BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE 319 



Information along this line was needed by the man who desired to 

 purchase soft corn for feeding purposes. The same was true for that 

 large mass of people who make a business of grain farming. They 

 needed information concerning the value of the corn which they 

 must either sell to the stockman or allow to rot in the fields. 



Recognizing the need of securing some light on this subject the 

 Animal Husbandry Section of this Station with the co-operation of 

 the Agronomy and Chemical Sections conducted the work presented 

 in this bulletin. A practical feeding test, in which sixteen steers 

 were divided into two lots of eight each, was outlined and carried 

 through a period of six months. 



The lot fed on soft corn required almost one pound less dry 

 matter in the corn fed to make one pound of gain than did the lot 

 fed on mature corn. The amount of moisture in the soft corn was 

 determined at the beginning and end of each month and an aver- 

 age of the same was used in computing the figures for the month in 

 question. 



At the beginning of the test the amount of moisture was de- 

 termined by taking the average of several samples which had been 

 analyzed by the chemical section. From the beginning until the 

 end of the test the amount of moisture was determined by a series 

 of chemical analyses and the results of a corn shrinkage test. In 

 the corn shrinkage test the crib was weighed at the end of each 

 month, thus we had the results of a considerable amount of corn 

 which very much reduced the possibility of error in our estimates. 

 It will be further noticed that the cattle fed on soft corn sold for 

 the same price as did the lot fed on mature corn which was practi- 

 cally the top of the market. In shipping, the soft corn lot had the 

 lightest shrink, and in the slaughter test they dressed out .8 of a per 

 cent more meat than did the mature corn lot. (la. B. 75.) 



COMMERCIAL STOCK FOODS. 



From Wheat. Bran consists of the outer coating of the wheat 

 kernel and because of its fat and protein content is a very valuable 

 feed. Middlings and Shorts are terms used interchangeably in the 

 trade and consist of the coating of the wheat kernel just below the 

 bran layer, the finer particles and fragments of bran and flour par- 

 ticles. They are rich in digestible fat and protein and an excellent 

 feed. Middlings are often divided into standard middlings, germ 

 middlings, flour middlings, etc. White middlings as used in many 

 parts designate a product which is in reality a low grade flour much 

 below red dog in feeding value. Shipstuff consists of a mixture of 

 bran and middlings, bran and shorts or of all three of these mate- 

 rials. Red Dog Flour consists of low grade flour and fine particles 

 of bran which cannot be separated in the process of milling. Screen- 

 ings consist of the smaller, imperfect grains of wheat, weed seeds 

 and other foreign materials separated from the wheat in preparing 

 it for milling. Scourings consist of the small particles from the 

 outer bran coating of the wheat kernel and the dust and dirt re- 

 moved by the scourer. Sweepings consist of the cleanings from the 

 bin, around spouts and other parts of the mill. Bee Wings con- 



