THE OIL MEALS 235 



may be considered as 20 to 30 per cent, depending on the rest of 

 the ration. 



433. Peanut oil meal. — This feed contains approximately 

 47 per cent protein, 8 per cent fat and 5 per cent fiber, and being 

 highly digestible, is thus somewhat more valuable pound for 

 pound than choice cottonseed meal. It is palatable to dairy cattle 

 and is a very excellent feed for milk production. Due to its 

 high fat content, peanut oil meal will become rancid on storage 

 in hot weather. Sometimes the product sold as meal has been 

 adulterated with shucks. Such an adulteration lowers the pro- 

 tein content and raises the fiber. Thus, a meal which falls much 

 below the average in these respects should be regarded with 

 suspicion. 



Unhulled peanut oil feed has one-third less protein than the 

 meal and four times as much fiber, clue, of course, to including 

 the shucks. We do not believe the farmer should purchase a feed 

 containing peanut shucks. 



434. Cocoanut oil meal. — The dried kernels of the cocoanut, 

 called copra, are pressed for oil which is used largely in nut- 

 oleos, sold as butter substitutes. The feed is also called copra oil 

 meal from the name of the dried kernels. It has a protein content 

 of somewhat above 20 per cent, thus ranking much lower in this 

 respect than the other oil meals. On the basis of its digestible 

 nutrients it may be considered nearly as valuable pound for pound 

 as gluten feed. Cocoanut oil meal has a pleasant odor and taste 

 which make it palatable to dairy cows and it is a very satisfactory 

 feed for the dairy ration. It is reported not to keep well in warm 

 weather, but our experience is that this difficulty is not a serious 

 one, provided the feed is dry. 



435. Soybean products. — The soybean is a very important 

 crop in the Orient and is rapidly gaining in favor in the temperate 

 regions of the United States. The bean is rich in oil which is 

 pressed out for human food and industrial use, leaving soybean 

 oil meal as feed. The beans themselves are also being advocated 

 as a high protein home-grown feed which could be substituted for 

 much of the high priced protein supplements now purchased. 



