176 



PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



Barley. — Barley is grown successfully in a wider range 

 of climate than any other cereal. However, it seems to 

 thrive best in a warm, dry climate. It is 

 grown principally on the Pacific coast and 

 in the northern part of the United States, 

 where corn is not especially successful, al- 

 though it can be grown in the corn-belt. It 

 is an excellent substitute for corn where the 

 latter crop cannot be grown successfully. 

 The best grades of barley are used princi- 

 pally for brewing, and the lower grades are 

 used for stock feeding. 



As in the case of oats, discolored barley 

 is often bleached with sulphurous acid fumes 

 to brighten it up and make it grade higher. 



The average chemical composition of bar- 

 ley is as follows: water, 12.0 per cent; ash, 

 2.5 per cent; crude protein, 11.4 per cent; 

 crude fiber, 5.7 per cent ; nitrogen-free ex- 

 tract, 66.6 per cent; and fat, 1.8 per cent. 

 Its net energy value is 80.7 therms per 100 

 pounds. It is richer in bone- and muscle- 

 forming constituents than corn, and slightly 

 lower in fattening constitutents. It is not 

 as palatable as corn. The composition of 

 hulled barley is almost identical with that 

 of wheat. 



For feeding purposes, barley should be 

 rolled rather than ground, as the ground bar- 

 ley-meal forms a pasty mass in the mouth of 

 the animal, which is difficult to masticate, swallow, and digest. 



Fig. 3 3 . — a 

 head of barley. 

 (Livingston, Field 

 Crop Production.) 



