28 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



The straw of beans and peas is also rich in flesh 

 and fat-forming constituents. For example : — 



Bean [ Pea 

 Straw. ' Straw. 



Flesh-forming matters 



Non-nitrogenized substances . .. 

 Mineral matters, bone materials, &c 

 Water 



We shall afterward see that bean and pea stra/V 

 contains a much larger proportion of nitrogenous 

 matter, the elements of nutrition or flesh-forming 

 substance, than the straw of any of the cereals. 



Although wheat flour is never used as the food 

 of domestic animals, we shall refer to its com- 

 position, chiefly for the purpose of comparison with 

 other articles. Wheat flour, therefore, consists of 



Flesh-forming substances {gluten and albumen) 14.6 

 Elements of respiration and fat, &c.: — 



Starch . . . . . . 59.7 



Gum and sugar . . . . 7.2 



Oil .. .. ..1.2 



Woody fibre .. .. 1.7 



— 69.8 

 Ash .. .. .. ..1.6 



Water .. .. .. .. 14.0 



100.0 



Bran is richer than flour in oil or fat, containing 



5^ per cent., whilst flour only contains from 1 to 2 



per cent. The flesh-forming constituents of bran 



are also nearly equal to those in flour. 



Wheat straw contains — 



Flesh-forming substances . . 1.79 

 Respiratory and fatty matters 31.06 

 Woody fibre ., .. 45.45 



Ash .. .. .. 7.47 



Water .. ,. .. 14.23 



100.00 

 Barley, in its natural state, is seldom used in 

 feeding animals ; but when ground into meal, 

 or boiled and given in connection with other 

 feeding stuffs, it is a valuable, and, in several parts 

 of the country, a rather extensively used article of 

 food. The amount of oil contained in barley 

 is very small, being only about one-half per cent., 

 whilst the entire amount of non-nitrogenous mat- 

 ters, fitted for the support of respiration and 

 the production of fat, is about 69i per cent., 

 of which starch, gum, and sugar form 55 per cent. 

 An average crop of barley — say 36 bushels, or 

 1,872 lbs. per statute acre — will yield 243^ lbs. of 

 flesh-forming or nitrogenous matter in the grain, 

 and 62 lbs. in the straw; 1,301 lbs. of the elements 

 of respiration and fat in the grain, and 2,987 lbs. in 

 the straw; 65Albs. of inorganic matter, or ash, in 

 the grain, and 191 lbs. in the straw; and 262 lbs. 

 of water in the grain, and 398 lbs. in the straw. 



At one time it was considered that l)y the conver- 

 sion of barley into malt it became more valuable as 

 an article of food for animals, but this opinion has 

 been proved to be wrong, and it has been found 

 that by simply steeping the barley from thirty to 

 forty hours, it becomes a more valuable article of 

 cattle diet than either malt or dry barley. Brewers' 

 grains, and distillery refuse, or the liquid which 

 remains after the spirit has been drawn off", are 

 much used as cattle food, especially by dairymen. 

 These are rich in phosphates, which produce milk. 

 The proporlion of water is of course large, being 

 about 76 per cent, in the grains, whilst the organic 

 part amounts to 23 per cent. The thin part of the 

 liquid is about half the nutritive value of its weight 

 of ordinary turnips ; and the thicker, or sedimentary 

 portion, is fully equal to its weight of the average 

 composition of turnips. ♦ 



Oats are more extensively used than any of the 

 other cereals as an article of cattle-food. The 

 composition of this grain shows that it contains a 

 large amount of the flesh or muscle-forming sub- 

 stances, and also 6 per cent, of oil. Consequently, 

 its value for feeding purposes is easily understood. 

 The nutritive value of oats, however, is by no 

 means regular, some varieties being one-third more 

 nutritious than other kinds. Taking the average 

 composition, we find that oats in the natural state 

 contain 13 per cent, of nitrogenised or flesh-forming 

 principles ; 69 per cent, of substances which sup- 

 port respiration and produce fat ; 3 per cent, 

 of inorganic matter, bone earth, &c.; and 12 per 

 cent, of water. The analyses of ripe oat-straw do 

 not show any material difference from the straw of 

 the cereals, but when not fully ripe the ])er-centage 

 of nitrogenised or flesh-forming constituents has 

 been ascertained by Dr. Voelcker to be much 

 greater than in the fully ripened straw, which 

 explains the value of oat-straw as fodder when cut 

 whilst partially green. A similar result was ob- 

 served in analyzing ripe oats and oats cut green. 

 Oats ought always to be bruised before being given 

 to animals, as in this state the food is not only 

 more thoroughly masticated, but is also much less 

 liable to produce inflammation, which we often 

 find to arise from the over liberal or inconsiderate 

 use of the whole grain. In the form of meal it ia 

 but seldom used as cattle food; but when ground 

 into meal, the more thoroughly it is sifted the 

 more nutritious it becomes. This is the reverse of 

 what occurs in the case of flour, because a large 

 proportion of the flesh-forming and fat-producing 

 substances contained in wheat is removed in the 

 bran. Fine oatmeal contains nearly double the 

 amount of nitrogenised matter found in fine flour; 

 the proportion in the former being from 15 to 17 

 per cent, whilst in the latter it amounts to from 9 



