WHEAT 187 



with other less expensive, bulky products. It is generally a poor 

 practice to purchase the so-called gluten feeds without a guaranteed 

 analysis. Even in such cases the true gluten meal is to be preferred, 

 as it has a known digestibility. 



Hominy meal is another by-product of corn, resulting from the 

 manufacture of corn into hominy, which is an article for human 

 food consumption. The outer shell of the corn grain and the germ 

 constitute a by-product which is very similar to gluten. This 

 product is not generally used. 



Germ-oil meal is a by-product of the starch industry. Although 

 rather limited in supply for feeding purposes, it is fairly high in 

 protein and contains over ten per cent of fat. It is used in some 

 localities for the finishing and fattening of poultry. 



Wheat constitutes one of the leading foods for both man and 

 animals. It is becoming more and more popular as a feed for 

 poultry, and at present it is recognized as the most efficient single 

 feed which can be used for egg production. When compared with 

 corn, wheat carries a slightly larger amount of starch as well as 

 materially more protein and considerably less fat. Owing to 

 this slight difference in composition it furnishes more nearly a 

 balanced ration for poultry feeding. Experiments show that 

 wheat is especially valuable in the feeding of young and growing 

 animals, owing to its high protein and ash content. Wheat, 

 together with corn, constitutes the great bulk of grain feed on 

 the majority of farms in America. 



Wheat Bran and Middlings. — In the process of manufacturing 

 flour, the layers of wheat kernels are split up into different com- 

 ponents or grades. These are kno^^^l as bran, middlings or shorts, 

 and flour. Shorts are essentially the same as middlings, ex- 

 cept that a larger amount of fine bran may be present. Bran 

 consists of the outer coatings of wheat kernels left in large flakes 

 with portions of the inner Xayer of protein-bearing cells. The 

 product is light, bulky, and fibrous. Middlings contain a larger 

 proportion of the inner layers, including some flour, and have less 

 of the outer coats and are more starchy than bran (Fig. 114). 

 Wheat bran, mixed with corn meal, usually forms the basis of 

 most poultry mashes. Wheat bran contains a relatively high per- 

 centage of nutrients, but its digestibility is rather low, — not much 

 greater than that of a good grade of legume hay. Middlings may 

 well form a part of a dry-mash mixture, but are rather too sticky 

 for the wet mash. Coarser products should go with them in all cases. 



