most of the calculations.. experiment for several seasons will be needed before conclusive data for publioatioucau 1>e expected. A light frost occui-red late in October and the first killing fi-ost occurred Xovember 14, the latter killing a number of sinarr^boMs. Yii:i>ns OF VAitiK'ifKs ix Plots at Auburx. The field on ^ liich these tests were made is known as the ten-acre field. It has a reddish loam soil with a considerable proportion of tlintv stones. It is regarded as upland of somewhat better than average quality because of the occa- ajonal growing of a crop of cow peas for hay. Every fifth plot throughout most of the field was planted with the Cul- pepper variety to ascertain if there were any decided inequal- ities in the fertility of the land. The laud was plowed broadcast with a two-horse plow late m March, and bedded and fertilized just before planting, ■which occurred April 20th. The fertiliw]- per acre consisted of: 64 lbs. nitrate of soda. 120 lbs. cotton seed meal. 240 lbs. acid j)hosphate. art with rows ?> 1-2 feet wide. Only one^ variety, Gold Standard, had such a poor stand as to seri- >> ously affc^et its ricltl and to nccossilatt' it.s c.xi'lusioH from the followinji table. A careful study of the detailed records led to the conclusion tliat the yields weiv not uuiterially affected by the sliphr deticieucies in stand, thouiih it is possible that the varieties Doughty, with 7G per cent, of a stand, Texas Burr, with 84 per cent., and Truitt, with SO per cent.. niij>ht have stood a few points hi<>4jer if the stand had been perfect. It was concluded that any effort to cal- culate the probable yields with })erfe(t stands, would, in this case, involve a greater error than is incurred in giving the actual yields without tliis correcticm for slight dcliciencies in stand. The following table gives the actual yield of seed cotton, lint, and seed, all these weights being taken at the gin house a number of weeks after the two heaviest pickings had been made, thus permitting all varieties to dry out to a some- what uniform degree. In the same table are two columns giving the value of The total i)ioduct of si'cd and lint j)er acre, based, in one column, on a price of ten cents per pound for lint, and in the other column on a price of seven cents per pound, the seed in both columns being valued at seventy cents per 100 pounds. These may l>e called higli and low prices. Readers who prefer oth^r prices can substitute their own tiiiui'es and make their own calculations. G I'/eldsoflinlaiidsccdo/sS rariclies of cotton on Station Farm at Auburn in IQ04 and value of the crop per acre. o -as Vaniet\% Actual yield per * acre of lint lint "Z . I a. I IjPeterkin - ;2|Layton Improved . . • 3jJackson 4jAlex. AUen •"Si Wise • 0' Cameron "Early .... JiSimiiys Long Staple J8 Pullnot :9lCook Improved .... "lOjDoughty Improved . 11 1 Allen Long 12|Culpepper 13|Texas Burr 14|Willett Red 1.5! Hawkins ■ ■ ■ . IGlKing 'r7|(Lewis) Prize "ISrRussell taple Ltraf "19!Nancy Hanks ^20lDrake '2l|Mascot 22'Shine '22jSam Woodfii.- Prolific '23jJones Improved 24|Truitt 25lSchley 26|Grier's "King '"27|Edgeworth "28 Garrard "29^ Johnson's Excelsior ...... :30iPride of Georgia '31|Meredith 32|Mortgage Lifter 33!Floradora 34iParker :. . . . 3.5|Bliie Ribbon f fuzzy seed). 36|Sunflower 37iBlue Ribbon fblack seed) SSiLealand 0/ lo \ 100| 92 lOOi 92i 94! 100! 100 97i 100: 7G| 94i 961 S4i 95i lOOi lOOi 92i lOOj 981 lOOi 100' 94! 97j 100 SG! 1001 96i 1001 89i lOOi 100! 92| lOOj 100! lOOi lOOi lOOi 1001 Lbs. I Lbs. Lbs. $ 16241 1G32! 15841 1673| 14S1 1558 1675i 1542i 14031 133GI IGIOJ 1486] 14881 13521 13321 13961 1297| 1431| 140li 1412! 12921 13G8: 1400] 1392J 13481 13241 12481 1288! 12251 12301 12761 12881 12881 1296! 11961 12251 1228| 1203] 11441 628 G20i 607| o81| 5561 5461 539! 543} 548! 522| 498 508 502 503] 487| 484| 480| 473] 4741 467! 476! 465! 463! 462! 4621 457! 459 453 453 4421 4361 4341 433! 420! 408! 4011 4011 3791 378! 67 51 65 71 61.93 61.66 61 35 1 61 •n\ 60 761 59.18 I 993:$69 69 67 65 61 61 61 61 60 59 5/ 57 57 56 54 54 54 53 53 53 53 52 52 52 52 51 51 51 50 49 49 49. 49. 48. 46 45. 45. 43. 43. 1011 974 1088 905 1009 1065 963 852 997 1120i 965| 9801 8401 839] 861! 804! 952i 9161 942 811 895 924 927 872 862 774 829 765 785 839 846 841 875 785 813 812! 818 765 .75 $50.9L .071 50.47 49.31 4,8. 2>{ 45.25 45. 2H 45.1*t 44.75 44.32 43.52 42.70 .64 .56 .06 18 .54 .421 .221 .96 .81 .29 .27j .7G| .761 .68| .30| .731 .311 .101 .65| .691 .471 .321 iSi 121 291 79i 781 621 42.32 42.04» 41.01 39.9:^ 39.90 39.7fJ 39.77 39.59 39.37 38.99 38,81 38.8T 38.82 38.44 38.03 34.54 37.51 37.06 36.43 36.3^ 36.3^) .•.G.19 35.52 34.WJ 33.76 33.7!; 32.27 3 LSI '*Seed 70 cents per lOrO lbs. or $14.0(1 per ton. The largest vicid was made 1)\ Peterkln, closely followed by Laytoii, Jackson and Alex. Allen. \Vise occupies fifth place. (jronj)in<' tojicther such of the varieties as the writer has up to this time dcHuitely classified in accordance with the classification outlined by iiiiii in F>ulletin No. 107 of the Ala- bama Experiment Station, and neglecting groups of varie- ties having few representatives in this test, we have average results that are siuiiificant. as below: Avera,S!^e ytehh of Classes of varieties at Auburn in ^i)04- ■ V ~. X 1 Z6^. Semi-Cluster Group Hawkins Drake Woodfin Garrard Average Peterkin Type. Peterkiu Layton Wise Average King Type. King Mascot Shine Grier's King Average Big Boll Type. Culpepper Texas Burr Russell Jones Improved Truitt Schley . .*. Pride of Georgia Mortgage Lifter Average Long Staple Group. Floradora Sunflower . . .- Blue Ribbon (fuzzy seed) Blue Ribbon (black seed) Average ' 487] 4G7| 463| 4531 G281 620| 55G1 GOll 839|$54.54| 942] 53.29! 924) 52.76| 7G5I 50.G5I 4G8! 8G7$52.81I 993|$G9.75| 10111 69. 0'*! 9051 61.931 93Gl$GG.91i 100 1 1 j 484 861|$54.42 1 477 811 53.27 1 4G5 895 52.76 1 459 774| 51.31 1 471 835i$52.94! 78 1 508 965|$57.561 1 502 980 57.06] 1 473 952 53.96] ] 462 927 52.68 1 462 872 52.30 1 457 862 51.73] 436 839 49.47] 433 841 49.181 1 466 905|$54.79 77 1 420 875$48.12! 401 8121 45.78 401 813 45.79 379 1 818 43.62 1 400 1 829 $46,081 06 From the above tuMe it wilJ be set^n that? the l?*etei-kin i\n(V vaiMeties havinji similar qualities were decideclly in the h^art at Auburn in 11H)4 in the produetion of lint. Takin** the yield of lint made by the lVt<'rkin jiroiip as KM); we tlnd that the averaijt^ relative yield of the semi cluster jirouj) may \>r represented by 7S; <»f the Kinj>- type by 7S: of the bi;^ b<»ll .Uroup by 77; and of the lonj;- stajde ,<>roui» by tWi. This thi-ows some light on the question of thv ditference in i»ro- ductiveness on ujdand soils of the loni-- stajde varieties as oompared with the other ••roups. The varietit^ Allen lon<»- staple and Simms lonj; staple are not included in this aver- ai^e for the reason that they i-rcw on the l«>west, and doubt- less the richest, plots in the lieFd. The local markets usually ]»ay little or no premiuhi f(U- the lonj;- staple varieties, which, however, command a premiuuk, of several und in the larj^er southern seaport markets. This year at Auburn for the four Ion*;- staple varieties to have nearly equaled the Peterkin jinui]) in value per acre it would have bt'en necessary for lonj; stajde lint to sell for 15 cents per pound wlien I'eterkin was lU cents. «»r for 10 1-- cents when IVterkin was worth 7 cents. If we vompare the long staple with either ojf the^ other groups a, much smaller premium would equalize the values. J.ong staple cotton should have rich bottoiu land for its best de- velopment. While the I'eterkin group is ahead this year, it by no means follows that it will maintain its Icud when scasimai conditions and soils are d liferent. Fkk Cent, of Lint in \'.\Biirni-:,s Testkd I^i Tlpts -Vi; At bvrn, IN 11)0 i. During a study of cotton varieties extending over a num- ber of vears a large ainount o€ data have been obtained re - garding the proportions of seed and lint of 175 or more varieties which have recently been grown. The following table «-ives owlv so uiuch of this data as. was obtained in 1004,, 10 by ginning the cottan on these plots of which the yields are reported in the first table of this bulletin. Per cent of lint in plot tests at Auburn in 1904. I 'ariety 1 1 Cook Improved . . . . 2iGold Standard 3|Peterkin 4 Jackson olWise GjPrize TlWillett Red Leaf . . 8|Garrard 9jGrier's King ...... KMMascot 1 1| Hawkins 12 Johnson's Excelsior IsiKing 14 Alex. Allen 15|Edgeworth IGjPullnot ITiCameron Early . . . . 18|Schley 19|Culpepper 20tTrintt Per Cent Lini 39. 1| 38.9] 38.. 7 38.3! 37.. 61 37. 37, 37. 0| 36.81 36.81 36. 5i 36. 0| 35. 9| 35.3 35.21 S5.2| 35. 0| ;i4.6 34.3! 34. 3i I 'ariety. Parker Doughty Pride of Georgia Shine Nancy Hanks Meredith Texas Burr Mortgage Lifter Jones Improved Sunflower Drake Russell Lealand Sam Woodfin Prolific . . . . Blue Ribbon (fuzzy seed) Floradora Simms Long Staple Blue Ribbon (black seea) Allen Long Staple Pet Cent Lint 34.1 34.0 34.0 34.0 33.8 33.7 33.7 33.4 33 33, 33. 33. 33.0 33.0 32.8 32.4 32.1 31.5 30.81 It will be noted that the proportion of lint to seed is nnusually liigh. This was also the case in the variety tests at the Georgia station in 1904:, as indicated in a recent news- paper article by Director R. J, Redding. This concordance of results suggests that something in the climatic condition.s of 1904 was favorable to the increase of lint or to the relative decrease of seed. It will be noted tha^ the long staple varieties have mucli lower percentages of lint than most of the short staple varie- ties. Variety Tests on Pr.viri-e Soil in Montgomery County in 1904, Through co-operation with the United States Department •of Agriculture as before stated, we are this year enabled to 11 ■prim ihc rt'sulls of a variety test made on the A. H. Clarke plantation about half a mile northeast of the depot at McOehee's iir^witch station, Moutgomerv county. The soil is gray prairie upland of about average quality, not recently fertilized, so far as is known, until the present vear. Planting was done April 29-30. On June 1. fertili- sers as below were ai)]>lied on the side of the row in the shallow furrow made l>y the first cultivation. The fertilizer was then covered by the throwing out of the middle:?. The fertilizer used consisted of: 200 lbs. acid phosphate per acre. 200 lbs. kainit per acre. 100 lbs. nitrate soda ]>er acre. This date of application was doubtless too late for good results for this season and on this soil, as shown not only in variety tests, but in fertilizer tests on another part of the same fiehl. Thi'ough a nnsunderstanding the plots were not thinned to a uniform stand, but it was found that the yield 'of three plots of Truitt did not vary greatly with variations in the stand. As it was impracticable to gin the seed cotton of each plot separately at McGehee's. the yield of lint is •obtained by multi])lying the weight of seed cotton by the .per cent, of lint found in the variety test at Auburn in 1904. 