THE COMPOSITION OF FEEDING STUFFS 11 



In contradistinction to total or crude protein (i.e., total nitrogen 

 multiplied by 6.25), the protein substances other than amides are 

 called true proteins or albuminoids. The amides are considered 

 of inferior value in feeding farm animals by some authorities, but it 

 has been shown that they will save body protein from decomposition, 

 and, in some cases at least, they can be utilized for the building up 

 of protein tissues in the animal body. Amides are also present in 

 small amounts in dry feeds and in most concentrates. 



The average proportion of non-albuminoid (" amide ") nitro- 

 gen in various feeds is as follows: Green forage crops, 20 to 40 

 per cent of the total nitrogen content, according to the stage when 

 cut; corn silage, 40 per cent; mangels, 60 per cent; potatoes, 40 

 per cent; small grains, 3 to 11 per cent; mill feed, 10 per cent, 

 and oil meals, 4 per cent. 



High- and Low-protein Feeds. Feeds rich in protein sub- 

 stances are spoken of as high-protein feeds, or simply protein feeds 

 or nitrogenous feeds, and those low in protein are called low-protein 

 or starchy feeds. Among the former class (high-protein feeds) 

 may be mentioned : 



Concentrates. Peanut cake meal, containing about 48 per cent 

 protein; cotton-seed meal and soybean meal, 40 to 45 per cent; 

 gluten meal, 34 to 36 per cent ; soybeans and linseed meal, 34 to 36 

 per cent; dried distillers' grains, 32 per cent; malt sprouts and 

 dried brewers' grains, 26 per cent. 



Coarse Feeds. Pea hay, 22.9 per cent ; vetch and sweet clover, 18 

 per cent; alfalfa hay, white and crimson clover, 15 per cent. 



As examples of low-protein feeds may be given : 



Concentrates. Cereal grains, 10 to 12 per cent; dried beet pulp, 

 and corn and cob meal, 8 to 9 per cent; rice, 7.4 per cent. 



Coarse Feeds. Timothy hay, 5.9 per cent; hay from mixed 

 grasses and Hungarian grass, 6 to 8 per cent; barley hay and oat 

 hay, 8 to 9 per cent; straw from the cereals, 3 to 4 per cent; corn 

 stover, 1 to 2 per cent; corn silage, 2.7 per cent. 



Fats are organic compounds consisting largely of mixtures of 

 fatty acids, combined with glycerine (so-called glycerides). The 

 more common fats are stearin, palmitin, and olein. The last-men- 

 tioned glyceride is liquid at ordinary temperatures, and, if present in 

 large quantities, renders the mixed fat liquid or very soft. Lineoleic 

 and linolenic acids are also found in the seeds of some plants, like 

 flaxseed and soybeans ; on exposure to the air in a thin layer, they 

 take up oxygen and " set," t.e./they dry and harden. This difference 



