KEI'Oirf OF THE CUEMIST 169 



SESSIONAL PAPER N'o. 16 



No. 22. Small Seeds cleaned from Wheat. — Consists probably to the extent of 95 

 per cent of the whole of the seeds of Lambs-quavtcrs; the other 5 per cent, of Hare's 

 ear Mustard, Stinlv-weed, False Flax and Sticky Cockle. In spite of the high 

 fibre, due to the presence of broken straw and chaff, this feed possesses a proportion 

 of protein equal to that in the best qualities of bran; the percentage of fat is also 

 very satisfactory. 



No 23. Seeds, Broken Wheat, Small Oats, &c., mixed for grinding. — Dr. Fletcher 

 reports regarding this sample as follows: Broken vvheat and wild buckwheat consti- 

 tute 95 per cent of the whole; the other 5 per cent consists of Wild Oats, Ball Mustard, 

 Lamb's-quarters, Wild Mustard and Cow Cockle. The analysis shows the mixture to be 

 a little lower in protein and fat than No. 22, but still a fairly good feed. Provided 

 it is not distasteful it should prove very satisfactory, though, of course, not equal 

 to those feeds containing: from 20 per cent to 30 per cent protein, as gluten meal, oil 

 cake and other seed meal. 



No. 24. — This sample purported to be obtained by grinding No. 23; the analy- 

 tical data, however, makes it very clear that the proportion of seeds rich in protein 

 and fat must have been considerably greater in No. 24. From the feeding standpoint 

 No. 24 should be much more valuable than No. 23. 



It is quite probable that uniformity in composition, and hence in feeding value, 

 may be in a measure difficult to obtain in a meal so produced, for there is a large 

 variety of weed seeds entering into the make-up of the screenings, and these seeds 

 differ widely in their percentages of protein and fat. Since all these weeds are not 

 equally distributed, i.e., equally prevalent in all wheat districts, it follows that the 

 screenings from any consignment of wheat w'ill vary more or less from the screenings 

 obtained by cleaning other consignments, and this variation may have, as we have 

 seen^ a marked influence on the food value of the product. If such refuse materials 

 therefore, are to be used in the preparation of foods it seems highly desirable that the 

 output should be controlled by analysis. 



Nos. 25 and 26. ' Ground Feed ' No. 25, was made by the manufacturer by mix- 

 ing 25 parts of No. 23 (ground) with Y5 parts of ground barley, the chief object in 

 adding the barley being to lighten the colour and thus make it more marketable. No. 

 26 consists of No. 23 and barley, in the same proportion as in No. 25, but ground to- 

 g-ether. As would be expected, the data of these two samples are in close accord. They 

 indicate a feed that should prove practically equivalent to shorts. 



No. 27 is stated to be, made by grinding equal weights of No. 23 and barley. The 

 differences between this and the two preceding samples (containing a larger propor- 

 tion of barley) in the percentages of protein and fat are very slight, and I conclude 

 that the feeding value is practically the same for all three samples, Nos. 25, 26 and 27. 



No. 28. ' Flax Chaff,' obtained in the cleaning of flax, being light and separated 

 by wind, consists chiefly of the broken seed pods of the flax. A very poor feed as regards 

 protein, and though the flax seeds that are present furnish a fair percentage of fat, 

 the material must be considered as distinctly low-grade. 



No. 29. ' Buckwheat Chaff.' — Very largely composed of the hulls of wild buck- 

 wheat. This is also a material of extremely low feeding value. 



No. 30. * Fine Broken Stock.' — Broken wheat, buckwheat, and seeds, hulls, hairs, 

 &c., containing a certain amount of fine meal. It is too high in fibre to be classed with 

 the more valuable feeding stuffs, but its percentage of protein (11.68) makes it 

 decidedly superior to oat dust and feeds of that character. 



No. 31. 'Wheat Chaff.' — From in.spection one would judge this to be fairly free 

 from foreign matter. The data, however, indicate a slightly superior value to pure 

 wheat chaff, no doubt due to the presence of a small quantity of broken wheat. It 

 is scarcely necessary p.i'rhaps to point out that the straws and chaffs constitute a class 

 of feeds of extremely low nutritive value. 



From a study of the analytical data of those elevator refuse, it will be evident 

 that while some of these materials possess high nutritive qualities others are com- 

 paratively worthless for furnishing those nutrients for which meals and concentrated 



