COARSE FEEDS AND THEIR VALUE 293 



little grain, is valuable for roughing stock through the winter, 

 if much fattening is not desired. It is a bulky feed, and 

 should not be fed heavily to animals from which much is 

 expected. The plant contains the largest amount of nutri- 

 ment when the kernels on the ear are beginning to glaze or 

 harden, but it may be cut for feeding at any time from the 

 appearance of the silk to final ripening. Fodder left out 

 in the shock during the winter is injured more or less in 

 feeding value, losing in nutriment through mould and 

 weathering. 



Oats do best in the cooler sections of the North, but so- 

 called winter oats do well in the South. This crop may be 

 pastured or may be cut and fed green when of sufficient 

 maturity. In New England many farmers grow oats to 

 cut and cure as hay when the grain is in the milk. Oat 

 straw is one of the best, both in nutritive value and in being 

 relished by stock. A combination of oats and Canada field 

 peas, from equal amounts of seed sowed early in spring, 

 makes a very desirable green crop for feeding in June and 

 July. 



Rye has been much used both as fall and spring pasture. 

 It mats up into a thick growth, and can be grazed with 

 advantage to the grain yield if not pastured too long or too 

 heavily, or it may be cut green and fed in the stable or feed 

 lot. Many people grow rye and turn stock on it to harvest 

 it entirely. Hogs are frequently turned in, and they con- 

 sume both stalk and grain. Dairy cattle should not be fed 

 rye, except soon after milking, otherwise a strong and 

 unpleasant odor in the plant will be likely to give a bad 

 flavor to the milk. Rye straw is a very poor feed, having 

 less than one per cent protein and a great deal of fiber. 



Wheat and barley may be used after the same manner 

 as rye, and have much the same value, though they are not 



