THE FEEDING STUFFS 581 



crease the proportion of crude fiber in the grain, and corre- 

 spondingly diminish its digestibility and nutritive value. 



689. Uses of cereals. The place of the cereal grains in feed- 

 ing practice is clearly indicated by the foregoing statements. 

 They enable the feeder to introduce into his rations, without 

 unduly increasing their bulk or weight, large amounts of easily 

 digestible and highly nutritious ingredients. Of themselves, 

 they contain a fair proportion of protein for many purposes, 

 especially for mature animals, but they are not capable of 

 offsetting a deficiency of protein in the other ingredients of 

 the ration, nor do they supply enough of this ingredient to meet 

 fully the demands of the rapidly growing animal or the highly 

 productive dairy cow. 



690. Leguminous grains. The leguminous grains share the 

 general physical properties of the naked cereal grains, and like 

 them contain feed materials (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) of 

 the highest grade. They are especially characterized, in con- 

 trast with the cereal grains, by their relatively high percentage 

 of protein, ranging according to American analyses from 20 

 to 42 per cent. Some of them, as the soybean and the lupine, 

 also carry notable amounts of fat, but the more common ones 

 are not richer in this substance than the cereals. They are 

 richer in ash than the cereals, notably as regards phosphoric 

 acid and lime. Their digestibility is generally high. Like the 

 cereals, they are valuable as sources of total digestible feed in 

 a concentrated form, but unlike these they serve also to enrich 

 rations in protein. Aside from certain technical by-products, 

 they are the most available materials for this purpose, and the 

 culture of leguminous feeding crops, both for this purpose and 

 for their effects on the soil, deserves careful consideration. 



691. Oil seeds. The oil seeds, such as flax, cotton and 

 rape, are not commonly used directly as feeding stuffs because 

 of their commercial value. These seeds contain a high per- 

 centage of protein, while in place of much of the carbohydrates 

 of the cereals and legumes a large percentage of oil is found. 

 Flaxseed contains a considerable quantity of so-called " mu- 

 cilage," which swells up with water to a slimy mass and has a 

 very soothing effect on the digestive organs. Cottonseed is 

 fed to cattle to some extent, usually either boiled or roasted, but 

 is regarded as dangerous for growing swine. 



