FIELD CROPS 465 



it is higher in feeding value than wheat, barley, or rye straw, while 

 in carbohydrates there is little difference. Pound for pound in its 

 natural condition it is also materially better than corn stover, on ac- 

 count of the greater moisture content of the latter, but the dry mat- 

 ter in corn stover is rather richer in food constituents than tnat in, 

 oat straw. 



Oat hay is shown to 'be slightly inferior to barley hay in feed- 

 ing value, but it ranks higher than timothy hay in protein and fat, 

 and in consequence is a slightly better feed. Hay made from the 

 bearded varieties of barley is sometimes not readily eaten by stock 

 on account of the beards ; the waste thus occasioned makes oat hay 

 fully as valuable, ton for ton, as hay made from bearded barley. 

 The composition of several samples of hay made from oats and peas 

 is also shown in the table. While the composition of this hay de- 

 pends to some extent on the proportion of the two crops in the mix- 

 ture, its high feeding value is apparent. 



The crop cut green for feeding contains less water than either 

 corn or rye. The superiority of oats over rye for soiling is partic- 

 ularly noticeable, as the oats are much higher in total food value. 

 Green oats compare quite favorably, pound for pound, with green 

 clover. 



Use of Oats as Human Food. Oats have been used as human 

 food in northern Europe for many centuries. In Scotland oatmeal 

 porridge, or groats, is one of the principal articles of diet. Hul- 

 less oats are largely used as food in the mountainous districts of 

 China, where the grain is not only used as porridge but is ground 

 into meal and used in the making of bread and cakes. In the 

 United States the manufacture and consumption of oatmeal have 

 greatly increased in recent years. Most of the oatmeal now manu- 

 factured is more properly termed "rolled oats," though the cracked 

 or cut grain, commonly known as "groats," is used to a limited ex- 

 tent. 



Oatmeal when properly cooked is one of the cheapest and best 

 of the cereal foods. Long cooking not only makes it more palatable, 

 but greatly increases its digestibility. The Iowa Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station found that the average price per pound of three 

 brands of oatmeal were slightly less than that of seven uncooked 

 foods made from other cereals and little more than half that of 

 seventeen brands of prepared cereals. Ten cents purchased a greater 

 fuel value in the form of oatmeal than in the average of the other 

 uncooked cereals, and nearly double that which could be obtained 

 in the prepared cereals. The protein content of the oatmeal was 

 greater than that of any of the other cereal foods. It is generally 

 recognized that most of the protein in oatmeal is readily digestible 

 and that oatmeal is a valuable addition to the diet. 



Feeding the Grain to Stock. Oats have long been the staple 

 grain for feeding horses. The high protein content furnishes a 

 large amount of muscle-building material for the development of 

 young animals and for the maintenance in good condition of older 

 ones at heavy work. The protein and fat in the grain are largely 



