GRAINS AND SEEDS 173 



and breeding ewes may be limited only by their cost. They 

 also may be used quite extensively in the rations of brood 

 sows, but a cheaper substitute usually may be found to 

 answer this purpose. 



For milk cows there is no better feed than oats. They 

 may constitute the whole or any part of the concentrates 

 in the ration, depending upon their price. Wheat bran, 

 ground corn, and ground oats in equal parts make a good, 

 combination of concentrates for dairy cows. Even when 

 more expensive than corn, it usually is profitable to use 

 some oats in the ration. As a supplement to corn, oats are 

 more valuable, pound for pound, than bran. Unless bran is 

 used in the ration, however, some nitrogenous concentrate, 

 as Unseed oil meal, cottonseed meal, or gluten feed should be 

 used with the corn and oats. The amount of the nitrogenous 

 concentrate will depend largely upon the nature of the rough- 

 age, i.e. whether it is nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous. 



For Work Horses. — Concerning the use of oats as a horse 

 feed. Gay ^ makes the following statement : " The concen- 

 trate best adapted to the feeding of horses is oats; on ac- 

 count of both chemical and physical composition, they 

 stand first in this class. They not only meet the protein 

 and carbohydrate requirement best, but the hull is an 

 advantage, in so extending the kernel as to insure more 

 complete digestion. Besides, there seems ample reason for 

 beheving that oats improve the fettle, especially of harness 

 and saddle horses." The pointed end of the oat hull is 

 sometimes cHpped off, reducing the proportion of hull and 

 increasing the weight per bushel. Clipped oats are used 

 as a fancy horse feed. 



1 " Productive Horse Husbanai-^ ," ' p. 235. 



