52 



EXPERIMENT STATION. 



.)aii. 



THE YALUE OF OATS FOR MILK PRODUCTION. 



J. n. LINDSEY. 



Oats arc held in high esteem as a food for all classes of farm 

 animals, and particularly for horses. They arc also regarded 

 as a valuable food for milk production, aUhough their relative 

 cost, especially in the east, has prevented their general use for 

 this purpose. For example, the average wholesale price for a 

 ton of oats in 1910 was $29.51, and for the first eight montlw 

 of 1911 it was $20.99, as against $20.39 and $23.88 for corn 

 meal. 



The fact that oats are so highly regarded for the production 

 of milk led the station to conduct three demonstration experi- 

 ments with dairy cows, comparing ground oats with a like 

 amount of corn meal. 



The Composition of Oats. 



1 Henry, 1910. 



2 Kollnor, 1909. 



' Lindsey's Compilation, 1910. 



Oats vary in composition rather more than some other cereals. 

 The larger the per cent, of hulls, the lov/er the percentages of 

 protein and fat. Oats that are imperfectly developed are likely 

 to have relatively more protein and less starchy matter than 



