164 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



California feed barley, grown extensively in some sections of the West,, 

 has more hull and weighs 45 Ibs. or less per bushel; while the usual 

 weight of common barley is 48 Ibs. Hulless barley, which is often 

 grown in the western states, has hard kernels, contains less fiber, owing 

 to the absence of the hull, and is as heavy as wheat. (848) Barley has 

 less digestible crude protein than oats, but more than corn. The carbo- 

 hydrates exceed those of oats and fall below those in corn, while the oil 

 content is lower than in either of these grains. 



226. Barley as a feed. On the Pacific slope, where corn or oats do 

 not flourish in equal degree, barley is extensively used as a feed for 

 animals. Thruout the northern states, except on the lighter soils, barley 

 commonly yields more pounds of grain per acre than does oats. Since 

 the feeding value of barley is as high or even higher than oats, pound for 

 pound, the acreage of the high-yielding pedigree varieties of barley 

 should be greatly increased where they thrive, and the grain used instead 

 of oats for stock. Owing to the fact that a considerable part of the barley 

 produced in many districts has in the past been used for malting and 

 brewing, many farmers do not appreciate its value for stock feeding. 



The horses of California are quite generally fed on crushed barley, 

 with wheat, oat, or barley hay for roughage. Crushed or ground barley 

 is even better than oats, pound for pound, for work horses, while whole 

 barley is worth slightly less than whole oats. (478) Barley is the com- 

 mon feed for dairy cows in northern Europe. The Danes sow barley 

 and oats together in the proportion of 1 part of barley to 2 of oats, the 

 ground mixed grain from this crop being regarded as the best available 

 feed for dairy cows and other stock. At the Wisconsin Station 21 ground 

 barley has proved fully equal, pound for pound, to ground corn for dairy 

 cows. (580) As barley contains much less hull than oats, it is a more 

 concentrated grain and better suited for feeding fattening cattle, sheep, 

 and pigs. Fed with legume hay to fattening steers and lambs, barley 

 has given entirely satisfactory results. (738, 848) In Great Britain 

 and northern Europe barley takes the place of corn for pig feeding, 

 leading all grains in producing pork of fine quality. In American trials 

 good northern-grown barley, when ground, was worth 5 per ct. less than 

 corn for pigs. (944) Owing to its more chaffy nature, California feed 

 barley is somewhat} lower in value than common barley. (848) Tho 

 barley is somewhat higher than corn in crude protein, it is still decidedly 

 carbonaceous in character, and should be fed with legume hay or with a 

 nitrogenous concentrate for the best results. The protein of barley is 

 also unbalanced in composition, like that of corn, wheat, and the other 

 cereals. Due to this, in feeding pigs without pasture better results are 

 secured when barley is supplemented with dairy by-products or tankage 

 than when fed with middlings or linseed meal. (118, 944) 



227. Malt. In making malt the barley grains are first steeped in warm 

 water until soft. The grain is then held at a warm temperature until 



^Morrison, Humphrey, and Hulce, Bui. 319, p. 68. 



