DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 



189 



Percentage of Hull. An interesting character of oats is the 

 hull, which is known to vary considerable in thickness, accord- 

 ing to the variety. Per cent of hull determinations have been 

 recorded for three years for each variety and are given in the 

 following figures. Of the Swedish Select oats 22.8 per cent, is 

 hull, the Senator 29.9 per cent., the Banner 25.3 per cent., the 

 President, 24.4 per cent., the Victor 27 per cent., the Imported 

 Scotch 26.4 per cent., the Kherson 28.6 per cent, and the Pros- 

 perity 25.9 per cent. It will be noted that the Swedish Select 

 oat possesses the thinnest hull. However, there is considerable 

 variation in the per cent, of hull of a variety from season to 

 .•^eason. Much depends on the development of the grain. Un- 

 der normal conditions each year one would expect a consider- 

 able degree of uniformity in the per cent, of hull. 



Yields of Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats per Acre. A 

 chemical analysis reveals many interesting figures in regard to 

 the percentage of protein, carbohydrates, oats and crude fiber 

 in different varieties of oats. In the grains of some varieties 

 these percentages are high. 



In the following table the figures of the chemical analysis 

 of a few varieties are given. These figures represent the mean 

 percentages determined by the analysis of each variety during 

 T910, 191 1 and 1912. 



Protein. 



Carbo- 

 hydrates. 



Fats. 



Crude fiber. 



Kherson 



Irish Victor .... 



Prosperity 



Swedish Select. . 



Victor 



Imported Scotch 



Banner 



Senator 



11.26% 



12.12% 

 9.72% 

 7.67% 



10.40% 

 9.86% 

 9.5 % 



10.59% 



In comparison with certain feeds on the market today it is 

 obvious that the above named varieties of oats, as far as is 

 shown by chemical analysis, are valuable because of the possi- 

 bility of growing this crop in Maine instead of purchasing the 

 high priced feed on the market. Of course the true value of 

 a feed is expressed in terms of the digestible nutrients it con- 

 tains and not so much in the chemical analysis. However, the 

 0xcellent qualities of oats as a feed for live stock are well 



