142 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



Unfortunately the American farmer usually insists that oil cake be 

 ground to a meal. Except where it is desirable to mix the meal thoroly 

 with other concentrates, or feed it as a slop to pigs, cake which has 

 been ground only to nut or pea size is preferable. In such form the 

 feed is more palatable, and there is less chance for adulteration. 

 European farmers buy the cake in slab form and grind it to nut size 

 just before feeding. 



Other flax by-products. — Flax feed, which consists of flax screen- 

 ings, is chiefly used in mixed feeds. As in the case of wheat screenings, 

 its value is uncertain, depending on the relative amounts of inferior 

 flax seed, weed seeds, and other refuse. Containing only half as much 

 protein as linseed meal and often having a bitter taste due to weed 

 seeds, it is rarely economical at the prices asked. 



Flax plant by-product, sometimes sold incorrectly as "flax bran," 

 consists of flax pods, broken and immature flax seeds, and portions of 

 the stems. Owing to its low value, it is rarely sold alone, but is used 

 as a "filler" in certain proprietary feeds. 



Unscreened flax oil-feed, or "laxo" cake meal, is the by-product 

 obtained in extracting the oil from unscreened flax seed. The value is 

 lower than that of linseed meal, depending on how much screenings it 

 contains. 



Soybean. — The soybean is one of the most important agricultural 

 plants of northern China and Japan. The bean-like seeds, which carry 

 from 16 to 21 per ct. of oil, are used for human food and for feeding 

 animals. The oil is also used for human food and in the arts, and the 

 resulting soybean meal is employed as a feed for animals and for fer- 

 tilizing the land, the same as cottonseed meal. This plant produces 

 the largest yield of seed of any legume suited to temperate climates, 

 tho now grown in this country chiefly for forage. No other plant so 

 little grown in the United States at this time promises so much to 

 agriculture as the soybean, which not only yields protein-rich grain 

 and forage but builds up the nitrogen content of the soil. Soybeans 

 are adapted to the same range of climate as corn, and, on account of 

 their resistance to drought, are especially suited to light, sandy soils. 

 When grown for seed, they commonly yield 12 to 40 bushels per acre. 



The seeds contain as much protein and over twice as much fat as 

 linseed meal, and are of nearly as high feeding value as cottonseed 

 meal. Owing to their richness in protein, soybeans should always be 

 fed with carbonaceous concentrates. They are satisfactory for dairy 

 cows and growing and fattening stock of all classes. In the South 

 pigs are often grazed on the nearly mature beans, saving the labor of 

 harvesting. Fed in large amounts, they make soft butter and pork. 

 Soybeans should be ground for horses and cattle. Owing to the high 



