__________________________________________________________________ | | | 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. * * * * * 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.