202 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



Immense numbers of steers are fattened in the South on these 

 feeds only, generally mixed in the proportions of four parts of 

 hulls and one of meal. The fattening is continued from 90 to 120 

 days. Sheep and dairy cows are also fed mixed cotton-seed meal 

 and hulls with good results. "All the information at hand indi- 

 cates that this practice is both economical and profitable. The diet 

 apparently does not injure the health of the animals, nor impair 

 the healthf ulness of the resulting products." 16 



Coconut meal is a by-product in the manufacture of coconut 

 oil from dried broken pieces of coconut kernels (so-called copra). 

 It is used very little as a stock feed in this country except on the 

 Pacific coast. It is relatively low in protein, fat, and fiber, its 

 composition being about as follows : 20 per cent protein, 6 to 8 

 per cent fat, 9 to 10 per cent fiber, and 6 per cent ash. 



According to digestion experiments conducted at the Massa- 

 chusetts station, 17 the protein is 90 per cent digestible, the fat 

 wholly digestible, and the nitrogen-free extract 87 per cent digesti- 

 ble. As the price of coconut meal is generally but slightly higher 

 than that of wheat bran, it is, as a rule, more economical than this 

 feed, especially for dairy cows, but it cannot be fed in as large 

 amounts as wheat bran, nor can it be kept more than a few weeks 

 in warm weather on account of its tendency to turn rancid. 



Fresh coconut meal has a pleasant, aromatic flavor and is 

 greatly relished by cattle and other stock; two to three pounds 

 daily is a fair allowance for cattle. It should always be fed mixed 

 with other concentrates. It is also fed to some extent to horses, 

 pigs, calves and poultry. 



Soybean meal is the ground residue obtained in the manu- 

 facture of soybean oil. The meal fed in this country is imported 

 from either Japan, China, or Manchuria; so far as is known, none 

 is manufactured here, although soybeans are now grown quite exten- 

 sively in various parts of the United States. It is a valuable 

 concentrate for farm stock, and is one of the richest nitrogenous 

 feeds on the market, containing about as much protein and fat as 

 cotton-seed meal (41.4 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively) ; 

 it has a lower fiber content (5.3 per cent) and a higher digestibility 

 than this meal. According to Kellner, only 3.4 per cent of the 

 protein is present in amide form, and the protein has a digesti- 

 bility of 97.7 per cent. The soybean meal is, therefore, a highly 

 digestible feed, well adapted for feeding young stock, dairy cows, 

 steers, and other farm animals. It is fed in this country almost 

 entirely on the Pacific coast, where it is used largely for poultry 



16 Loc. cit. 17 Bulletin 152. 