12 Ticldi or vanctics of cotton at MrGc/iccs Szvitch, A/a.^ in 1904. 0 :" a; Vakiktv, Yield per acre. ^ 8 ii i_ — «3 Oj ^ •■4- O. Q 1» E u 3 — O ■? CC ^ V u .- -/) 4j _ ^ a. o .^. 5 ^ "" t^ > a 18: l|Schley 14i 2jPeterkin 22i SjDrake 23| 4;Crossland 17| SjToole 1) GjKing 21j 7 Bancroft Heiiong Av. 5, 10| ! and 15| SJTruitt 20| 9;Simms IGi lOiFloradora 11] 11: Hawkins 2| 12;Russell 12| 13 Cook I.ong Staple 19| 14JDoughty Long Staple 7| 15|Jackson 4j IGJParker Sj 17iSimflower 0| 18 Pride of Georgia . 8! 19jMortgage Litter . . 131 201 Allen Long Staple 7070| iG390| G500J i5750| !G410| 5630| JGSOUj i I |5947| i7G30| 'gioo| !5910| t5G70| 5830| G910| 15800] IGOOOJ JG3G0I !5520i ^5000| IG040I I^OS. \^IA}S /.05. 830 287 543i 750 290 4G0 G90 228 360 770 277 493 790 270 520 730 2G2 468 800 25G 544 74G 256 492 750 241 509 720 233 487 G20 22G 394 G50 215 435 GSO 207 473 GOO 204 396 540 207 333 5G0 190 370 5G0 185 375 530 180 350 500 1G7 333 5001 1541 346 $ I 32.50) ?.2.22| 31.231 31.151 30.72f 29.47| 29.41| 29.03 27. G6 26.70 25.35 24.54 24.05 23.17 23.03 21.59 21.12 20.45 19.03 17.82 23.89 23.52 24 . 30 22 Si 22.62 21 R I 21.73 21.35 20.43 19.71 18.57 18.09 17.84 17.05 17.82 15.89 15.57 15 . 05 14.02 13.20 '■'Seed valued at 70 cents per 100 pounds or $14.00 per ton. The varieties atloi-ding the larjiost value of seed and lint were Sckley and Peterkin. closely followed by Drake and Crosslaud. Toole stands flfth. In this test, as at Auburn, the varieties of the Peterkin type, namely, Peterkin and Crossland stand well to the front with an average yield of 283 1-2 pounds of lint per acre. Taking this yield of lint as 100 per cent,, the groups of varieties hitherto classified aver- age as folloAvs : Peterkin grouji (Peterkin and Crossland) 100, Big boll group ( Kussell. Schley. Truitt. Pride of Geor- gia, and Mortgage liifter i 78. la >^enii-cluster group ( llawkius and Drake) 69. ]iOn» staple j^roup ( Floradora, Cook, Long Staple, Doughty. Suntlower. and Allen long staple) 69. Rel.vtivk Earlixkss ok \'arietii:s. The invasion of the cotton states l>y the cottcm boll Aveevil lenders more important than ever before careful studies of the early varieties. It has been found that only the earliest varieties can be profitably grown in infested regions, even Avhen all other known methods of combatting the weevil are employed. The rapid spread of the weevil eastward in Louisiana dur- ing the past season makes it important that the farmers of Alabama should be ready for this invasion as promptly as possible. It would be well for every neighborhood, and perhaps for every farm, to have at least a small portion of its crop in one of the very early varieties so that seed of early varieties may be everywhere available when urgently needed. It is easy to determine at a glance that one variety is earlv ut it is less easy to indicate the relative earliness of intermediate varieties. In the two tables which follow the figures show how many bolls had opened on a given date early in Septembei- out of every 100 bolls matur- ing during the entire season. These figures are based on counts of bolls on five selected plants of each variety made by Mr. ( '. H. Billingsley, of the United States Department of Agriculture. 14 Relative carliness of varieties at Auhurn in 1904, as showjr by per cent of bolls open on September 1 on counted plants. Variety. King Mascot Meredith Garrard Grier's King Lealand Nancy Hanks . . . . Shine Jackson Hawkins Layton Johnson Excelsior Edgeworth Texas Burr Pride of Georgia . Cameron Early . . Cook Improved . . Dralce Wise Prize 5i 1^ » 82'! 77il 49ii 47ii 4611 44|i 44|| 42|l 4111 35| 34] 33] 32i 32| 31| 31| 30] 251 22] 21i Variety. Jones Improved Schley Simflower Gold Standard Parker Blue Ribbon (wooly seed) Alex. Allen Woodfin • Culpepper Blue Ribbon (black seed) Peterkin Doughty Russell Pullnot Floradora Mortgage Lifter Simms Long Staple .... Allen Long Staple Truitt Cook Long Staple Willett Red Leaf • ^ 20 19' 19, 19 18: 171 16 IGJ 15( 15 15f^ 14 r 14] 14 r 14, 13 is; 12' 10. 71 6 Relative caj'liness of varieties at McGehee's as shoii'ii by pei^ cent of bolls open on September y. 1904. J'ai icfy. Toole ?^^ 66 39 33 32! 27J 27] 25 25 24 l^ariety. Truitt 23; King ] Crossland 1 23i Simms 1 Pride of Georgia 23! ^Mortgage Lifter Cook Long Staple ] Peterkin 18r Allen Long Staple 17 Sunflower Floradora 15 Jackson ] Bought V 141 Parker j Hawkins isf Russell ] Drake 12J Schley j Bancroft n 15 The above tables are based au carefiul counts made oui five plants of each variety. Since individual peculiarities, of some of these plants have greatly affected the positions^. in the table, it is in place to say that judging only by the- general appearance of the plots the varieties matured moi'e^ nearly together than indicated by the table and at Auburn the following varieties especially appeared earlier than is indicated by their positions in the tables; Alex. Allen, Woodtin, and Cnlpei»per. Where to Get Seed;. The experiment station is unable to, supply seed of any of these varieties. In order to enable farmers to obtain seed of such of these varieties as they desire, addresses are given below of parties from whom our seed were obtained' in inO-4: Culpepper from J. E. Culpepper, Lnthersville, Ga. Drake from K. W. Drake, Laneville, Ala. Cook Improved from J. K. Cook, Schley, Ga. Edgeworth from J. C. Little, Louisville, Ga, Blue Ribbon from S. C. Experiment Station, Clemson Col lege, S. C. Gold Standard from Excelsior Seed Farm, Beunettsville, S. C. Sam Woodtin Prolific from S. V. Woodfiu, Marion, Ala. Parker, Sunflower, Russell, Mortgage Lifter, King and Jackson from l^nitel States Department of Agriculture. Washington, D. C. Truitt and Peterkin from Harvey Seed Co., ]Montgomery, Ala. Simnis, Allen Long Staple, Willett Red Leaf, Doughty Long Staple, Cook Long Staple, Floradora, Hawkins, Jones^. Improved and Schley from N. L. Willett Drug Co., Augusta, Ga. Pride of Georgia, Cameron Early, Layton Improved, Mere- dith, Nancy Hanks, Garrard, Grier's Kingv Mascot, Shine^ 16 Texas }!iirr. i\v\tt\ W}M\ Alex. Allen, and Pullnot from the Georoia Kxperirat^at Station, Experiment, Ga. r.ealaud from H. P. Jones, Herudon, Ga. Johnson Excelsior from C, R, Baird & Co., ( -hattanooga, Tenn. Otuki: llxi'KUiAiK.NT^ r.v PwHatKss ^\'ith \'auii:tiks of (^ottox. This bulletih relates to only about half of the varieties j^rowu on fhe experiment station farm at Anburn in 190i. The s[>ace available was m)t sufficient for the remaining varieties to be grow u on areas large enough to afford accu- rate determinations of the yields. The remaining varieties, gi'own on very small areas, as well as the varieties here i*eported. constitute part of an ex- periment, the nuun object of which is to obtain accurate descriptions and i>hotographs of *n-ery variety obtainable east of the boll weevil region. It will require at least ■another year before results ean be published; meantime, this experiment will l>e continued in IKO."), and for use in this 'experiment the writer will "Iw glad to ol)tain by mail from growers or origina^toi's smjiU packages of seed of the well established variety which each is growing. The senders are requested to exercise care in fully labeling the package on the outside, giving the name and j)ostoffic(' of the sender and the true establishel name of the variety. Our thanks vai'e hereby (extended ro all of those who in the past few years have furnished small lots of seed for this experiment. I would repeat here the statement which I have made every Sjtring in the cii'cular letters sent to grow- ers. Fro})! the mitiirc of the c.rpcniuint no report can he iiKuh' hji U'ttrr ax to hoic aiif/ rarictj/ i send to each corting results, were also furnished. 26. The following list gives the name and address of each es^ perimenter who has reported the results of fertilizer experi- ments made under our direction during the last four years^ with page of this bulletin where the results may be^ found:- County. Post Office. Name. Date. Page. B irbour Louisvi'le J. D. Vea' .1904 58 & 60i Bibb Vick W. T. Chism 1901, '2,'3 49'. Blount Tidmore Jno. W. Staab 1901 36 Bullock Union Sp'g-s. . N. Gachet 1904 74i Butler Garland G. L. McLure .....1901 60 & 62- Butler Greenville D. H.. Reuse 1901 55 & 56„ Butler Georgiana. . . J. C. Lee 1904' 60 »& 61' Chambers. . .Fredonia E. W. Smartt ...1904' 73. Chilton Clanton W. A. Chandler .. . 1904j 73; Choctaw Naheol^ W. G. Bevill 1901, '02? 54 Coffee Enterprise. . . C. A. Hatcher 1904' 59 & 60. Conecuh Evergreen J. W. Stewart 1902> 55 & 57 Coosa Hanover J. M. Logan .1902, "03 50,51 & 73; Cullman Cullman L. A. Fealy 1903, 36 & 38, Dale Midland City. W. H. Simmons. ...19C4; 63: DeKalb Collinsville. . . W. F. Fulton 1902, '3 30- Elmore Wetunipka 5th Dist. Agr. School.l901,'2,-'3 44,47 & 73; Elmore Tallassee J. D. Billingsley . . .1903 45 & 47' Fayette Newtonville. . .G. W. Gravlee 1904 73. Franklin Russellville. . .G. R P-ass ...1904 33 & 36, Geneva Geneva M. P. Metcalf 1901,'2.'3,'4 64 & 74i Hale Greensboro . . T. K. Jones 1902,'4 74. Lauderdale Florence W. A. Parish 1904 51 & 52- Lawrence. . Town Creek .A. A. Owens 1904 73. Lee Auburn Ala. Expt. Sta 1902; '4 47; Limestone Athens P. G. WillianTs 1^903 51 & 53: Macon Notasulga ... J. P. Slaton 1904 46, Madison Huntsville C.Davis 1901 24i Madison Huntsville H, D. N. Wales 1902. '3, '4 24 & 26, Marion Hamilton 6th Dist.Agr.School. 1903 43. Perry Long L. Long 1902 34 & 36. Pickens Gordo J. W. French 1901 39. Pickens Gordo D. W. Davis 1902 40* Shelby Montevallo J. W. Wyatt W04 31 & 32.- Talladega.. Silver Run.. C. L. Jenkins 1902, '3,'4 28. Tallapoosa . Camp Hill Lyman Ward 1902 50 & 51 Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ..E.J. Daffin 1901 41' Washington. Carson R. D. Palmer 1904 74t The directio"ns swit required each plot to be one-eighth •of an acre in area, Kows were 3 1-2 feet apart, and each ex- perimenter was advised to so thin the cotton as to leave the same number of plants on each plot, preferable at distances •of IS inches between plants. The directions stated that land employed for this test should be level and uniform, not manured in recent vears, •and not new ground, or subject to overflow, and that it should be representative of large soil areas in its vicinity. The need of perfect uniformity of treatment for all plots (except as to kinds of fertilizers used) was emphasized. Fertilizers were applied in the usual manner — that is, •drilled. The Rainfall. The following data are taken from the records of the Ala- 'bama section of the ^^'eather Bui-eau and show the average -1-ainfall for the State: INCHES RAINFALL. 