CHAPTER XXIV. 
PREPARATION OF FEED. 
Cooking and Steaming.—Years ago there was a popular 
belief that cooking or steaming feed increased its digestibility, 
and hence its feeding value. The work of experiment stations 
and private investigators has thoroughly exploded this idea, 
and indicates that digestibility may be decreased rather than 
increased by cooking in the case of many feeds. There are 
some feeds which are rendered more palatable by cooking, such 
as potatoes and beans, but in the case of feeds which are eaten 
readily without cooking, it may be taken as settled that cooking 
or steaming is poor economy. Instead of being a commend- 
able practice, cooking is something which should be avoided as 
far as circumstances will permit, and employed only when feeds 
are not acceptable in the raw state. Where economy is no object, 
one may secure larger gains in weight by cooking portions of the 
feed to make the ration more palatable, thus stimulating the 
appetite, but such gains usually come at comparatively high cost. 
Grinding.—The question of grinding was discussed under 
corn, and it was shown that, so far as eo is concerned, the 
gain from grinding is comparatively small. Numerous experl- 
ments have been made with other grains to determine the effect 
of grinding, it being generally supposed that grinding would be 
more effective in the case of small grains than it would be with 
corn. It is out of the question to review experimental work in 
detail in regard to this point, but it may be said that grinding 
small grains, such as peas, barley, oats, and rye, has almost 
invariably proved beneficial. Sometimes the advantage of the 
ground grain has been very slight, and sometimes very marked, 
but the general evidence indicates that it is advisable, when 
practicable, to grind such grains. When the cost of grinding is 
excessively high, the practice may not be advisable, but, under 
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