310 BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



amount of hulls the poorer the grade in protein of the cake. 

 It is best suited to cattle above calf age, and for sheep. Com- 

 bined with corn silage or stover, and with some shelled or ear 

 corn, it makes an excellent balanced ration. Cotton-seed 

 meal is not a safe feed for pigs or calves, as it has a poisonous 

 effect, which may result in serious sickness and death. Cot- 

 ton-seed meal is often one of the most economical protein foods 

 that the cattle feeder can buy, considering the character of the 

 nutriment it contains. It is fed to some extent in the South, 

 along with the hulls, which largely consist of woody fiber, 

 and fair gains in steer feeding have come from this combina- 

 tion. Milk from cows fed cotton-seed meal produces a 

 harder butter than when corn is used. The fat of steers that 

 have been fed cotton-seed meal is also harder than that of 

 steers fed corn meal. One can easily see that in warm sec- 

 tions of the country, as a result of the use of this feed, butter 

 will ship better than it might if some other feed were used. 



Distillers' grains are a product of the manufacture of 

 alcoholic liquor, for which rye, corn, barley, and sometimes 

 oats, are used. The grain is mashed in water, and the starch 

 is changed into sugar, and later into alcohol through the 

 influence of yeast. The mashed grain left is very watery; 

 but if the water is removed by heat, a dried, brown, chaffy 

 product, rich in protein and fat, results. This is known under 

 various names as dried distillers' grains, Ajax flakes, Atlas 

 meal, Biles' grains, etc. Grains made from rye are inferior 

 to those from corn. There is quite a difference in the pro- 

 tein values of these grains. They are especially popular with 

 feeders of dairy cattle in making up a mixed grain ration. 

 They have a strong odor that reminds one of the smell of 

 hops, and some animals dislike it on account of this peculiar 

 smell. As yet this feed has been but little fed in America, 

 except to cattle. 