1901 1902 i«:o3 1904 'January 5.32 3.86 3.56 4.17 February 4.13 6.52 10.95 3.80 March 6.30 8.76 5.91 3.69 April 5.27 2.34 2.34 1.28 2.72 2.22 Mav 5.08 2.80 6.05 4.88 2.98 2.94 -June July 1 3.40 2.50 3.98 4.80 August 8.86 3.48 3.57 5.55 September 4.19 4.28 1.41 1.36 October 1.04 3.58 1.82 0.34 ^November 1.85 4.22 2.12 2.98 December 7.80 5.77 2.93 4.38 Average ! 55.97 49.09 50.22 39.21 Average vearly normal 1 51 In the summer of 1902 occurred a drought of unprecedented dura- tion. This was general and in many localities there was little "or no rain from April to August. Hence results of that year should- be given less weight than those for the other years. In 1904 there was a deficiency of rain in spring and an Injurious drought begin- *ning aboxit th lbs. akove mi.vi. Cotton seed meal • • . i Acid phosphate .... ■ Kainit ' In 100 lbs. above i/ii.vl. a u Lbs. 13.58 6.79 1.1.58 5.09 13.58 3 39 o E.'H o — o O 0. Lbs. 5.76 Lbs. 3.54 i 2.88 1.77 ^ 36.12' / 15.05 ( I 24.60/ 12 30 ( 41.88! 3.54 9.52' .80 5.76! 28.14 1.44 13.58 2.12 1.-.58 2.59 8.21 41.88 6.54 41.88 7.75 7.03 i ( 5 59 \ 28.14 > 4.39^ 15.84 i 2.93 i COST OP^ FERTIL- IZERS It c cu I a, f22.(:"K)|;2.2U 14.00 1.68 15.00 1.50 17.03 3.88 17 .=^0 14.45 16.81 17.15 3.7(.K 3.18 5.38 4. 63 *Average of many analysis. fCounting' all the phosphoric acid in cotton seed meal as avail- able. Those farmers who are more accustomed to the word am- monia than to the term nitrogen, can change the figures for nitrogen into their ammonia equivalents by multiplying 24 In determining the increase over the unfertilized plots, the yield of the fertilized plots, Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7, is com- j:»ared with both unfertilized plots, h'ing on either side, giv- ing to each unfertilized plot a weight inversely proportional «to its distance from the plot under comparison. This method of comparison tends to compensate for variations, ju the fertility of the several plots. Price Assumed For Seed Cotton. The price assumed is 8 cents per pound for lint and |12.09 per ton for seed. Deduct from this the cost of picking and ginning, i/o cent per pound of seed cotton, and we have 2/<^ <-ents as the net value per pound of increase of seed cotton ; this last figure is used in all calculations of profits in this T)ulletin. Huntsville experiments with cotton. 1 -- \ -) ■ I ' I ^ - \ no \ FERTILIZER. HUNTS- VILI.K (.Davis^ 1901 HUNTS- VILLK ; Wales) 1902 Hunts- ville ( Wales) 1903 Hunts- VILLS (Wales) 1904 ' 6 o a (V u 1- ■ a o -tj "7 c _^J o r-* '*•' i=5 1 .— < ■ KIND. u -o O : 8 c a in o 01 ft) — < CO ■!-> 200 Cotton seed meal 240 Acid phosphate 00 No fertilizer .. ^OOjvainit 200 Cotton seed meal 240 Acid phosphate 200 Cotton seed meal 200 Kainit 240 Acid phosphate 200 Kainit QQ No fertilizer . . . 200^°^^°'^ seed meal 240 Acid phosphate 20o!Kainif 20Q Cotton seed meal 24o[Acid phosphate 100 Kainit \Lds. , I 332 ,' 524 ' 428 ,: 512 ' 592 J 420 I 616 • 452 792 li 880 Lds. Ads. Lo^. Lds. —96 416 56 640 96 384 24 712 360 424 78 353 GO 600 154 384 37 712 —22 408 67 656 1^9 368 33 552 328 344 340 416 88 648 428 448 120 594 Lds. 216 288 192 320 280 192 304 250 Lds 416 472 352 344 872 704 520 Lds. 64 12a —5 526 362 131 696 36« ^8 352 25 •Exi'Kui.MKXT Madk IX 1001 I'.Y Clarendox Davis, Huntsvillb. -lied iiijland soil and subsoil, characteristic of the Tennessee valley. Ths field had been in cultivation for many years. The preceding crop was wheat, itself preceded by cowpeas. Ex- -«essive shedding of forms, due to continued heavy rains in August, and the occurrence of light but damaging frost September 18th, reduced the yield on all plots, but more on the plots fertilized heavily and on those receiving cotton seed meal. The early frost and the residual fertilizing effects of the cowpeas probably explain the slight effects of cotton seed meal, to which in combination with acid phos- phate, cotton usually responds profitably on this grade of soil. For yield of seed cotton see page 24. That table shows that the increase in seed cotton per acre was as fol- lows : Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal wa3 •kidded : To unfertilized plot — 96 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 58 lbs. To kainit plot —100 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 171 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 8. lbs. jincrease of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 96 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 250 lbs. To kainit plot 91 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 362 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 199 lbs. 26 Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 78 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 74 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 73 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 186 lbs. Average increase with kainit 102 lbs. The chief need of cotton on this soil was for acid phos phate. Although there was no rust, the addition of kainit to the phosphate was profitable. The conditions in this test did not give to cotton seed Efteal a fair opportunity to- show the favorable effects that may usually be expected of it on this soil. Yet a complete fertilizer t, as the most profitable, plot 10 leading with a net profit of |6.90 per acre- after paying for fertilizers and for picking and ginning the increase, on the basis of lint at 8 cents and cotton seed at GO' cents per hundred pounds. O* Experiments Made in 1902, 1903, and 1904 by H. D. N. Wales^ Huntsville. Red clay soil and suhsoil. The excessively long dry period from April to August ren- dered all fertilizers ineffective in 1902, For yields and in- crease of crop see table on page 24. The 1903 ex per' nic at was preceded by two corn crops in succession. Tluii. year the largest yield resulted from the use of a mixture of acid phosphate and cotton seed meal. Kainit was of little or • <>• use in combination, but on plot 4 it seemed useful v, iien used alone. There was no rust. Mr. Wales thinks that early frost cut off one-half of the expected yields on yU)t>- 9 and 10, and did less injury on other plots. In 1904 the experiment was on similar soil, that had borne a crop of cowpeas three years before and then had" been uncultivated for two years. The largest yield was again obtained from plot 5, fertilized with 200 pounds of 27 cotton seed meal and 240 pounds acid phosphate. Mi\ Wales added an eleventh plot fertilized with 200 pounds, acid phosphate and 100 pounds cotton seed meal, the yield of which was G84 pounds, or practically as good as plots 9 and 10, containing kainit and a larger amount of cotton seed meal. Cotton seed meal was highly profitable when employed in combination, but less useful alone. Kainit was generally useless. In view of results recorded in this, bulletin and in those obtained in previous experiments on typical red upland Tennessee valley soil, I would suggest a& a general fertilizer for cotton on that soil 80 to 120 lbs. cotton seed meal per acre, 160 to 240 lbs acid phosphate per acre. 240 to 360 lbs. total per acre. If the cotton stalks grow very small it might be advisabla to increase the proportion of cotton seed meal to one- half of the mixture. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: 1902 1903 1904 To unfertilized plot 56 lbs. 216 lbs. 64 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 13 lbs. 32 lbs. 405 lbs. To kainit plot 67 lbs. 88 lbs. 367 lbs, To acid phosphate and kainit plot 55 lbs. 112 lbs. 179 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal. . 47 lbs. 112 lbs. 253 lbs, Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 24 lbs. 288 lbs. 120 lbs, To cotton sed meal plot ..—19 lbs. 104 lbs. 462 lbs, To kainit plot —33 lbs. 0 lbs. 186 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 21 lbs. 24 lbs. —2 lbs, Average increase with acid phosphate .. 14 lbs. 104 lbs. 167 lbs, 28 Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: 'To unfertilized plot 0 lbs. 192 lbs. —5 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 11 lbs. G4 lbs. 298 lbs. -To acid phosphate plot 9 lbs. 9G lbs. 61 lbs,. "To cotton seed meal and phosphate plot 51 lbs. 16 lbs. — 160 lbs. .Average increase with l « o 1^ S'^'2' O vi a> © ^ "C CO (^ O oj 0 200 240 2O0 200 240 200 200 240 100 Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . No fertilizer Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Cotton seed meal Kainit Acid phosphate . . Kainit No fertilizer Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Kainit Cotton seed meal \cid phosphate . . Kainit Lds. 144 184 104 240 324 356 304 136 492 455 Lbs. 4C 80 129 207 0) 0 m u O ?_8 ! Lbs. 200 392 280 480 672 o O 0) 53 V OJ 0) 233 175 I 568 744 344 356 776 3B_ !^. Lbs. —80 112 o c3 ft C o o t- a- o a) I— I 3 Z,(^5. 1 Lbs- 320 920 187 366 249 412 432 57(1 544 528 568 880 48. 345- 696 158' 648 1 irr 5441 880 1 576 944 , ."v^6 . o '=* t. 5§ CO t.1 O " ? 8 CO o rt -r 0) r ;- o ^ • 6 •^8 9- 10 Lds 200 240 00 200 200 241 200 200 2-^0 2f0 (0 200 2-10 200 200 240 100 Cotton seed meal Acid phosphtae . No fertilizer . . . . Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphtae . Cotton seed meal Kainit ^cid phosphtae . Xainit No fertilizer . . . . Cotton seed meal Acid phosphtae . Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphtae Kainit Lbs. i 440 416 296 336 I (2-1 49 6 348 Lds. I 1441 120 30 307 Lb'i. 376} SjO] 328 336 728 528 158 Lbs. \Lbs. 48 1056 1000 864 1056 232 390 185 616i 268 352 544 196* 712 \ 512 164 ■12 1072 1208 1384 1104 Lbs. 192 146 144 112 300 323 360 1568 464 360, 1560 456 Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: 1902 1903 To unfertilized plot 144 lbs. 48 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 1S7 lbs. 158 lbs. To kainit plot 1^2 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 38 lbs. 92 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 123 lbs. 120 lbs. —-— ■■- 32 Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added r To unfertilized plot 120 lbs. 232 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 163 lbs. 342 lbs. To kainit plot 128 lbs. 265 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 175 Ibs- Average increase with acid phosphate 137 lbs. 253 lbs- Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 30 lbs. 3 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 137 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 38 lbs. 36 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . — 111 lbs. — 31 lbs. Average increase with kainit — 14 lbs. 36 lbs. Experiment Made by J. W. Wyatt^ Five Miles East of MONTEVALLO, ShELBY CoUNTY. Dark, reddish, sandy upland with red clay siibsoil. This field had been cleared of its second growth of timber for about fifteen vears, and for about ten years in succes- sion had been planted in cotton. The original growth is reported to have been oak, hickory^ chestnut and dogwood, and the second growth springing- up when the land was thrown out of cultivation after the- civil war was short leaf pine and sumac. No mention is, made of rust. The complete fertilizer raised the 3ield to more than a bale per acre, an increase of 464 pounds. The complete fer- tilizer with 100 pounds of kainit was more profitable than= the one with a larger amount of kainit, the former afford- ing a profit of |7.23 per acre after paying for fertilizer anr^ picking and ginning of the increase^ Ok Increase of seed cotton ^vhen cotton seed meal was added; To unfertilized plot 192 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 34 lbs. To kainit plot 5G lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 136 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 87 lbs- Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 140 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot — 80 lbs. To kainit plot 184 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 264 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 128 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre wh€m kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 1 44 lbs. ' To cotton seed meal plot 8 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 182 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 352 lbs. Average increase with kainit , 171 lbs. ExpERiJiENT M.\r)K r.v (1. K, Pass, Rl-ssellvili.e, Fn.vxKLiN" County. This test iras made on (lark reddish clay upland with claij subsoil. The original growth is doscrihed as oak and hickory with some wikl cherry and walnnt. Unfortunately for showing the full effects of cotton seed meal, the preceding crop was cowpeas, the entire growth being plowed under in the fall of 1903. The stand was good. For yields and increase see table on page 36. The largest yield and the greatest profit per acre were obtained on plot 5, where only cotton seed meal and acid phosphate were employed. With this fertilizer the increase was 595 pound per acre and the net profit, after paying for fertilizer and s 34 picking and ginning of increase, was |11.59. Cotton seed meal was highly profitable in spite of the fact that the pre- ceding pea crop had supplied a large amount of nitrogen. Kainit was useless, if not indeed injurious. Increase of seed cotton when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 448 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 323 lbs. To kainit plot 163 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 142 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 244 lbs. • Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 272 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 147 lbs. To kainit plot 208 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 187 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 203 lbs. Lnorcase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: ■ To unfertilized plot 42 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot — 243 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 22 lbs. \ To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot — 203 lbs. . Average decrease with kainit 106 lbs. ^Experiment Made by L. Long^ Long P. O., Perry County, IN 1902. Worn red prairie loith some sand. For yields and increase see table on page 36. This soil had been uncultivated for several years, but had borne two crops of cotton just before the experiment was made. With a mixture of cotton seed meal and phosphate (plot 5) the increase was 360 pounds, affording a net profit of $5.48 per acre. Acid phosphate seems to have been the •^fertilizer chiefly needed, and the addition of cotton seed 35 meal to the phosphate was highly profitable. Kainit wag ainprofitable. These results suggest that a suitable fertilizer for this «oil might well contain more phosphate than meal, say two- thirds acid phosphate and one-third '•otton seed meal. Mr. Long added an additional plot fertilized only with four IJ-horse loads unweighed stable manure per acre. From this the increase over the nearest unfertilized plot was 188 pounds of seed cotton per acre. •Increase of seed cotton when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 104 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 64 lbs. To kainit plot 144 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 112 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 106 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 296 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 256 lbs. To kainit plot 300 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 268 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 278 lbs. Cncrease of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 4 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 44 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 8 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 56 lbs. ^ 8, 0) b. -o y a> rt 0) r/) t> 0) <4-l a o c -a o +-i 01 ■^ >H o 1 2 4 5-! 7i 10 2C0' 240 00; 200l 2'0 240 2f0 200 240 200 00 200 240 200 200 240 100 Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate No fertilizer Kainit Cotton seed meal . . . / Acid phosphate f Cotton seed meal . . . / Kainit \ Acid phosphate /. Kainit ^ No fertilizer Cotton seed meal . . . ) Acid phosphate ...... ; Kainit I Cotton seed meal ... 1 Acid phosphate Y Kainit I Lbs. 1112 936 664, 768; o >- ft c S Lbs Lbs 448 296 488 192 192 O) to " ft 9} U. O ' — ■ +j us 'o>.2 O "-I 2 £ ft -e o I 0) cS 0) =M ft 2 ° o ti ?8 o ft 111 42 1384 595 544 Lbs. Lbs Lbs [Lbs Lbs. 104 32 I 32 536i 104- 296 52 232 576i 144i 292 432 4 27fc 4: 528 82 1056 205 328 1096 250' 480 36' 148 304 688 488 436 896 976 1368 i 172 I 392 I 588 1424 448 468 400 i 192 416; 752 296 796 256 188 560 604 816 435. 341 784i 294- 5041 864| 360- 904 400i Experiment Made by Jxo. W. Staab^ Two Mi;i,es Nouth. OF TiDMouE^ Blount County. Light, gray, sandy soil with red loam sahsoil 4 to 6; inches-. helow the surface. This upland field had been in cultivation about fifty years. The original growth is reported as shortleaf pine, gum, mountain oak, persimmon, and hickory. All plots- were thinned to the same number of plants. For yields and" increase see table on page 36. A complete fertilizer con- taining 100 pounds of kainit gave the largest increase, andr a net profit of |11.07 per acre. A mixture of cotton seed meal and phosphate was also highly profitable. 37 The coiulusious dniwu bv Mr. Staab from this experi- ^ueiit and from previo-us lexperience are here quoted: '•1. That 50 to 100 pounds of fertilizer per acre is not ^sufficient to mature a full crop. 2. That even the heavvv applications do not pay unless ^tlie ground contains considerable humus. S. That i)hosphatic fertilizers in connection with cotton 'seed meal or cowpeas, or weeds turned under green will pay better than nine-tenths of the fertilizers commonly used. 4. That heavy applications help crops into quick ger- inination and more rajtid growth, lessening expense for hoeing. 5. That a reduction of acreage and adequate increase of tnanures are advisable. G. I do not find kainit of nearly the value it is advertised ; In times of drought it shows for itself by the wilting of 'foliage. This is ameliorated by a mixture of cotton seed nneal and acid phosphate.^' Increase of seed cotton per acTe when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 32 lbs. To acid phosphate plot . . . ■. 204 lbs. To kainit plot 252 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 372 lbs. Average increase with cfetton seed meal 215 lbs. increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot • 232 lbs. To cotton seed me&l plot 404 lbs. To kainit plot 184 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 304 lbs. ^Average increase \vith acid ptnoephat* 282 lbs. I 38 Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was addedi:: To unfertilized plot 4 lbs.. To cotton seed meal plot .224 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 44 lbs.. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . 124 lbs.. . Average increase with kainit 77 lbs.. Experiment Made at Cullman: in. 1904. This experiment was conducted by Mr. Feirtag for Mr. L_. A. Fealy. The land is described as very poor and the test as entirely fair. The soil is not described but was probably the characteristic sandy soil of that region. For yields and increase see table on page 36. The largest increase and the greatest profit were obtained on plot 5 from a mixture- of acid phosphate and cotton seed meal, the net profit there- being 17.43 per acre. Increase of seed cotton when cotton seed meaJ was added: To unfertilized plot 104 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 291 lbs. To kainit plot 259 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot GG lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 180 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added "c To unfertilized plot 144 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot ..331 lbs. To kainit plot 212 lbs. '10 cotton seed meal and kainii plat 19 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 176 lb&. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 82 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 237 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 150 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid i)hosphate plot — 75 lbs. ; Average increase with kainit 98 lbs.. 39 Experiment Made by J. W. French^ 3I/2 Miles North of GoRDo^ Pickens County^ in 1001. Gi'ay, sandy upland icith yellow clay suhsoil. The original growth is reported as shortleaf pine and sweet gum, which had been removed about twenty years^ before. On this soil cotton sometimes rusts, but there was no rust on plots fertilized with kainit in 1901. The sea- son was dry. o Gordo, Tuscaloosa, and Hamilton experiments. FERTILIZER. 1 2 3 4 8 r 9 ; 10 Lbs. 200 240 00 2OO 200 240 200 200 240 200: 00 1 200 240 200 1 200 240; 100 Lbs. Cotton seed meal ' 512 Acid phosphate ' •♦48 No fertilizer 368 Kainit 1 432 Cotton seed meal . . . ^ I -^^ Acid phosphate ^ " Cotton seed meal . . . , .^^ Kainit ( j ■^^- Acid phosphate 1 Kainit \ •'^36 No fertilizer ; ^-^ Cotton seed meal . . . j j ~" Acid phosphate y\ 515 Kainit I j Cotton seed meal ... 1 Acid phosphate | | 608 Kainit I Lbs. Lbs. Lb'i.J.bs. 144 656; 1201 552 80 680 . 144 592 i 536i 448 Lbs. Lbs 87 536 00 416 45? 808 272 272 640; 104 812 'V62 91 i 800 ( 64 696 360 352 536l 896 360 848 480 960 104 144 -39 Lbs. 745 780 590 600 155 190o 10- 351 8701 280- . 532 223 480 .S4(i 250- 512 792 231 810 220..' 980 39a-' ' 87o! 280" A complete fertilizer gave the best yield. In a complete fertilizer 100 pounds of kainit was sufficient, plot 10 af-"' fording a net profit of 11.52. 