18 

 Oat Hulls or Oat Bran. 



This product is obtained by removing the outer shell of the oat grain. 

 The oats are first kiln dried and are then run through a pair of stones. 

 The product is then run over a wire screen and all the dust is screened 

 out. The kernel and hulls are then passed through a fan which removes 

 the hull and leaves the kernel. 



The figures in the above table show a wide variation in the composi- 

 tion of oat hulls. In discussing the value of cotton seed hulls we 

 pointed out the poor economy of feeding a product which contains a high 

 percentage of crude fibre. A glance at the foregoing table shows that 

 oat hulls contain a considerable quantity of crude fibre. This fact would 

 at once convince us that this by-product' possess a very low feeding value. 

 But in sections where cattle are fed large quantities of corn meal, oat 

 hulls or similar food-stuffs may exercise a beneficial mechanical effect, in 

 that the food is made lighter and more easily digested. 



Oat Dust. 



In the manufacture of oat-meal or rolled oats the grain is first kiln 

 dried and then passed through a stone to remove the hulls. The pro- 

 duct is then passed over a screen and the dust removed. This dust is 

 largely composed of a layer which lies between the kernel of the oat and 

 the hull. Small particles of the broken oat. also pass through the 

 screen and these are included in what is termed oat dust. 



"Oat dust is not, as has been stated on several occasions, simply dirt 

 and rubbish; on the contrary it is a pure by-product of the oat." Of 

 course, the writer does not mean to claim that it would be impossible to 

 mix an inferior grade of feed with the dust from the oat, and represent 

 the mixture to be pure oat dust. But the combined chemical and micro- 

 scopic examinations of twenty-three samples of this by-product failed to 

 detect in a single case any foreign material other than finely divided par- 

 ticles of oat hulls, which under the method of manufacture can scarcely 

 be looked upon as adulterant. 



Comparing the average composition of oat dust with that of wheat 

 bran, we note that the average quantity of protein in the latter feed is 

 considerably lower than that in the bran. Therefore, if we take the 

 quantity of protein and fat as the standard of purchase, — and it can 

 hardly be denied that such is the correct standard, since materials con- 

 taining considerable protein are the only ones suitable as additions to the 

 feeding material of the farm, — wheat bran must be regarded as a much 

 more valuable material than oat dust. 



The objection might be raised that the purchaser is not getting the 

 carbohydrates in the high-grade material that he would get in some of 

 our lower grade feeds (oat dust for example) ; but it must be remembered 

 that the feeding materials of the farm usually contain an abundance of car- 

 bohydrates. To such an extent is this true, indeed, that home grown 



