1904.] 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 83. 



75 



digestibility. The sami)le of JVlercliants grains proved about 

 6 percent, more digestible than the " Fourex " brand, due 

 probablj^ to the character of the cereals used in the masli. 

 The dirt'erence was principally in the extract matter. Com- 

 paring the coefficients obtained with Sheep III., the differ- 

 ence in case of the total dry matter is reduced to 4 per cent. 

 Marked differences are observed in the digestibility of the 

 fiber. Such variations in fiber digestibility are character- 

 istic of all grains and grain by-products. This matter will 

 be referred to farther on. 



In this connection it will doul)tless prove of interest to 

 summarize the results obtained at this station with 7 differ- 

 ent samples of distillers' grains : — 



Composition of the Grains {Per Cent.). 



Brand. 



Water. 



Ash. 



Protein. 



Fiber. 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 Extract. 



Fat. 



Biles X, 

 Biles XX, . 

 Biles XXX, . 

 Biles XXXX, 

 Biles XXXX, 

 Merchants, . 

 Atlas, . 

 Average, 



8.91 

 9.53 

 7.46 

 8.83 

 9.45 

 8.77 

 8-96 



8.84 



1.68 

 2.44 

 2.05 

 1.70 

 1.55 

 l.i)2 

 .94 



1.75 



29.15 

 25.49 

 29.86 

 34.76 

 35.46 

 31.49 

 38.80 



9.58 

 11.22 

 10.28 

 11.40 

 13.00 

 12.51 



8.86 



32.14 



10.98 



40.03 

 41.80 

 38.52 

 33. .50 

 29.87 

 32.15 

 28.08 



34.85 



10.65 

 9.52 

 11.83 

 9.81 

 10.67 

 13.16 

 14.36 



11.43 



The percentage of ash is Ioav, as would naturally be ex- 

 pected. Its exact character has not been determined. The 

 protein percentage is relatively high, and varies consider- 

 ably, depending upon the material used. The brands offered 

 in Massachusetts have been guaranteed to contain 33 and 34 

 per cent. Considerable fiber is present, as a result of the 

 incorporated grain hulls. The fiber and extract matter must 

 show a very considerable amount of pentosans, although 

 determinations have not been made. The fat percentage is 

 quite high, being similar in quantity to that contained in 

 the corn gluten feed, before the corn oil was extracted. 



