96 THE SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



in hard water. During harvest time beans and peas are sunietinies fed 

 in the straw, without being threshed. To prevent constipation or undue 

 accumulation of intestinal contents bran may be fed with legume rations. 

 This is highly recommended and in case of constipation absolutely neces- 

 sary. 



For ruminants the legumes are a good fattening feed as well as a good 

 energy-producing feed. Working oxen may have several pounds per day 

 during the working season. With careful feeding they are also good for 

 young growing animals and for milk cows, but should be avoided for 

 pregnant animals. The unfavorable action upon the milk secretion which 

 has been ascribed to legumes does not seem to exist in fact. 



For sheep legumes should be soaked in water twenty-four hours before 

 feeding; for cattle, either coarsely ground, crushed or soaked. 



For swine the Leguminosse are a good fattening feed, producing a firm 

 flesh and a fat that melts at a higher temperature than ordinary lard. At 

 the finishing stage, however, large quantities of legumes should be avoid- 

 ed, especially beans, and barley substituted. It is generally supposed that 

 they produce a bitter taste when fed at that stage, but this is contrary to 

 reports of Kuehn. Legumes should be cooked and crushed before feed- 

 ing to swine. This is especially necessary in the case of beans with 

 leathery skins. 



b. Lupines 



The lupines are cultivated species of Lupinus luteus, L. albus and 

 angustifolius (blue lupine). 



The yellow flowered lupine produces the richest seeds. They contain 

 38 per cent of crude protein, 4.5 per cent of crude fat, 25.4 per cent of 

 nitrogen-free extract and 14 per cent of crude fiber. Unfortunately all 

 lupines have a bitter taste, which is imparted to the milk, and this fact 

 materially affects their feeding value. This bitter principle may, how- 

 ever, be removed by steaming or cooking and subsequent leaching. Some 

 varieties of lupines also contain a toxin, (mentioned on page 63), which 

 has been the cause of fatalities in horses and sheep (Schulz), 



Lupines not treated for the removal of the bitter principle must be fed 

 with the precautions mentioned on page 64 (experimental feeding). Sheep 

 become accustomed to them more readily than other animals, horses not 

 so readily, and cattle and swine sometimes refuse altogether to eat 

 them. One-half pound per day, coarsely ground and mixed with chaffed 

 feed, is excellent for sheep. Sheep in a run-down condition soon recover 

 flesh on this ration. Larger rations are apt to be followed by digestive 

 disturbances, cerebral disorders, irritation of the urinary organs and, 

 especially in horses, constipation, colic and laminitis. 



When lupines are intended to be fed in large quantities they should 

 first be leached to remove the bitter principle, which also removes the 

 toxins that may be present. The process consists in steaming under 

 pressure or cooking for from 15 minutes to one or two hours and then 