40 Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 144 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 1G5 lbs. To kainit plot 185 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot G9 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 181 lbs. -Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 80 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 101 lbs. To kainit plot 204 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 88 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 118 lbs. increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 87 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 121 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 211 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot ..115 lbs. Average increase with kainit 133 lbs. t^xi'EUiMENT Made by I). W. Davis, IV-.' Miles Northeast of GouDo^ Pickens County^ in 1902. (Snuff colored, sandy clay loam iiith dark reddish clay suhsoil. This iijilaiid field had been in cultivation for many veais, the tAvo preceding crops being corn with a scant growth of •cowpeas between the rows. The original growth was lel •oak, black jack oak, hickory and pine. The stand was uni- form. For yield and increase see table on page 39. A complete fertilizer gave the largest yield and a net profit on plot 9 of |3.90 ])er acre. While all three fertilizers were beneficial, the chief need was for phosphate. Preeed- sng crops of cowpeas obscured the results from cotton seed il meal. Kaiuit. thoiigh useful, was less needed than it Avas the preceding year on tlie apparently lighter soil of Mr. JFrench's farm. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 120 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 12S lbs. To kainit plot 104 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 96 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 112 lbs. Increase of se*^d cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 144 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 152 lbs. To kainit plot 2G4 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 25G lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 204 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 00 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot — IG lbs. To acid phosphate plot 120 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 88 lbs. Average increase with kainit 64 lbs. ^Exi'ERiMEXT Conducted by E. J. Daffin, Si/o Miles South OF Tuscaloosa, in 1901. Gray, saiidi/ soil, with yellow subsoil. This field had been cleared about sixty years. The orig- inal growth is repoFted as oak, hickory, shortleaf pine, sweet gum, elm, mulberry, poplar and beech. ^ Black rust was severe on all plots. The season was dry until August, when excessive rains occurred.. The stands were very thin, but uniform on each plot. The largest yield was made with the complete fertilizer. ■Six hundred and forty pounds of a complete fertilizer o» 42 plot 9 increased the yield 480 pounds of seed cotton, aflfordr- ing (at 8 cents for lint) a net profit of |7.10 per acre after- paying for fertilizers and cost of ginning and picking the- increase. Cotton seed meal was important, and phosphate- equally so ; kainit was useful, but less needed than the other- two, and was effective only when combined with one or- both of the others. The results of the 1901 test are in accord with similar experiments made by Mr. Baffin in 1900 on the same farm,., (property of Hon. F. S. Moody) and with those obtained by him in 1897 and 1898 on the county Poor-house farm. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added':: To unfertilized plot 104 lbs. To- acid phosphate plot 207 lbs. To kainit plot 292 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 257 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 215 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added':: To unfertilized plot 144 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot ^, 247 lbs. To kainit plot 262' lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 227 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 220 lbs; Increase of .seed cotton per acre when kainit was added : To unfertilized plot —39 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 149 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 79 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . 129 lbs. Average increase with kainit 79 lbs. We may safely conclude that- on soils of this character near Tuscaloosa cotton requires a large proportion of phgs- phate, considerable cotton seed meal, and les& of ka.iiiaiti than of either meal or phosphate. For Yields and increase see table on paae 39.. 43 Experiment Conducted by the Sixth Distiuct Agricul- tural School at Hamilton, Marion County^ in 1903. Soil dark loam ivith light red s.ulj&oil. This upland soil had been cleared many years, then thrown out of cultivation, and again taken into cultivatioQ ' five years before the test began. On plots 7, 9 and 10 the stand was imperfect. The largest yield was made with the complete fertilizer, but potash was less needful than either cotton seed meal or phosphate. The largest net profit, on plot 9, was f3.46. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added ^ To unfertilized plot 155 lbs. To acid phosphate plot '. 90 lbs. To kainit plot 240 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 170 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 163 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added .^ To unfertilized plot 190 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot ;..125 lbs. To kainit plot 210 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 140 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 166 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 10 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 95 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 30 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 110 lbs. Average increase with kainit ••• 61 lbs. 44 'llxrKKTMKNT MaDE I'.Y FiFTH DISTRICT AciUICULTURAL SciiooL, Wetumpka, in 1901. Dark gray iQiim soil toith reddish siihsoil. This upland field is reported as having been cleared about twenty years before of its growth of longleaf pines and small water oaks. For the three years preceding the experiment it was un- cultivated and grew up in grass and briers. There was little or no black rust. The stand was uni- form. The average results indicate that the chief need was for phosphate. Neither kaiuit nor cotton seed meal was of much use the first year after the plowing in of large amounts -of vegetable matter,. The need for phosphate is also sug- jgested by the results of the 1'903 inconclusive experiment on -the same farm. See pages 47 and 71. The largest net profit was from plot 5, $4.65. Increase of seed cotton pertecre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 64 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 116 lbs. To kainit plot 63 lbs. To acid phosphate and kaini-t plot — 93 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 37 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 170 lbs. I'o cotton seed meal pl®t 222 lbs. To kainit plot 234 lbs. To cotton seed meal and Icainit plot 78 lbs. Average increase with bc'k3 phosphate 176 lbs. 4o. Increase of seed cotton per acre wli-en kainit was added: To unfertilized plot G7 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot GG lbs. To acid phosphate plot 131 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . — 78 lbs. Average increase with kainit 46 lbs. Experiment Made by J. I). Billingsley, Five: Miles West- OF Tallassee_, in Elmore County^ in 1903. Black sandy upland; light colored subsoil. The original growth of longieaf pin^ and oak had been- removed about thirty years before. There was no rust and" very little shedding. All plots were thinned to the same- number of plants, namely, 5,760 per acre. . The rainfall was favorable. For yields see page 47. The largest yield was obtained from the complete fertil- izer which afforded an increase of 552 pounds of seed cotton per acre, or a net profit on plot 6df |8.97, and on plot 10 of" $9.67. The principal need was for potash and nitrogen, this- being one of the few soils Avhere, in the absence of rust, kainit was more important than acid phosphate. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added • To unfertilized plot .' 136 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 204 lbs. To kainit plot 470 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 225 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 258 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added.: To unfertilized plot ' 40 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 108 lbs. To kainit plot 301 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 5G lbs. Average increase with acid, phosphate T26 Ibsi, 46 Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot u 26 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 360 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 287 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . .308 lbs. Average irrcr^ase with kainit 245 lbs. lExpERiMENT Made by J, P. Slaton^ Seven JNIiles South of NOTASULGA. This test icas made on gray sandy hillside loith stiff er red- dish subsoil. * The original growth was longleaf pine, oak, hickory and tgwm, cleared eight years before. For two years pre- 'Ceding the experiment the land was pastured. Unfortunate- \\ the land was not plowed until May 17th, which delay re- duced the yields. The stand was good on all plots. Fo^r .yields and increase see table on page 47, The complete fertilizer was most profitable, plot 9 giving ian increase of 544 pounds of seed cotton per acre, equivalent ito a net profit of f 8.76 per acre. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfeiitalized plot 256 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 105 lbs. To kainit plot 173 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 210 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 186 lbs. ^Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 276 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 129 lbs. To kainit plot 128 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 1C5 lbs. Average lincpeirse with acid phosphate 174 lbs ■ 47 ^iicrease of seed cotton per acre ■when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 20G Ibf. To cotton seed meal plot 123 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 58 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 163 lbs. Average increase with kainit ...; 137 lbs. m^ctumplia^ Tallassee, Notasulga and Auhiirn fertilizer ex- periments. o o •sf 9^ no FERTILIZER. We- TUMPKA 1901 LASSEE 1903 Nota- sulga 1904 Auburn 1902 0) u O a KFND. m *■> 0> o ^t3 u p. 0) cS > T3 w «- o a> a> N o 0) .J-. 