PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 367 



directly to the stock. The fact that the practice has been 

 virtually discarded is pretty certain evidence that it did not 

 prove profitable. This is in agreement with the results ob- 

 tained from the tests conducted by the experiment stations 

 and it is all the more surprising in the face of the strong 

 claims put forth even by some of the scientists of for- 

 mer generations as to its value. In some of the tests made, 

 the cooking of the food seemed to reduce rather than to en- 

 hance its digestibility. This was true more especially of the 

 protein, hence the adverse effects were most pronounced in 

 foods rich in protein. 



Until recent years this practice was common with the 

 exhibitor of cattle to prepare the food for them by chaf- 

 fing the hay, and after adding meal, to pour over the mass 

 while still hot, such food as boiled peas. The box or trougli 

 containing the food was then covered and the mass allowed 

 to steam. It was believed that such food added to the mel- 

 lowness of the flesh and probably with some reason. It is 

 pretty certain, however, that it does not add to the increase 

 made, and it does add materially to the cost of feeding. In 

 these facts it is probable that the explanation lies for dis- 

 carding, at least to a great extent, such feeding during re- 

 cent years. 



V^ears ago it was matter of common belief that grain 

 food fed to swine would give better results if fed in the 

 cooked rather than in the soaked form. This explains why 

 cooking such food was so common in those days. But ex- 

 periments conducted at the experiment stations have rudely 

 shattered this belief. They have shown that, as a rule, 

 cooked meal does not produce greater gains than soaked 

 meal. Nevertheless, under some conditions, as when the 

 cooked meal may be fed warm in cold weather, the cooked 

 food is superior to the other. The added value, however, 

 arises rather from the warming effect which the food has 

 upon the system than from any superior digestibility which 

 it possesses. Under such conditions, the profit from cook- 

 ing food may be considerable. It is also true that certain 



