6o 

 AN OPEN LETTER ABOUT LOW-GRADE BY-PRODUCTS. 



J. B. LiNDSEY. 

 (a) WHAT THEY ARE AND THEIR FEEDING VALUE. 



Under this classification may be mentioned oat and barley resi- 

 dues, cottonseed liulls, rice hulls, wheat and flax screenings, and 

 ground corn cobs. 



Oat and barley residues, which consist of grain hulls, middlings 

 and mill sweepings, contain from 50 to 75 per cent of hulls and have 

 from 40 to 60 per cent of the feeding value of corn meal. 



Cottonseed hulls coviX.'iLyxw&xy little protein, some 40 per cent of 

 fiber, and are quite indigestible. They are sold in the South at from 

 $6 to $8 a ton, and are in no way economical for Northern feeders. 



Rice hulls are very low in protein, high in ash and fiber, and are 

 digested with great difficulty. They are not suited for feeding pur- 

 poses, creating a serious irritation of the membranes of the stomach 

 and intestines. They should never be incorporated into cattle or 

 horse feeds. 



Wheat screenings contain the small shrunken wheat kernels, pieces 

 of straw, grain hulls and a great variety of weed seeds. They are 

 quite bitter and must have an inferior nutritive value. Their whole- 

 sale price in large lots is about $16 a ton, Boston basis. Unless the 

 viability of the seeds is destroyed by heating or grinding, the use 

 of such material is in no way advised. 



Flax screenings are similar to wheat screenings excepting that the 

 inferior wheat kernels are replaced by imperfectly developed flax 

 seed. They likewise contain more protein and fat than the screen- 

 ings from wheat, and have a somewhat greater nutritive value. 



Ground cor?i cobs coxiizxw 2 to 3 percent of protein and over 30 

 per cent of fiber. While they possess some nutritive value derived 



from the fiber and extract matter, they are decidedly out of place as 

 a component of any reputable proprietary grain mixture. 



(b) THEIR USE IN PROPRIETARY FEEDS. 



One has only to study the pages of this bulletin or of similar pub- 

 lications put out by other experiment stations, to note the large and 

 ever increasing number of proprietary feeds offered for sale. These 

 mixtures may be classed under such general heads as dairy feeds, 



