BARLEY 87 



and 20 parts of flaxseed, while a third kind was made up of oat, pea 

 and wheat flour or meal and 10 parts of flaxseed. In addition all of 

 these contained 1 per cent of common salt and 7 per cent of water. In 

 size they were 4 by 4 inches, and about 3/5 inch in thickness. They 

 are thoroughly baked, brittle and of a pleasant bread odor. Daily ration 

 for a horse, 5 pounds, broken, without further preparation ; 10 pounds 

 of hay and water as usual. The efficiency of the horses was not re- 

 duced. Experiments were conducted on 124 military horses in Russia. 

 These cakes require only one-fourth of the storage space required for 

 a corresponding amount of grain, an important item from a military 

 point of view. On the other hand, Lebedew obtained unfavorable re- 

 sults with cakes made of rye, barley and peas. Digestive disorders and 

 exhaustion were frequently observed. None of the many other feed 

 cakes prepared and offered as substitutes for oats for horses have come 

 up to expectations (pea cakes, Thorley food, Huch blood-feed, Achen- 

 bach concentrate, compressed oats, etc.). Attention should be directed, 

 however, to what has already been said in regard to dried potatoes 

 (sliced, flaked and pressed, p. 73) which have proved very valuable. 

 They are in proportion of 77 pounds of dried potatoes and 13 pounds 

 of dry yeast to 100 pounds of oats. Further reference to substitutes 

 for oats as rations for horses will be made in succeeding pages. 



On account of the relatively high price of oats this excellent feed is 

 not extensively used for other domestic animals. Occasionally it is 

 used as a concentrate in rations for calves, as much as 1^ pounds per 

 day, or 2 pounds for bull calves. It is also fed to young animals of 

 all species, bulls, less frequently to milk cows, lambs (}i pounds), rams, 

 ewes (up to 1 pound per day), little pigs and to convalescents. All of 

 these animals digest the ration more thoroughly if the oats are given 

 in the crushed form, except milk cows, fattening cattle and swine, 

 which do as well on the coarsely ground grain. Sheep and calves only 

 may receive the grain whole for best results. When fed dry to sheep 

 the oats may be mixed with twice the volume of chaffed straw, and this 

 is occasionally practiced with cattle also. For milk cows, coarsely 

 ground oats may be mixed with bran, meal, oil cake, etc., and fed alone 

 or mixed with crushed root crops (intensive feeding). The method 

 of feeding crushed oats to cattle in most common use in Germany is to 

 mix with hot slops or scalding water and adding cooked potatoes or beets 

 to make a mash. Swine usually receive coarsely ground oats scalded 

 with hot water and mixed with cooked potatoes. 



b. Barley 



Botanical. — Origin : Hordeiim vulgare, H. distichum and H. hexas- 

 tichum. These species are characterized by the fact that there are three 

 spikelets at each joint of the rachis, while in wheat and rye there is 

 only one. The fruit of most species of barley is intimately inclosed 

 by the glumes (Figs. 41 to 43 and 46). The grains of rye are naked 



