180 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



wheat, and to avoid the germ and the bran, including the aleurone 

 layer, which would give an undesirable yellow tinge to the flour 

 and lower its keeping quality. There are considerable differences 

 in the nomenclature of mill feeds adopted by millers in different 

 sections of the country, but the more common terms recognized by 

 the trade are wheat bran, shorts or standard middlings, white 

 middlings, and red-dog flour. 



Wheat bran is rich in protein and fat, and also in fiber, the 

 average percentages of these components being about 15, 4, and 

 10 per cent, respectively. Its digestibility is lower than that of 

 the cereals, viz., dry matter 66 per cent, protein 77 per cent, fiber 

 41 per cent, nitrogen-free extract 71 per cent, fat 63 per cent, 

 making the percentage of digestible components : 



Protein 11.9 per cent, 



Carbohydrates and fat 47.6 per cent (N.R., 1: 4.0). 



Bran is rich in mineral matter, and contains about 80 per cent 

 of the phosphorus of the wheat berry; hence, it is very valuable as 

 a source of this important element in feeding yaung, growing, or 

 milk-producing animals. The ash is relatively poor in lime 1 ; in 

 feeding wheat bran to these animals, it should, therefore, be supple- 

 mented by feeds that are especially rich in this component, like hay of 

 legumes. Wheat bran also contains 6 to 8 per cent of the organic 

 phosphorus compound phytin, to which constituent it largely owes 

 its laxative properties. 



The wheat bran on the market is of two kinds: Country-mill 

 bran and roller or flaky bran. The former kind comes from small 

 flour mills which do not have the perfect machinery for the separa- 

 tion of starch-cells from the seed coats that is found in large roller 

 mills; this bran is, therefore, higher in starch and lower in protein 

 and fiber than roller bran. The value of the two kinds for feeding 

 purposes will depend largely on the combinations in which it is fed, 

 and the kind of animals fed. While roller bran supplies more pro- 

 tein than does country-mill bran, its digestibility is likely to be 

 somewhat lower on account of its larger fiber content. The differ- 

 ences in the nutritive values of the two kinds of bran are, in general, 

 small, however, making it advisable, in case both kinds are avail- 

 able, to select whichever can be obtained at the lower price. 



Wheat bran is often high-priced in comparison with other de- 

 sirable concentrates, and farmers should study the market prices 

 of different feeds and the feed bulletins issued by the various ex- 

 periment stations so as to be able to take advantage of low market 

 prices for other feeds that may serve their purpose equally well. 



1 The so-called bran disease in horses caused by heavy feeding of bran 

 appears to be due to this deficiency of lime in tha feed (Ky. Bui. 203; 

 see also Wis. Bui. 302, p. 54). 