0 "S tf T3 o '^ m t- ,<1J <0 S O *" 0) 0) rt o U P4 o a> si, 0) A6j. 200 240 00 200 200 240 200 200 240 200 00 200 240 200 200 240 100 Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . No fertilizer ...... Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Cotton seed meal Kainit Acid phosphate . . Kainit No fertilizer Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Kainit Lbs. 424 536 360 I 432 I 656 504 680 384 592 664 Lds. 64 170 'Lbs. 136 40 * • *j 0) o t-l -o u u ft 0! rt OJ a) . > -o «^fe O OJ ! ^la B u ft O 4; 0.2 c3 £ Lbs. 480 1 384 1 344! 528 548 272 Lbs. 256 276 67 376 26 472 206 286 600 244 640 381 130 832 469 632 379 301 696 376 327 580 240 334 208 928 552 784 544 280 926 550 564 324 Lbs. 594 477 416 629 580 662 648 475 741 729 Lbs. 178 63 201 140 211 185 266 254 ExrERIME^'T'OK STATION FaRM AT AUBURN. IN 1902. Light, sandy soil with porous sandy su'bsoil. This test was made on the poorest hilltop on the station 48 farm where no leguminous crop had grown for a number of years. The absence of any considerable rain between April and August ruined the yield. The stand was uniform on all plots. The chief need of this sand bank this excessively dry year was for kainit, but the largest yield was from complete fertilizer. Experiment Conducted by W. T. Chism^ in 1901, 1902 and 1903, AT ViCK^ Bibb County. Grayish, mndy, second bottom with yellow suhsoil. This land has been long in cultivation. On adjacent, similar land the forest growth consists of shortleaf pine, white and red oaks, gum, cucumber tree, dogwood, hickory and beech. For yields and increase see table on page 49. In 1901. All plots were reduced to the same number of plants, 6,400 per acre. The two preceding crops had been cotton. The largest increase, 388 pounds of seed cotton per acre, or a net profit of |5.31 per acre, was obtained where a complete fertilizer was used. This year nitrogen was apparently the plant food chiefly needed, but both phos- phoric acid and potash Avere advantageous. There was practically no rust on an}' plot. In 1902. Dry weather, almost continuous from April till August, made the yields on all plots low and all fertilizers practicallj' useless. In 190S. The two preceding crops had been cotton. The spring was late and cold. No rust occurred. As in 1901 cotton seed meal greatly increased the yield while phosphate and kainit were less important, but advantageous. Plot 10 afforded the largest increase, 446 pounds, or a net profit of $6.19 per acre. The results suggest that the phosphate in the complete fertilizer might have been much reduced without injury to the crop. 40 ^Iv. 'Chisiu also made similar experiments in ISOO and H'JOO. In those years cotton seed meal was the only fer- itilizer that was of material advantage. The results as a whole indicate that on this second bottom a fertilizer of ^unusual comi)osition is i^equii-ed and that it should con- tain more of 'cotton seed meal than of any other fertilizer. Experiments at Tick, Bibh county. FERTILIZER. ViCK 1901 VlCK 1902 ViCK 1903 oJ IB w 95 ^ .«-> ..-) u 6 o OJ o OJ CS u 1 t i- ft 5 "C it U ft .6 ft *-> KIND. o — CO ~ o - o J o ~ O o g c C« -r a ci -jj fl eS ■—' % O 2 o 0) U 0) t- 2 S 0) ::: 0) r p- <: :-S i^ 8 > 5 Lbs. Us. Lds. Lbs. /.65. Z65. AZ.i 1 2m Cotton seed meal .. . . . 076 122 352 48 864 242 .2 240 Acid phosphate 612 128 360 56 572 —50 3 00 200 No fertilizer 484 636 156 304 364 57 622 700 '4 Kainit 75 •"a ■ 200 240 , 200 Cotton seed meal . . . i Acid phosphate \' Cotton seed meal .... 732 256 412 102 970 .-48 '6 J ! 200 1 Kainit <^ 1 240 ' Acid phosphate / ■/40 268 4(;o 86 940 310 >■ ■ 200 1 Kainit \ 716 248 432 115 752 119 8 1 00 No fertilizer 464 320 636 9 1 200 ; Cotton ^ed meal . . . , 240 Acid phosphate 8.S2 388 432 112 1024 388 200 Kainit > 2)0 Cotton seed meal • • • j no^ 240 Acid phosphate 728 264 428 108 1052 416 \)Q Kainit ^ Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton see:l meal was a ld:d; 1901 1903 'To unfertilized plot 192 lbs. .>A2 lbs. 'To acid phosphate plot 128 lbs. 398 lbs. To kainit plot 112 lbs. 235 lbs. 'To acid phosphate and kainit plot 140 lbs. 2G2 lbs. 'Average increase with c&tton seed meal 143 lbs. 284 lbs. 50 Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added:: To unfertilized plot 128 lbs. 50 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 64 lbs. lOG lbs.. To kainit plot 92 lbs. 44 Ibs^ To cotton seed meal and kainit plot ..,.,.. .120 lbs. 84 lbs.. Average increase with acid phosphate 101 lbs. 46 Ibs^ Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 15G lbs. 75 lbs.. To cotton seed meal plot 7G lbs. G8 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 120 lbs. 189 lbs.. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot ....132 lbs. 40 lbs.. Average increase with kainit 121 lbs. 88 lbs,. Experiment Made by the Southern Industrial Institute^ Camp Hill^ Tallapoosa County, in 1902. Gray, sandy soil, wliJi sandy stihsoiJ. A protracted drought made all fertilizers practically use- less, the average increase from cotton seed meal being only 18 pounds, from phosphate 31 pounds, and from kainit IT pounds. The most favorable result, on plot 7, entailed a* loss on account of fertilizers of 94 cents per acre. Experiments Made 2V2 Miles South of Hanover^ Coosa County, by J. M. Logan, in ?902. Dark gray sandy soil icith some rock; yellowish sahsoiK The original growth, removed about 40 years before, con- sisted of longleaf pine, hickory and oak. Recent crops have all been cotton. The largest increase, 392 pounds of seed cotton per acre, was obtained from the use of a complete fertilizer, affording a net profit of $5.56 per acre. Phos- phate used alone or with kainit, was of little value, but^ combined with both it was highly advantageous. 51 Camp Hill, Hanover, Florence and Athens experiments^. FERTILIZER. Camp Hill 1902 Han- over 1903 Flok- 19(4 Athens^ 1904 u V cS u o o. o .^ Z 3 *j O o S CU < KIND. 9^ e8 'O o I a" ^ T) > " ; O o I CO u , M z: ! o " 01 ti. 0) 0) _, o =<-; li; 3 !>* 5i f- ft O r- CO :z CO :;: ;0 O) SI, CO r:: t. 0) 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 A 6^ ■ 2W 24(^ 00 200 200 240 2K1 2-JO^ 240 200' 00 200 240 200 200 240 im Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . No fertilizer Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Cotton seed meal Kainit Acid phosphate . . Kainit No fertilizer Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate . . Kainit Lds. 576j .'='361 5U| 528 584 656 624 536 576 536 Lbs. 32 —8 —15 43 Li>s. 360 264 240 376 352 27 368 86 384 232 40 CO 120 j 24: 137 /./}S. 732 1144 448 784 i Lbs-, 208 248 Lbs.\Lbs. 284 56(: 696 6(10 352 334 116 1416 965 132 1024 571 151 536 304 624 392 — ♦- 1272 828 456 14921036 120(»! 744 656 728 760 295 357 '2,79' 592: 21)1 400^ ?.16' 416 i 872, 472: Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 120 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 92 lbs. To kainit plot 4 lbs> To acid phosphate and kainit plot 153 Ibs.^ Average increase with cotton seed meal 90 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 24 lbs. To cotton £>eed meal plot — 4 lbs. To kainit plot 11 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 171 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 50 lbs.. 52 Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To -unfertilized plot 13G lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 13 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 127 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . .188 lbs. Average increase with kainit 113 lbs. Experiment Made by W. A. Parish, Tex Miles West op Florence^ Lauderdale County. Light, grai/ soil iritlt pale rcdilislt snljsoil. This tield had bceii cleared -41) or 50 years. The origiual growth is reported as postoak and bUiek jack oak. The experimenter reports that there Avas no black rust, but that "red rnst" was present, but did little damage. Tlie season was dry. The stand was good and uniform. The complete fertilizer more than trebled the yield of the unfertilized plots, raising the yield to about a bale per acre. This is an increase uf l.OoO pounds of seed cotton, equal to a net p»olit of .|21 .50 per acre after paying for fer- tilizer and picking and ginning of increase. Every fertil- izer, whether applied singly, by tw2 03 *J ' O (U ^ fc C^ •rt t> 0) 0) eft ^ -o © o 5 n u N c to S o rt -p ri 2: a) 2 O i' o "»- o : o (U i t/j 1 1 -■-! 6 o (V u u -o O ;> e. rs t) « (ri 0- O cd a; r> T) :8 s a >2' ^ S4 c 3 1 2 3 4 9 no / 200 240 00 20() ;2oo! -240' 2(X)' 200' 240 2(X) 00 200 240 200. 200, 240' 1CX> Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate No fertilizer Kainit Cotton seed meal • • • \ Acid phosphate J Cotton seed meal • •• \ Kainit J Acid phosphate 1 Kainit J No fertilizer Cotton seed meal • • • ) Acid phosphate Kainit > Cotton seed meal . . ■ . Acid phosphate ..... Kainit \ Lds Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs Lbs 648 664 528 664 120 136 130 400 504 432 296 -32 72 -141 632 616 J28 352 304 288 24 384 384 304 224 80 80 -64 760 220 688 247 696 268 672 400 856 310 616 170 664 326 6% 440 696 143 600 149 528 200 688 448 560 456 224 1(X)8 4i8 744 288 632 304 800 592 1(X)0 4 40 744 288 784 456 768 576 Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: 1901 1902 To unfertilized plot 120 lbs. — 32 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 84 lbs. 175 lbs. To kainit plot 180 lbs. 311 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 305 lbs. 139 lbs. 'Average increase with cotton seed meal 172 lbs. 145 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: "To unfertilized plot 136 lbs. 72 lbs. "To cotton seed meal plot ; .% 100 lbs. 279 lbs. 'To kainit plot 13 lbs. 290 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 138 lbs. 118 lbs. -Average increase with acid phosphate 96 lbs. 189 lbs. 5G Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: T' unfertilized plot 130 lbs.— 141 lbs.. To cotton seed meal plot 190 lbs. 202 lbs.. .•:To- .9;cid phosphate plot 7 lbs. 75 lbs.. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.... 228 lbs. 41 lbs. Average increase with kainit 138 lbs. 44 lbs.. ExrEuniENT by D. H. Rouse, Greenville^ in 1901. Wo))i, red land. The average increase is the greatest with cotton seed' meal, 172 pounds of seed cotton per acre, and next with acid j»h')s;»hate. Kainit was inefifective. This test is not entirely conclusive. For Ir.blc of yields see i)age 55. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added:: To unfertilized plot 304 lbs. To acid phosphate plot . — 20 lbs. To kainit plot 302 lbs.. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 104 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal ...... 