Chapter 9

In a preceding note upon the same subject, Mr. Hospitalier remarked that upon combining these effects of perspective with those of the praxinoscope, which give the sensation of motion, we would obtain entirely new effects. It would be perhaps complicated as to the installation, and especially as to the making of the images, but, in certain special cases (for giving the effect of a machine in motion, for example), it might render genuine services.--_La Nature_.

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THE EFFECT ON FOWLS OF NITROGENOUS AND CARBONACEOUS RATIONS.[1]

[Footnote 1: This article is condensed by permission from a thesis prepared for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, by James Edward Rice, a graduate of the class of 1890. The work was planned and wholly carried out in the most careful manner by Mr. Rice under the immediate supervision of the Director. The results have been thought worthy of publication in the _Cornell Station Bulletin_.]

On July 2, 1889, ten Plymouth Rock hens, one year old, and as nearly as possible of uniform size, were selected from a flock of thirty-five. At the same time ten chickens, hatched from the same hens mated with a Plymouth Rock cock, were similarly chosen. The chickens were about six weeks old, healthy and vigorous and of nearly the same size. Up to the time of purchase both hens and chickens had full run of the farm. The hens foraged for themselves and were given no food; the chickens had been fed corn meal dough, sour milk and table scraps.

A preliminary feeding trial was continued for twenty-five days, during which time both hens and chickens were confined, all together, in a fairly well lighted and ventilated room, and fed a great variety of food, in order that all should go into the feeding trial as nearly as possible in the same condition. During this preliminary feeding both hens and chickens increased in live weight. The ten hens from a total of 44 lb. 12 oz. to 47 lb. 1.5 oz., or 3.75 oz. each, and laid 93 eggs. The chickens from a total of 9 lb. 15 oz. to 18 lb., or 12.9 oz. each.

Food, shells and water were kept constantly before the fowls. Basins which contained the food and water were kept within a box constructed of lath, so arranged that the fowls could reach between the slats and procure food and drink without wasting or soiling.

July 26th the hens and chickens were each separated into two lots of five each, as follows:

Hens, nitrogenous ration, weighed 23 lb. 8.5 oz. Hens, carbonaceous ration, weighed 23 lb. 9 oz. Chickens, nitrogenous ration, weighed 8 lb. 15 oz. Chickens, carbonaceous ration, weighed 9 lb. 1 oz.

The four lots were placed in separate pens where they remained during the entire experiment, which lasted 125 days. They were fed and watered once daily, and an account kept of the food eaten and water drank. At each feeding the food and water remaining were weighed back and deducted from the amount charged at the previous feeding.

The hens and chickens fed a nitrogenous ration were given daily all they would eat of the following mixture: 1/3 part wheat bran, 1/3 part wheat shorts, 1/3 part cotton seed meal, 2 parts skimmed milk, and will be designated Lot I.

The hens and chickens fed a carbonaceous ration were given daily all they would eat of a ration of cracked maize and maize dough, and will be designated Lot II.

Both groups were given a small amount of green clover as long as it lasted, and afterward cabbage.

For convenience the experiment was divided into five periods of twenty five days.

FOOD CONSUMED AND INCREASE IN LIVE WEIGHT.

During the first period all the fowls seemed in good health except the carbonaceous fed chickens; they, during this as in all succeeding periods, were restless and peevish, always moping or hunting for something to eat, though their trough was filled. When fed they would greedily take a few mouthfuls and then, with their hunger still unappeased, would leave the dish. They always ate ravenously the green food which was given them, as did the hens and chickens of Lot I. The hens of Lot II., on the contrary, seemed quite willing to squat about the pen and subsist on the maize diet, and strangely enough cared little for green food. The clear maize diet was accompanied by such ill effects that the chickens of each lot, after the first period, were given daily each one-fourth ounce of wheat, and the hens each one ounce. The wheat was increased during the fourth and fifth periods in the case of the chickens to one ounce each. During the second period one of the chickens fed nitrogenous food, and during the third period another of the same lot were taken ill and removed from the experiment. Both seemed to be suffering from impacted crops, as the stomach and gizzard in each case were found to be empty.

The fact that the sick chickens disliked the nitrogenous ration, and since the first period the amount of food eaten by the hens and chickens of Lot I had continually decreased, led to the belief that their food might be too nitrogenous, and as during the last days of the third period one of the hens in Lot I was also ill, it was decided to discontinue the use of cotton seed meal and to use linseed meal instead. The hen recovered soon after the change in food.

The supply of skim milk running short in the last two periods, water was used instead in mixing the ration of the lots fed nitrogenous food.

At the beginning of the fifth period one-half of the linseed meal in the ration of Lot I was removed, and cotton seed meal substituted. This combination seemed a happy one, for on this ration both hens and chickens made large gains.

