2 7 2 THE CHEMISTRY OF CATTLE FEEDING 



appreciated by nearly all farm animals. It is very useful for 

 fattening, and also, when mixed with other, more nitrogenous, 

 substances, for milk production, etc. Excessive quantities 

 should not, however, be given to pigs, as it is said to produce 

 an inferior quality of bacon. The coefficients of digestibility 

 are very high. The demand for this article has much increased 

 of late years, and the price has risen considerably. It is still, 

 however, one of the cheapest of the starchy products on the 

 market. 



Rice Meal. The structure of the rice grain resembles that 

 of wheat and barley, and the milling process to which it is 

 subjected is similar in effect to that employed in the case of 

 the* latter. The husk is of little or no value for feeding 

 purposes, but the underlying coat which is next removed is 

 very suitable, and is known as rice meal. It contains a fair 

 amount of protein and is rich in oil and carbohydrates. In 

 genuine samples there is only a small percentage of husk ; but 

 rice husks ground and mixed with broken and damaged 

 grains are often sold as rice meal. For some reason rice meal 

 is not much appreciated by farmers in this country, and the price 

 is consequently low. Having regard to the nutrients it contains, 

 it is, at present rates, cheaper than maize (cf. pp. 167, 213). 



Leguminous Seeds. Compared with the cereals, the 

 leguminous or pulse seeds are distinguished by the high 

 percentage of nitrogenous matter and small amount of carbo- 

 hydrates which they contain. In peas and beans, the per- 

 centage of fat is no greater than in the common cereals, but 

 some leguminous seeds, e.g. soyabean and earthnut, contain 

 large amounts. These are, therefore, conveniently regarded as 

 oily seeds although, botanically, they belong to this order. 

 The coefficients of digestibility are generally somewhat lower 

 than in the case of the cereals, and a larger proportion of 

 the nitrogenous matter is not true protein. 



Certain leguminous seeds, e.g. Java beans, though rich in 

 nutrients, cannot be used as feeding stuffs because they contain 

 nitrogenous glucosides which, on contact with the digestive 

 juices, undergo hydrolysis with the formation of the deadly 

 poisonous prussic acid. 



