THE CONCENTRATES 175 



is usually removed before the grain is sold. The hull is not, as we 

 shall see, suited for feeding livestock, on account of its sharp barbs 

 and high content of ash (silica, see p. 186), but it is sometimes 

 ground with rice for feeding purposes. The hulled rice is a very 

 valuable fattening feed. It contains considerably more nitrogen- 

 free extract than any other available feeding stuff, viz., nearly 80 

 per cent, while its protein content is low (on the average, 7.4 per 

 cent). Owing to the high starch content and the minute amount 

 of fiber in the hulled rice, it has the highest percentage digestibility 

 of any vegetable feed known, its digestion coefficients being as fol- 

 lows, according to the German digestion trials : 



Dry matter, 98 per cent; protein, 86 per cent; nitrogen-free 

 extract, 100 per cent, and fat, 90 per cent. 



According to the Louisiana station, the ground, rough rice is 

 worth 7 per cent more than corn as a feed for farm stock, and 

 hulled rice is worth 16 per cent more. Supplemented with cotton- 

 seed meal and other high-protein feeds, ground rice furnishes 

 southern farmers a highly nutritious ration for cattle, sheep, or 

 horses. The only thing that stands in the way of its general use 

 for feeding is its cost. 



II. LEGUMINOUS AND OIL-BEARING SEEDS 



The leguminous seeds, like peas and beans, soybeans and cow- 

 peas, are valuable concentrated feeds, and their use for feeding 

 farm animals is increasing every year, as farmers come to realize 

 their value and appreciate that they can greatly reduce their feed 

 bills by growing high-protein forage and grain crops on their farms. 

 At the same time the fertilizer bills may be reduced, since these 

 crops render available for plant use the free nitrogen of the air 

 through symbiosis with certain soil bacteria, and leave the soil 

 richer in this expensive fertilizer element than it was before the 

 crop was grown thereon (p. 113). These grains have a high digesti- 

 bility and contain two or three times as much digestible protein as 

 the cereal grains. With the exception of soybeans, which contain 

 nearly 15 per cent digestible fat, the leguminous seeds are all very 

 low in this component, containing only about 1 per cent thereof. 

 Further information as to the character of the seeds given will be 

 found under the discussion of the respective crops as forage plants. 

 The chemical composition of these seeds will be seen from the 

 following : 