At the end of the experiment little difference could be seen in the hens of the two groups; but the two lots of chickens were in striking contrast. While the chickens fed on nitrogenous food were large, plump, healthy, active, and well feathered, the chickens fed on a carbonaceous ration were in general much smaller, sickly, and in several cases almost destitute of feathers. Two of them had perfectly bare backs, and so ravenous were they for flesh and blood that they began eating one another.

The inability of the chickens fed on a carbonaceous diet to throw out new feathers and the ability of the chickens fed on a nitrogenous diet to grow an enormous coat of feathers is a splendid illustration of the effect of the composition of the food in supplying certain requirements of animal growth. It was plain to see that maize, even when assisted by a small amount of wheat and green clover, could not supply sufficient nitrogen for the growth of feathers.

It will thus be seen that while both lots of hens lost weight during the experiment, the loss was slightly greater with those fed nitrogenous food, but these produced by far the most eggs.

The chickens fed on nitrogenous food just about doubled in weight, while those fed carbonaceous food only added about one-third to their weight.

PRODUCTION OF EGGS.

During the first week the carbonaceous fed hens laid three eggs while the others laid two. The two groups were, therefore, practically evenly divided at the start as to the condition of the laying stage. At the end of the first period the nitrogenous fed hens had laid forty-three eggs and the carbonaceous fed hens had laid twenty. During the next twenty-five days the former laid thirty and the latter six; during the third period the former laid six and the latter not any. From this time on no eggs were received from either group. The decline in egg production was probably due in large part to the fact that the hens began to moult during the second period, and continued to do so during the rest of the experiment.

The eggs laid by the nitrogenous fed hens were of small size, having a disagreeable flavor and smell, watery albumen, an especially small, dark colored yolk, with a tender vitelline membrane, which turned black after being kept several weeks. While the eggs of the carbonaceous fed hens were large, of fine flavor, of natural smell, large normal albumen, an especially large, rich yellow yolk, with strong vitelline membrane, which was perfectly preserved after being kept for weeks in the same brine with the other eggs.

TOTAL FOOD CONSUMED DURING EXPERIMENT. _____________________________________________________________________ Lot. I.--Nitrogenous. | Lot. II.--Carbonaceous. _________________________________|___________________________________ | | | | | | Hens. |*Chicks| | Hens. |Chicks. |_______|_______| |_______|________ | lb. | lb. | | lb. | lb. Bran. | 29.90 | 21.85 | Maize. | 82.15 | 51.30 Shorts. | 29.90 | 21.85 | Green clover. | 18.75 | 18.75 Cotton seed meal.| 21.48 | 13.24 | Cabbage. | 16.00 | 16.00 Linseed meal. | 8.43 | 8.61 | Wheat | 15.63 | 11.71 Skimmed milk. |105.49 | 61.33 | | | Wheat. | 15.63 | 11.71 | | | Green clover. | 18.75 | 18.75 | | | Cabbage. | 16.00 | 16.00 | | | _________________|_______|_______|__________________|_______|________ Total. |245.58 |173.34 | Total. |132.53 | 92.76 Nutritive ratio.| 1:3.1 | 1:3 | Nutritive ratio. | 1:7.8 | 1:8 _________________|_______|_______|__________________|_______|________

* Calculated for five chicks, based upon the amount eaten by the three after the two sick were removed.

EGGS LAID AND GAIN IN WEIGHT--HENS. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | Lot I. | Lot II. | Nitrogenous. | Carbonaceous. |______________|________________ | | Live weight, July 26. | 23.53 | 23.56 " " November 27. | 21.31 | 22.00 Loss. | 2.22 | 1.56 Number of eggs laid. | 79.00 | 26.00 Weight " " " lb. | 8.25 | 2.92 Average weight of eggs, oz. | 1.67 | 1.80 Gain in weight, including eggs, lb. | 6.03 | 1.36 ____________________________________|______________|________________

GAIN IN LIVE WEIGHT--CHICKENS. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | Lot I. | Lot II. | Nitrogenous. | Carbonaceous. |______________|________________ | | Live weight, July 26. | 8.94 | 9.06 " " November 27. | 17.89 | 12.63 Gain, lb. | 8.95 | 3.57 " per cent. | 100.11 | 39.40 ____________________________________|______________|________________

Samples of the eggs from each lot of fowls were privately marked and sold to a boarding house where the cook did not know that the eggs were undergoing a test. On meeting the cook several days later the following words were heard: "Do you expect me to cook such eggs as these! About every other one is spoiled." On examination of the ovaries after slaughtering, it was found that in the case of one of the carbonaceous fed hens the ovules were in a more advanced stage, but on the whole the nitrogenous fed hens were much nearer the laying period. With this single exception, the clusters of ovules in the carbonaceous fed hens were uniformly small. Neither group would have laid under any probability for several weeks. It would seem from these facts, together with the fact that during the experiment the nitrogenous fed hens laid more than three times as many eggs, that a nitrogenous ration stimulates egg production.

