GRAINS AND SEEDS 167 



feed. Under exceptional conditions, however, as in case 

 of an abnormally cheap price or poor quality, wheat may be 

 utilized profitably as a feed for farm animals. Some feeders 

 make it a rule to feed their wheat when it is worth only ten 

 per cent more than corn. It is estimated by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture that ordinarily about two 

 per cent of the total wheat crop is utilized as feed for 

 farm animals. 



There are two kinds of wheat, viz., spring and winter 

 wheat. Winter wheat is the ordinary wheat of the corn- 

 belt. It is sown in the fall and harvested the following 

 summer. Spring wheat is sown in the spring and harvested 

 that summer. It is grown especially in Minnesota, Iowa, 

 Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, and in central and 

 western Canada, where the climate is too severe for winter 

 wheat. There is little or no difference in the chemical 

 composition and feeding value of winter and spring wheat. 



The average chemical composition of wheat is as follows : 

 water, 10.5 per cent; ash, 1.8 per cent; crude protein, 11.9 

 per cent; crude fiber, 1.8 per cent; nitrogen-free extract, 

 71.9 per cent; and fat, 2.1 per cent. Its net energy value 

 is 82.6 therms per 100 pounds. Wheat differs from corn in 

 chemical composition in having slightly more protein and 

 mineral matter, and less than half the amount of fat. Its 

 energy value is somewhat less. However, wheat is not 

 flinty and crisp like corn, but chews up into a gummy, un- 

 palatable mass, so that, except in case of sheep, it is unsuited 

 for feeding purposes without previously being ground and 

 mixed with some coarser feed, such as bran or oats. 



For Growing Stock. — Wheat is somewhat better adapted 

 than corn for growing animals as it contains more protein 



