﻿44 BULLETIN 20, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Spelt. — Spelt, or emmer, is a rather inferior grain for sheep. In 

 most of the feeding trials in this country where spelt was fed it was 

 at or very near the bottom of the list. 



Peas.— Cracked peas and pea meal are highly nitrogenous feeds; 

 they have given their best results when fed with other grains. 



Cotton seed, cottonseed meal, cake, and hulls. — Whole cotton seed 

 is fed to sheep to a certain extent in the South. About one-fourth 

 of a pound per head is usually given. Ground cotton seed has also 

 been fed. Cottonseed meal is the most important of these feeds. 

 It is rarely fed alone. In the South the meal is mixed with the hulls 

 and is considered a very satisfactory feed. One pound of meal to 4 

 or 5 pounds of hulls is the ordinary proportion. The cake is also 

 largely fed, and it is a very convenient form. The use of these feeds 

 outside of the South is to supplement rations low in protein; conse- 

 quently, they are usually fed in small amounts. In fact, it is inad- 

 visable to feed large amounts, as these feeds are very dense and 

 concentrated. 



Flax, linseed cake and meal. — Flax is sometimes sown with oats, the 

 flaxseed and oats being fed together after being thrashed. Ground 

 flaxseed has also been fed to sheep with good results, but it is too 

 expensive to become widely used. Pea or nut sized Unseed cake is 

 more desirable than the meal for sheep, as it is more easily masticated. 

 These feeds are high in protein and are largely used for the same 

 purpose as the cottonseed products, but they do not have the un- 

 desirable features of these latter products. 



Gluten meal and gluten feed. — Both gluten meal and feed have been 

 fed with good results. The meal is a very concentrated feed of much 

 the same nature as linseed meal. Gluten feed can be used to good 

 advantage in combination with oats, bran, etc., and when thus fed 

 makes an excellent ration for ewes suckling lambs. 



Bran. — Bran is a superior concentrate for sheep when fed in con- 

 nection with the various grains and usually constitutes from one- 

 fourth to one-half of the mixture. It is especially good for breeding 

 ewes or growing stock, being more muscle than fat building in 

 character, and it also has a good effect upon the digestive system, 

 acting as a laxative and toning up the sheep. It also forms an excel- 

 lent medium for holding together the other concentrates of the ration. 



Beans. — Beans are reported by the Rothamsted station in England 

 as being undesirable for sheep, but good results have been obtained 

 from their use in this country. They are either cracked or fed as bean 

 meal. Generally beans are too high in price to be fed, but damaged 

 or discolored ones, when available, can often be profitably fed. A 

 small quantity of ground beans has been successfully used in the ration 

 of show sheep. 