THE RESULTS OF SLAUGHTERING.

On November 27 the fowls were slaughtered. Each fowl was weighed, wrapped in a bag to prevent floundering, and killed by severing an artery in the roof of the mouth. The blood was caught in a glass jar. The fowls were then picked and the feathers weighed, after which the body was laid open longitudinally by cutting alongside the sternum and through the back bone. When all had been thus prepared, they were hung up in groups to be photographed, but the photographs were quite unsatisfactory so far as showing the relative proportions of fat and lean. The accompanying drawing made from the photograph shows the relative development of an average pair of chickens. Attention is particularly called to the thighs.

One-half of each fowl was tested by cooking for flavor, succulence, and tenderness. The other half was carefully prepared for chemical analysis by separating the meat from the bones. The flesh was thoroughly mixed and run through a sausage cutter, mixed again, and the process repeated three times. From different parts of this mixture a large sample was taken, from which the chemist took his samples for analysis. The right tibia of each fowl was tested for strength by placing it across two parallel bars and suspending a wire on its center, on which were placed small weights until the bone gave way.

DRESSED WEIGHT, INTERNAL ORGANS, ETC. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | Hens. | Chickens. |___________________|____________________ | | | | | Lot I. | Lot II. | Lot I. | Lot II. | Nitro- | Carbon- | Nitro- | Carbon- | genous. | aceous. | genous. | aceous. |_________|_________|_________|__________ | lb. | lb. | lb. | lb. Live weight. | 21.31 | 22.0 | 17.89 | 12.63 Dressed weight. | 14.86 | 15.09 | 12.01 | 8.89 " " per cent. | 69.7 | 68.6 | 67.1 | 70.5 Weight of blood. | 0.75 | 0.66 | 0.55 | 0.34 " " feathers. | 1.41 | 1.25 | 1.28 | 0.66 " " intestinal fat. | 0.59 | 1.98 | 0.34 | 0.66 " " offal. | 3.70 | 3.02 | 3.62 | 2.08 " " bones. | 3.47 | 3.63 | 3.18 | 2.69 " " flesh. | 11.39 | 11.47 | 8.93 | 6.20 ___________________________|_________________________________________

The breaking strain of the right tibia was as follows for the hens and chickens of the various lots:

Average hens, nitrogenous. 48.16 " " carbonaceous. 51.74 " chickens, nitrogenous. 46.64 " " carbonaceous. 31.18

There was little difference in the strength of the bones of the hens, undoubtedly because the bones were mature before the feeding began, and were little affected by the feeding. We find, however, that the bones of the chickens fed on nitrogenous food were almost fifty per cent. (49.6) stronger than those fed carbonaceous food.

The difference in the composition of the flesh, as shown by the analysis of Mr. W.P. Cutter, is given below:

__________________________________________________________________ | | | Hens. | Chickens. |___________________|____________________ | | | | | Lot I. | Lot II. | Lot I. | Lot II. | Nitro- | Carbon- | Nitro- | Carbon- | genous. | aceous. | genous. | aceous. |_________|_________|_________|__________ Albuminoids. | 43.81 | 25.13 | 52.00 | 30.06 Fat. | 12.59 | 20.76 | 5.54 | 11.34 _________________________________________________________________

The flesh of each group was submitted to a number of persons for a cooking test, and the almost unanimous verdict was that the flesh of the fowls fed a nitrogenous ration was darker colored, more succulent, more tender, and better flavored, though on this last there was some difference of opinion.

CONCLUSIONS.

So far as it is warrantable to draw any conclusions from a single experiment of this kind, it would seem that:

Chickens fed on an exclusive corn diet will not make a satisfactory development, particularly of feathers.

The bones of chickens fed upon a nitrogenous ration are fifty per cent. stronger than those fed upon a carbonaceous ration.

Hens fed on a nitrogenous ration lay many more eggs but of smaller size and poorer quality than those fed exclusively on corn.

Hens fed on corn, while not suffering in general health, become sluggish, deposit large masses of fat on the internal organs, and lay a few eggs of large size and excellent quality.

The flesh of nitrogenous fed fowls contains more albuminoids and less fat than those fed on a carbonaceous ration, and is darker colored, juicier and tenderer.

I.P. ROBERTS, Director.

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HERBACEOUS GRAFTING.

