1907.] 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 



125 



fiber present renders its degree of digestibility comparatively 

 unimportant. Judged from composition and digestibility, 

 this oat by-product would be a few per cent, more valuable 

 than average wheat flour middlings for ordinary feeding pur- 

 poses. It ought to make a valuable feed for young calves. 



Buckwheat Middlings. — This material is the residue from 

 small mills which prepare buckwheat flour for human use. 

 It consisted of the middlings and a small portion of the bran. 

 Genuine buckwheat middlings should contain 25 per cent, of 

 protein, 7 per cent, of fat and not over 10 per cent, of fiber. 

 Samples found in the market known as buckwheat feed fre- 

 quently show a considerable admixture of the bran and ana- 

 lyze as high as 25 per cent, of fiber. Buckwheat bran is very 

 indigestible, and consequently such material is quite inferior 

 in feeding value to the straight middlings. 



Summary of Digestion Coefficients. {P.er Cent.y 



Period XIII. 



Sheep III. did not digest the middlings quite as well as 

 the other two sheep. The material, as is shown by the co- 

 efiicients obtained for the dry matter, appeared to be fairly 

 well digested, although not as fully as the easily digested 

 gluten feed. The protein had a high digestibility, being 

 equal to other high-grade protein concentrates. It is evident 

 from the analysis, from the digestion coefficients obtained and 

 from the retail price of the article ($26 to $28 a ton) that 

 genuine buckwheat middlings is an economical source of dry 

 matter and digestible protein.^ 



1 Average, two trials. 



2 It is not advisable to feed over 3 pounds of this material daily to mature dairy 

 stock; larger quantities are likely to cause illness. 