172 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added:: To unfertilized plot 288 lbs. 1 o cotton seed meal plot — 3G lbs. To kainit plot 176 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot — 22 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 101 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertiized plot 24 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 22 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 88 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . 3G lbs.. Average decrease with kainit 1 IbSs 0( Experiment by J. W. Stuart, at Eveuuueex, ix 11)02. Gray sandy uijland icitli reddish suhsoiL For ^ielcI.s j-ee page 55. There was no rust. The staud was uuifonn. In spite- of the severe drought every combiuation of fertilizers ef- fected a high]}' profitable increase in |the crop. However, when used separately, no fertilizer material exerted its full efifect. The largest increase, 592 pounds of seed cotton per acre, resulted from the use of a complete fertilizer, but in the complete fertilizer 100 ])ounds of kainit was nearly as effective as a larger amount. Plot 10 afforded a'net profit of $10.34 per acre after paying for fertilizer and for pick- ing and ginning the increase. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 80 Ibr To acid phosphate plot 320 lbs. To kainit plot 504 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 144 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 264 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre \vhen acid phosphate was added; To unfertilized plot '. 80 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 320 lbs. To kainit plot 512 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 152 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 266 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot — 64 lbs. To cotton seed tneal plot 360 lbs. To acid phosphate plot .' 368 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot.. 192 lbs. Average increase with kainit 214 lbs. «8 l^xpERiMENT Conducted by J. D. Veal^ Three Miles North OF Louisville^ Barbour County. Gray, sandy soil, icitli stiffer gray subsoil. This upland field had been cleared of its growth of oak and hickory and longleaf pine about thirty years before. For the two years preceding this experiment corn was grown on this land, but whether cowpeas were grown be- tween the corn rows was not stated. The stand on all plots was good. A complete fertilizer afforded the largest increase in yield, 474 pounds of seed cotton per acre, a net profit of |G.94 per acre. The com- plete fertilizer with 200 pounds of kaiuit was a little more profitable than the one containing 100 pounds of kainit. This is a case in which the increased yield from kainit was hot due to its influence on rust, for Mr. Veal reports that there was no rust on any plot. See table page 66. The combination of acid phosphate and cotton seed meal \vas highly profitable, but less so than the complete fertil- izers. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: ' To unfertiized plot 48 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 253 lbs. To kainit plot 301 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 242 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 211 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 120 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 325 lbs. To kainit plot 268 lbs. Ttj cotton seed meal and kainit plot 209 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 230 lbs. 59 Increase of seed cotton per acre when aci -t-> ?« O ! o O 0) a; .2 0) ; 0) i 0^ ! O l5 o ERniEXTs Mai'K };v J. ('. Lkk, 1904, 1 1-4 Miles North OF Georgiana. (Jraij ■■iiincijirooih" Kjjland icitJi red clay siihsoil. The hiud had been cleared about ten years. The original ^growth was longleaf pine with some oak, hickory, and dog- ^vood. There had been no coAvpeas on this land in recent years. There was no rnst, but shedding was severe. The stand -was good and nnif(»nii. For yields see page 60. The most profitable increase, 364 pounds of seed cotton per acre, resulted from the use of cotton seed meal and acid phos- phate. This mixture gave a net profit of $5.58 per acre. Tlie addition of kainit to this mixture was not notably help- ful. The chief need of this soil was for phosphate and not hi\. Tiie chief need of this soil was for phosphate and next Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added: To unfertilized plot 64 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 164 lbs. To kainit plot 221 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 174 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 155 lbs. 62 Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 200 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 300 lbs. To kainit plot 140 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 193 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 208 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: 1 o unfertilized plot 70 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 227 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 10 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . . 20 lbs. Average increase with kainit 81 lbs. Experiment Made in 1901, by G. L. McLure^ Two Miles East of Garland^ Butler County. This gray upland pine soil had been cleared about ten years. The original growth was longleaf pine and black jat'k oak. The preceding crop was oats. Acid phosphate was highly profitable and cotton seed meal effective. Kainit was effective only when combined with the other two. The largest increase, 560 pounds of seed cotton per acre, was obtained from the use of a complete fertilizer. This, on plot 9, gave a net profit of |9.4G per acre. For yield see table on page 60. Two experiments previously made by Mr. McLure and two made near by at Lumber Mills, accord with the results here recorded in showing that the pineywoods soils of that region are highly responsive to a mixture of acid phosphate and cotton seed meal, and that kainit is highly beneficial onlv when rust is severe. 63 Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added i To unfertilized plot 296 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 2 lbs. To kainit plot 8G lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plat 123 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meal 125 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added ^ To unfertilized plot 448 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 150 lbs. To kainit plot 386 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot 423 lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 351 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 51 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot — 159 lbs. To acid phosphate plot — 11 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot . .114 lbs. Average decrease with kainit 1 lbs. Experiment Made by W. H. Simmons, Midland City^ Dale County. Alone none of the fertilizers was very advantageous, but- in a complete fertilizer all three were decidedly beneficiaU The largest increase, 296 pounds of seed cotton per acre, re- sulted from the use of the complete fertilizer on plot 0.. This afforded a net profit of |2.32 per acre, which is nearly nine cents more than the profit on plot 10, where less kainit was ustd. See table on page 64. Increase of seed cotton per acre when cotton seed meal was added; To unfertilized plot 88 lbs. To acid phosphate plot 127 lbs. To kainit plot 86 lbs. To acid phosphate and kainit plot 139 lbs. Average increase with cotton seed meaf 110 lbs. 04 Increase of seed cotton per acre when acid phosphate was added: To unfertilized plot 5G lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 95 lbs. To kainit plot 113 lbs. To cotton seed meal and kainit plot . . 16G lbs. Average increase with acid phosphate 107 lbs. Increase of seed cotton per acre when kainit was added: To unfertilized plot 44 lbs. To cotton seed meal plot 42 lbs. To acid phosphate plot .101 lbs. To cotton seed meal and acid phosphate plot ..113 lbs. Average increase with kainit 75 lbs. Midland City and Geneva experiments. FERTILIZER. Mid- land City 1904 Ge- neva 1901 Ge- neva 1902 Ge- neva 1903 o o 1 2 3 4 5^ / 6) I I 8 0) u a c 3 O KIND. H o 10 / 200 240 00 200 200 240 20;) 20;) 240 2:)o (_)0 200 240 2o;_) 200 240 100 Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate No fertilizer . . . Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate Cotton seed meal Kainit Acid phosphate Kainit ....:. . . . No fertilizer . . . Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate Kainit Cotton seed meal Acid phosphate Kainit Go Experiments by l\ 'SL Mktcalf^ 4i/2 Miles North op Geneva. Kiraij or light sand^ upland with stiffcr red subsoil, eight inches from surface. For .yields see table on pages 64 and 74. Jn UJOl. This was lie fourth crop after clearing, all pre- vious crops being corn with cowpeas and peanuts between. Xo mention is made of rust. On this fresh laud where leguminous crops had grown for ■several years, phosphate was the only material of marked value. Phosphate alone increased the yield 29G pounds of -seed cotton per acre, affording a net profit of $6.02 per acre, •after paying cost of fertilizer and picking and ginning of increase. Ill iDO^ The imni -'ii-i^ely preceding crop was oats, which in turn had been preceded by two crops of corn, probably Vith cowpeas or peanuts between, as is customary in that 'locality. The time since clearing is not stated. Protracted drought and abundance of cotton caterpillars in October reduced the yields. No mention is made of black rust, but ^rr. Metcalf writes that "Plots 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 had anucli of what we know as red rust." In this unfavorable ..veav kainit was by far the most effective single fertilizer, increasing the yield when used alone 369 pounds. The com- plete fertilizer containing a full ration of kainit increased the yield 488 pounds of seed cotton, affording a net profit of ^6.31 per acre. Mr. Metcalf writes: "I learn from this experiment that It pays to use lots of guano and of high quality." In 1903. This was the sixth vear since the clearing of this land. The crops in 1902 were oats, followed by Span- ish peanuts. There was no rust. This experiment is ren- ll<)\vinji tahlc jiives the "average of ;ill The 41 coiulnsive experiments recorded iu '•this biilU4il>. Tt shows tlie average increase in seed cotton, due to fertilizers, tliroughout Ahihania and tlie net profit due to fertilizers, after paving liberal prices for fertilizers •and after j)aytng 1)0 cents i)er hundred ]»ounds of seed cotton for picking and ginning the increased vields. -Arcnti/r intnasc in 41 i.ijKr'nittntH in seed cotton per acre and net profit per acre from fertilizers, after deductinrj cost of fertiliz< r and cost of pichinf/ and f/innin(/ iiie increase. . o O a! 10- / FERTILIZER. 