My attention has been called a number of times to the unsatisfactory records and directions concerning the grafting of herbaceous plants. There appears to have been very little attention given to the subject, and the scant discussions of it are mostly copied from one author to another. A few years ago I made some attempts at herbaceous grafting, but it was not until last winter that experiments were seriously undertaken. The work was put in the hands of J.R. Lochary as a subject for a graduating thesis.

The experiments were undertaken primarily for the purpose of learning the best methods of grafting herbs, but a secondary and more important object was the study of the reciprocal influences of stock and cion, particularly in relation to variegation and coloration. This second feature of the work is still under way, in one form or another, and we hope for definite results in a few years. As a matter of immediate advantage, however, herbaceous grafting has its uses, particularly in securing different kinds of foliage and flowers upon the same plant. There is no difficulty in growing a half dozen kinds or colors, on geraniums, chrysanthemums, or other plants from one stock of the respective species.

Six hundred grafts were made in our trials last winter. It was found that the wood must be somewhat hardened to secure best results. The very soft and flabby shoots are likely to be injured in the operation of grafting, and union does not take place readily. Vigorous coleus stocks, three months old, gave best results if cut to within two or three inches of the pot and all or nearly all the leaves removed from the stump. Geraniums, being harder in wood, made good unions at almost any place except on the soft growing points. The stock must not have ceased growth, however. Most of the leaves should be kept down on the stock. Cions an inch or two long were usually taken from firm growing tips, in essentially the same manner as in the making of cuttings. Sometimes an eye of the old wood was used, and in most cases union took place and a new shoot arose from the bud. The leaves were usually partly removed from the cion.

Various styles of grafting were employed, of which the common cleft and the veneer or side graft were perhaps the most satisfactory. In most instances it was only necessary to bind the parts together snugly with bass or raffia. In some soft wooded plants, like coleus, a covering of common grafting wax over the bandage was an advantage, probably because it prevented the drying out of the parts. In some cases, however, wax injured the tissues where it overreached the bandage. Sphagnum moss was used in many cases tied in a small mass about the union, but unless the parts were well bandaged the cion sent roots into the moss and did not unite, and in no case did moss appear to possess decided advantages. Best results were obtained by placing the plants at once in a propagating frame, where a damp and confined atmosphere could be obtained. In some plants, successful unions were made in the open greenhouse, but they were placed in shade and kept sprinkled for a day after the grafts were made. The operation should always be performed quickly to prevent flagging of the cions. Or, if the cions cannot be used at once, they may be thrust into sand or moss in the same manner as cuttings, and kept for several days. In one series, tomato and potato cuttings, which had flagged in the cutting bed, revived when grafted. And cuttings which had been transported in the mail for three days grew readily, but they were in good condition when received. The mealy bugs were particularly troublesome upon these grafted plants, for they delighted to crawl under the bandages and suck the juices from the wounded surfaces.

Although it is foreign to the purpose of this note, it may be worth while to mention a few of the plants upon which the experiments were made. Sections were taken of many of the grafts and microscopic examinations made to determine the extent of cell union. Coleuses of many kinds were used, with uniform success, and the cions of some of them were vigorous a year after being set. Even iresine (better known as _Achyranthes Verschaffeltii_) united with coleus and grew for a time. Zonale geraniums bloomed upon the common rose geranium. Tomatoes upon potatoes and potatoes upon tomatoes grew well and were transplanted to the open ground, where they grew, flowered and fruited until killed by frost. The tomato-on-potato plants bore good tomatoes above and good potatoes beneath, even though no sprouts from the potato stock were allowed to grow. Peppers united with tomatoes and tomatoes united with peppers. Egg plants, tomatoes and peppers grew upon the European husk tomato or alkekengi (_Physalis Alkekengi_). Peppers and egg plants united with each other reciprocally. A coleus cion was placed upon a tomato plant and was simply bound with raffia. The cion remained green and healthy, and at the end of forty-eight days the bandage was removed, but it was found that no union had taken place. Ageratums united upon each other with difficulty. Chrysanthemums united readily. A bean plant, bearing two partially grown beans, chanced to grow in a chrysanthemum pot. The stem bearing the pods was inarched into the chrysanthemum. Union took place readily, but the beans turned yellow and died. Pumpkin vines united with squash vines, cucumbers with cucumbers, muskmelons with watermelons, and muskmelons, watermelons and cucumbers with the wild cucumber or balsam apple (_Echinocystis lobata_).

Another interesting feature of the work was the grafting of one fruit upon another, as a tomato fruit upon a tomato fruit or a cucumber upon another cucumber. This work is still under progress and it promises some interesting results in a new and unexpected direction, reports of which may be expected later.--_Cornell Station Bulletin_.

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A HUMOROUS HEALTH OFFICER.