No. 4.] FEEDS AND FEEDING. 37 



more quickly. I would soak it overnight or for a few hours 

 before feeding. 



Mr. R. C. GooDALE. What is your advice as to feeding 

 wet mash, — whether warm or cold, with warm or cold 

 water ? 



Professor Geaham. The feeding of hot mashes is an old- 

 fashioned idea. I began that way, but experiments have been 

 performed at different stations which show conclusively that 

 it doesn't make any difference whether you make them with 

 hot or cold water. You probably know that the cooking of 

 feed is being done away with entirely. Scientists have dem- 

 onstrated to us beyond doubt that cooking binds up the pro- 

 tein molecules more tightly than in the raw feed. You try 

 to fatten a cockerel on cooked feed ^nd you will find you 

 can't do it very well. Professor Graham of Guelph, Can., 

 who has done a good deal of that work, because they furnish 

 dressed poultry for the English market, has tried feeding 

 cooked feed, but it has never been satisfactory. It gets the 

 digestive apparatus of the bird out of order. Pouring boil- 

 ing water into the pail of feed, enough of it to mix with the 

 mash, wouldn't cook it but just warm it. The old-fashioned 

 way was to make a sloppy mash, but now we put in just 

 enough water to make what we call a crumbly mash. 



Mr. Haven. In view of the tables, why do you use so 

 much wheat, even, as one-third ? 



Professor Geaham. We do it simply to get variety. In all 

 probability they would get along very well on corn alone. 

 Other grains should be fed simply for variety. 



Mr. Have:^. I know, but why can't you feed wheat and 

 oats once a week ? Wouldn't that cheapen your ration ? 



Professor Geakam. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Haven. And wouldn't that give an equal amount of 

 variety ? If they have com and wheat together every day 

 in the same proportion they don't really get variety. 



Professor Geaham. Looking at it that way, it is true ; but 

 I like to give what grains I feed quite regularly because of 

 the habits of hens. They get into a habit of eating certain 

 food and thev like it. I have had hens that wouldn't look 