9 U ti a u o a a o S < KIND. /.ds. 240 200 240 200 I 240 I 2W} 210 I 240 ! 100 I Kainit Acid phosphate Cotton seed meal • • . \ Acid phosphate j Cotton seed meal . . . i Acid phosphate [- Kainit ) Cotton seed meal . . . ^ Acid phosphate o o 93 .s ** 0) Lds. 155 302 391 365 Net protit per acre from fertilizers with seed at 60c per 100 lbs. and (J '3 ^ o 1.26 1.85 2.35 3.97 $ 3.36 5.87 2.04 4.78 7.25 2.30 i 4.86 7.26 The above table deserves careful study. Even with cotton calculated at six cents per pound, fertilizers were profita- ble, the average net profit per acre ranging from |1.26 to 12.30. With eight-cent cotton the average net profits from fer- tilizers assume important proportions, ranging from |2.35 and |4.86 per acre. QS- With ten cent cotton the average piroflts range betweeni ;,.:.36 and |7.26 per acre. Whether cotton be priced at six^ e-ight, or ten cents per pound, the average profit per acre was greater with a mix- ture of cotton seed meal and phosphate than with phosphate alone, and still greater when 100 pounds of kainit was: added to this mixture, thus making a complete fertilizer., Conclusions and Suggestions. These are hascd on these experiments and on results i)nh- lisJied in former bulletins of this station.. J. In all sojl belts, except perhaps- on certain grades of rich prairie soil, where tests have been made with cotton under the direction of this station acid phosphate has been, almost universally beneficial. 2 Kainit is less frequently needed than either acid phos- phate or cotton seed meal, and a considerable proportion of" the soils on which it has been most advantageous lie in the southern part of the State. On soils where cotton is es- pecially liable to ''black rust" and in all parts of the State- in seasons when that disease is especially injurious, kainit is at its best. On most soils, containing much clay, it can be profitably dispensed with. Where needed, an application, of 100 pounds per acre is usually suflQcient for cotton. 3. Cotton seed meal is highl}- beneficial to cotton on a large proportion of the cultivated area of every soil belt in Alabama. Apparently it is universally needed on uplands^ except on (1) new grounds and (2) on soils containing considerable vegetable matter. 4. On old soils, as a rule, it is more profitable to employ for cotton a mixture of acid phosphate and cotton seed' meal or of these two and kainit, than to use an equal money ralue of any one of them alone. 5. The >.i!?i..'il basis for a fertilizer formula for cottoih 69 in regions where commercial fertilizers are generally em-. ployed should be acid phosphate, of which 100 to 240 pounds, should be used per acre, in addition to cotton seed meal or other nitrogenous fertilizer as uecessarv. 6. The proper proportion of cotton seed meal to acid phosphate in a fertilizer formula for cotton depends largely on the recent cropping and manuring of the field. (a) Small stalks, (if not due to climatic influences, poor- cultivation, etc.) are usually an indication thai nitrogen (as. in cotton seed meal), is needed. (b) Excessive stalk or "weed growth'' of cotton is an indication that nitrogen can be dispensed with wholly or partially. (c) Phosphate hastens maturity. • (d) The fresher the land the less the need for nitrogen, (e) A luxuriant growth of cowpeas just preceding cot- ton dispenses with the necessity for cotton seed meal, as. does a recent heavy dressing with stable manure or cotton seed. 7. Nitrogen costs about three times as much as phos- phoric acid or potash and hence most of it should be pro- duced on the farm by growing soil-improving plants, (as cowpeas, velvet beans, vetch, crimson clover, etc.) and by increasing the number of livestock and the amount of stable manure saved. 8. In response to requests for recommendations of definite fertilizer formulas for cotton on different soils, the writer would tentatively suggest the following, to be modi- fied somewhat when the facts mentioned in paragraph 6- seem to require it : (a) For red lime lands in North Alabam; for the red clay lands occupying a triangular area in the central por- tion of East Alabama — for the most part north of the West- ern Railway and east of the Coosa River — and for the stiffer non-calcareous soils of the northwestern and western part •f the State : 80 to 120 lbs. cotton seed meal \)er acre. ICO to 240 -bs. acid phosphate per acre. 240 to 360 lbs. totai per acre. (b) For sandy soils in the eastoru and contial parts of tlu' States 80 to 120 lbs. cotton seed meal per acre. IGO to 240 lbs. acid phosphate per acre. 40 to 60 lbs. kainit per acre. 280 to 420 lbs. total per acre. (c) For the level lands of the southern L(>ni;leaf Pine Jlej^ion : 60 to 120 lbs. cotton seed meal per acre. 120 to 240 lbs. acid phosphate per acre. GO to 80 lbs. kainit per acre. 240 to 440 lbs. total per acre. (di For any well drained soil in any part of the State on which cotton is known to be especially liable to bhick rnst : 120 to 160 lbs. cotton seed meal per acre. 80 to 120 lbs. acid phosphate per acre. 80 to 120 lbs. kainit per acre. 280 to 400 lbs. total per acre. !). The fornnilas sugi^ested above contain approximately the following percentagres of nitrogen (and itslarger equiva- lent in ammonia), available phosphoric acid, and potash, using phosphate containing 12 1-2 per cent, of available phos- phoric acid. A phosphate of higher grade is advisable. FORMULA. (a) For certain red lands I 2.3 (b) For certain sandy lands I 2.0 (c) For low longleaf pine lands .... 1.9 (d) For "rusting" soils \ 3.0 10. On llic lime soils of the Cciitral I'raiiic Ki'j;iou coiu- iiiercial fertilizers are not j»enerally used. Prairie soils are often in poor mechanical condition and need ve«etable mat- ter and drainage more than commercial fertilizers. The poorer soils often need both cotton seed meal and jdiosphate. IXCOXCLUSIVH Exi'KRl .\1 KNTS. These sometimes afford suggestions or hints \vhi( li may serve to strengthen the lonclusions derived from ilic more positive experiments previously recorded. At Town Creek, one-ciuarter of a mile southeast of the town, ^Ir. A. A. Owens made the test on what he describes as white sandy land with yellowish subsoil. There was no rust, but drought. This experiment was undertaken by Mr. R. R. Reed, who turned the fertilizers over to Mr. Owens. The test is inconclusive for the reason of the tearing of one of the fertilizer sacks, probably that for plot 0. The Xewtonville experiment in Fayette county was made by G. W. Gravlee, but was vitiated by late germination and irregular stands. The experiment at Hanover, Toosa county, was made by J. M. Logan on gray gravelly or rocky land with red clay subsoil. The results suggest that kainit was not needed. The test one mile east of Fredonia, Chambers county, was made by E. W. Smart on dark ujdand with red subsoil. In- equalities in stand, due, he rejtorts. to disease of the young 72 Tplants, vitiated tlie experiment. The results suggest that a mixture of cotton seed meal and acid phosphate was suffi- •cient. Cowpeas in corn or after oats, and grazed, grew on 'the land in each of two years preceding the experiment. Mr. W. A. Candler, Clanton, Chilton county, made the •experiment on land where the preceding winter he had plow- ed in a very rank growth of cowpea vines, affording condi- tions unsuitable for a test of commercial fertilizers. At Wetumpka, the test was made on the farm of the District Agricultural Schools with conflicting results both in 1902 and 1903. At Greensboro the tests were made by T. K. Jones, 1 1-2 miles south of town on poor red upland, originally' covered ■with hardwood. In 1902 manure was accidentally added to •certain plots, and in 1904 the growth of grass ruined the 'experiment. Four miles north of Union Springs Mr. N. Gachet made a test on light, reddish loam with red clay subsoil, where "the original growth had been hardwood. Variations in the stand destroyed the value of the experiment. The test at Carson, Washington county, was consigned to ^Ir. R. D. Palmer. It was made on gray upland, pine land "with vellow clav subsoil, two miles north of Carson. The results are somewhat conflicting. For the Geneva experiment, see page 66. Credit is due Mr. C. R. Hudson for making or checking all ■^•calculations in this bulletin. 73 u:o< jLdAO asBaaoui paas JO PI8IA X TO 3£ ^ n CI »-* ir. 00 X :aE' ■^ o ^ X C ^o — X r^t^ >^ vD -1- r-* ^ M t^ l^ o X lo LO ^ t-< sjoid paziinaajun ;^ "^ M c •s^oid paziiRjajun -S ?; S " ^ 7 ^ tr> r> aaAO asBajouji I I . • C O 00 vO O ri ri r) -i; aaoB jad uoiioa ^ n i^ ^ a^ ^c i-~ i- o; x paas JO piaiA ^ --i •-' "-i ^^ ^ ^ r-^ r- ^ ■s^oid paziin^ajun ^ ."€ iS :5 ^ rj j; aaAO asBajouj n X •ajoB aad uoj;oo[ ^ § 'o 5 rj oo paas JO piaiA ■s:joid pazuu-i^juu jaAO asBaaoui ajoB aad uo^ioo paas JO PiaiA J X ^ •£ X, ON r'; 'O CI .• ff- X C — X Q X _ o — o- s;oid paziin-iaja" aaAO asBaaouj •aaoB aad uo^^oo paas JO piaiA Q rO Cl ■+ X -t C) CI ir, o '^'3 r-i CI CI vO X ^ C O c ^ ^. -r to = 't- ci IT! CI CI ^ CI X CI CI S <^ -t ON <^ ~ CI CI i-H CI X -1- CI vC OC ^ I- •-£ r«-^ .— rO rO X X X X CI CI 1^ X X CI X CI I/; 1^ -t CI CI CI c3 -a (U 01 CO • o o p. o ;s • a U ^^ ''^ '^ .s ~ o 'S s -a Q) C O (U c3 ^ ft 0) O CO C -iJ "C ■>-' • ^ • a • CO • O ■ ,C oo paas JO piaiA •s%o\CL paziin.i9jnn J8A0 esBaaoui •ajOB J8d uo^^ioo paas JO piaiA vj Q M Q 00 rO ^ ^1 SO 2 C •s^oid pazTin-i3jnn J8AO aSB8J0UI •ajOB aad uo^i^joo paas JO piaiA •s:joid paziinJ9jnn jaAO asBajoui •ajoB jed uo^:>oo paas JO piajA V) 00 r) >.c o^ C rO i-H 1-1 X X VO '^l vj vo M Q O C X <1 <1 rr) rr> CX r\ ro ^C\ OD \D ■^ ^^ LT; ri >j:i >/2 o •s:toid paznpasjiin a9A0 QSBaaoui S3 •ajOB J9d uo:noo P9as JO piaiA Q aaoB jad ^anouiy •ON loid 'CO <1^ c O SO s X X '■r> sO 'I- ^ 0 sO -* ri X X so ►Cl CN •+ X SO CT^ sO f-1 ri so r-^ ^ sO t^ >/) 10 X X i^ 1^ l^ ^ t I'' M SO Q 'I- ro ^ X ^ M SO ' / ►<> 1-1 r-( 0 »-' 0 X f*3 & 10 "^ <^ -^ 1 1 »H »H rO VI sO X t X •^t -t \0 so X ri ►^.i ir, M -t rl '^ ri l^ "1 X i^ ^ X l^ l^ l^ OS X 1^ l^ X 0 - ■ V) -C5 ri r) M ^^ 't- M X X «/j X »-4 1—) •i- -!f I/) Tl- ri <1 Lf- t ITj l^ so IC 10 -1- I/; so X Vy X sC sO so SO ri /"I sO X ^^ rO Cs LT) u-j t-i M r*5 •^ so 0 0-. r-l C OS ri X W *o X OS ?-i 0) (D ? P- '^ •^ m N JZ -i-i 5 -o "^ c O S O eS ct -O -S '^ oj 5- o; 0) g OJ M o ft c o • a ■ xi ■ G ■ 03 • O • JS 1 Oi 4J .^ *j ••- .^ *r; 13 ft-.-' >= OS 05 2 V; o O Q Q !<; O 't C O "Ci 'o o d 'o d o o v d o v d .— , ,-~ ^. — , ^ — — . — f— ~ .— i^ .~. s s i s 555s s ^ 5 '*■ _ _ - - n n ri ,36 ri r I JS r-l r) f^ "I- 10 V a^ ,.-Se New York Botanical Garden Library 3 5185 00259 6615 't^4^^<^^^^ ^. ii^^' m^- mmM ■K% a^"^ ^¥^^ #S^^ W v^ -ymr^^*^' *>'.: