OATS 83 



On account of this marked difference in chemical composition the 

 proportion of hull to pure grain in oats is an important consideration in 

 the determination of its Value. The fineness of the hull therefore plays 

 an important role in the judging of quality. 



Among the fine-hulled varieties of oats may be mentioned Oderbruch, 

 Rhenish, Kamchatka, so-called American potato oats and the black 

 varieties of oats. Varieties with hulls of medium weight are Warthe- 

 bruch, Propsteier, Ruegen, Silesian and most of the awnless varieties of 

 golden oats, Swedish oats and Danube oats. So-called barley oats, Scotch 

 Longfellow, Podolian, white Canadian and many Russian and American 

 varieties belong to the coarse-hulled class. 



The amount of crude protein in oats varies between 6 and 17 per cent, 

 (average 10 per cent); crude fat 5 per cent (3 to 7 per cent), about 

 three times as much as that of rye, wheat or barley; nitrogen-free ex- 

 tract 58 per cent. Crude fiber 11 per cent, mineral matter 3.3 per cent, 

 water 12 per cent, digestible protein 5.6 to 9 per cent and a starch value 

 of 55 to 63 per cent. 



The digestive coefficient of oats is high. Oats are more rapidly di- 

 gested than the other species or grains, and the protein and fat in par- 

 ticular have higher digestive coefficients, except the fat in Indian corn 

 (dent) which has a higher digestive coefficient than the fat in oats. The 

 digestive coefficient of the carbohydrates of oats is lower on account of 

 the large percentage of hulls. The easy digestibility of oats is due in 

 part to the presence of large amounts of starch-dissolving and albumen- 

 dissolving ferments, but above all to the fact that the presence of the 

 hulls prevents the formation of a doughy mass in the stomach but aids 

 in keeping the contents loose and spongy and permits the free circula- 

 tion or admixture of the digestive fluids. 



Of all the species of grains oats are the most wholesome and palatable. 

 They are taken with relish by swine as well as by all herbivora. Di- 

 gestive disorders such as follow the feeding of other grains do not occur 

 after the careful feeding of oats. These agreeable properties of oats 

 were formerly ascribed (Sanson) to the presence of an alkaloid, avenin, 

 in the glumes or hulls. More recent investigations, however, have dem- 

 onstrated that avenin does not occur in oats. Traces of cholin and 

 trigonellin occur. 



Freshly harvested and not thoroughly dry oats are considered less 

 digestible and less nutritious than the thoroughly dried grain. They are 

 said to produce sweating and weakness and sometimes gastrointestinal 

 catarrahs, colics and hemaglobinuria. Immature, damp or mouldy oats 

 of recent harvesting are especially dangerous. The cause of this may be 

 looked for chiefly in the presence of the fresh mold. Well-bred horses 

 are more sensitive to the effects of such feed than the coarser types, 

 It is best to store oats for about three months after harvest and let the 

 sweating process run its course completely before beginning to feed. 

 The change from old to new oats should even in this case be made 



