RECENT STOCK EXPERIMENTS

Chronicle (Levin), 14 June 1947, Page 7

RECENT STOCK EXPERIMENTS

(Special Correspondent.)

FAR-REACHING RESULTS

LONDON, June 12. Experiments wliich will have far reaching effects upon various aspeets oj aniinal' huabandry all over the world, have been successfullv compleied at tu. Cambridge Animal Research Station under the direction of Dr. J. Ham niond, oue of the world 's leading authorities on animal liusbaudry, aua liis assistant, Dr. J. A. Callow, head oi the analytical section at the stalion. When Messrs. W. W. Mulhoiland ano W. N. Perry, president and vicd president respectivcly oi the New Zea land Federated Farmers, visited tlu station recently, they were shown new clutches of chickens in which th. colouring of the down plainly markeci .the male birds, saw the effects of dru injections which brmg heifers int: milk without calving, and of importam experiments which will govern the feedng of ewes prior to lambing. The station lias also niade such good progress with research into artifieia! insernination that it is now readv *■ o attempt the experiment of sending semen from eertilied English bulls te Australia by air. If this trial prove.v successful it is considered "practicable to send similar consignmeuts to Neu Zealand, in the initial stages at leasi at no more than the cost of the air transportation. ' ' The breeding of chickens so that they will show sex link cliaracteristics a1 hatching, produces clutches in which the roosters carry black stripes on tlieir down while the pullets are unmarkel, These markings disappear in three dayas the down thins but remain lon^ enough greatlv to simplify the classiii cation of the birds. Experiments carried out in Britain during the war with a drug lcnown ustilboestrol, have been carried further at Cambridge and have proved that by injection of stilboestrol into an animal 's bloodstream, it is possible to bring sterile heifers into milk withom calving. The New Zealand visitcr"were shown photographs of several am mals which have produced over 1000 gallons of milk yearly by this method of lactation without gestation. Another series of experiments has proved that it is possi'ble to double the calving pereentage of beef cows by injections from the pituitary glands oi horses. It has been proved that cows so injected will regularly produce twins instead of single calves. It has also been established at the Cambridge station that the best lambing results are obtained when ewes are given concentrated feeding for six weeks prior to lambing and that harder feeding during the earlier stages does not affect them seriously so long as Concentrated giazing is possible bo fore the lambs are born. These experi ments are also the result of research begun during the wai'. . ,