158 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



In ordinary well-balanced rations containing a variety of proteins 

 there is commonly no difficulty from this source. 9 Like corn, wheat 

 should be supplemented by feeds which are rich in protein and lime. 

 Fed in properly balanced rations wheat is about equal to corn for milk 

 production or for fattening animals. (578, 739, 849, 945) When fed 

 in large amounts to horses it has occasioned digestive disturbances and 

 eruptions of the skin. (479) Because the kernels are small and hard, 

 wheat should be ground for all farm animals except sheep. Wheat flour 

 and meal fed alone are unsatisfactory because they form a pasty mass 

 in the animal's mouth, a condition which can be remedied by adding 

 some such material as bran or coarse corn meal. (423) 



As stated before (81) the composition of the wheat kernel is markedly 

 influenced by climate, especially in protein content. Wheat from the 

 northern plains region is highest in crude protein, while that from the 

 Pacific coast districts is unusually low in this nutrient. When grown 

 under the same climatic conditions spring wheat is usually slightly richer 

 in crude protein than winter wheat. 10 Durum or macaroni wheat is 

 extensively grown in parts of the plains states, especially the Dakotas, 

 on account of its higher yield in these sections. The variety shows no 

 appreciable difference in composition or feeding value from ordinary 

 wheat grown under the same environment. 11 (849) 



Wheat growers should sell only the best grades, retaining for their 

 animals all shrunken, frosted, or otherwise damaged grain, for while 

 such wheat has low selling value, it is often equal to grain of good qual- 

 ity for feeding. (739, 849, 945) As a rule such grain is richer in pro- 

 tein than is wheat of good quality. 



Salvage grain, which has been slightly charred or injured by smoke 

 and water in elevator fires, thus being unfitted for human food, may 

 have its value for stock feeding but little impaired. 



216. Flour manufacture. The wheat kernel is covered with three straw- 

 like coats or skins. Beneath these comes the fourth, called the ' ' aleurone 

 layer," rich in crude protein, and which in milling goes with the other 

 coats to form bran. The germ, or embryo plant, in each kernel is rich 

 in oil, crude protein, and mineral matter. The remainder of the kernel 

 consists of thin- walled cells packed with starch grains. Among the starch 

 grains are protein particles called ' ' gluten, ' ' that give wheat-flour dough 

 the tenacity so essential in bread making. In producing flour the miller 

 aims to secure all the starch and gluten possible from the wheat grains, 

 while avoiding the germ and bran. He leaves out the germs because they 

 make a sticky dough and also soon turn dark and rancid, giving the flour 

 a specked appearance. Nor does he use the aleurone layer, as it gives a 

 brownish tint to the flour. 



In modern milling, flour is produced by passing the thoroly cleaned 

 wheat thru a series of steel rollers, each succeeding pair being set a 

 little nearer together so that the kernels are gradually crushed into 



Wis. Bui. 287. "Bailey, Minn. Bui. 143. "Ladd and Bailey, N. D. Bui. 93. 



