no 



general. It was found to be a much better grain to feed 

 by itself, singly, than was corn, and, as might be supposed, 

 all classes of animals, horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and 

 poultry throve upon it. ^Millions of bushels of wheat were 

 fed to stock, chiefly in the West. This eased the glut of 

 that cereal in the market ; and gave the farmer a much 

 better price for his wheat converted into meats, etc., than 

 he could possibly have secured from the same sold in the 

 form of grain. 



COMPOUNDING RATIONS. 



That ration is best which is drawn from the largest num- 

 ber of the best sources. In mixing rations the feeder must 

 consider the character and composition of the different 

 grains. Wheat bran affords an excellent basis for anj"- 

 ration, because it is rich in mineral matter and protein and 

 is also light, bulky and easy to digest. Oats are rich in 

 muscle making elements. They have considerable husk 

 so they are also bulky and better to feed alone than any 

 other whole grain. Oatfeed, a by-product of the oatmeal 

 mills, is a very good feed, although of course not as meaty 

 as the entire oats. Corn has too much starch and fat to 

 be fed exclusively. It needs to be given in connection 

 with other grains, such as bran, oats, etc.. that contain 

 more protein and mineral matter. Especially is this need- 

 ful in the case of young, growing animals. Then we have 

 the so-called concentrated feeds, linseed, cottonseed and 

 gluten meals. These are never to be fed alone ; but always 

 with other less rich foods. They should form but a com- 

 paratively small proportion of the entire ration. Linseed 

 meal is the ground cake which is left after linseed oil has 

 been expressed from the flaxseed. It is very fine to keep 

 the skin and digestive organs in a healthy, active condi- 

 tion, and contains, as well, much nutriment. 



