176 DESCRIPTION OP FEEDING STUFFS 



Chemical Composition of Leguminous Seeds, in Per Cent 



Flaxseed is used only to a limited extent for feeding purposes, 

 viz., mostly as> a calf feed, its high price being rather prohibitive 

 for feeding to other farm animals. It is always ground for calf 

 feeding and mixed with boiling hot water in the proportion of a 

 pound of meal to a gallon of water. The jelly-like liquid thus 

 formed has a laxative effect and forms a highly-prized component 

 of calf rations. It is generally fed mixed with standard, easily- 

 digested concentrates, as wheat middlings, ground oats, barley, etc. 

 (p. 221). Flaxseed contains about 22 per cent protein, 33 per cent 

 fat (oil), and 7 per cent fiber; it has a high digestibility, containing, 

 over 20 per cent digestible protein, 17 per cent digestible nitrogen- 

 free extract, and 29 per cent digestible fat; owing to the large con- 

 tent of digestible fat, its nutritive ratio is considerably wider than 

 that of linseed meal, viz., 1 : 4.0 (p. 197). 



Cotton Seed. — Only relatively small amounts of cotton seed are 

 now fed to stock on account of the value of the seed for the manu- 

 facture of cotton-seed oil. Formerly the seed was used quite 

 generally throughout the South as a feed for farm animals. It is 

 fed either raw, roasted, steamed, or boiled. The composition of 

 the cotton seed is, on the average, as follows : 



Water 9.9 per cent 



Protein 19.4 per cent 



Fat 19.5 per cent 



Fiber 22.6 per cent 



Nitrogen-free extract 23.9 per cent 



Ash 4.7 per cent 



It contains about 11 per cent of digestible protein, 33 per cent 

 digestible carbohydrates, and 18 per cent digestible fat. Cotton 

 seed possesses a high feeding value, especially as a cattle feed, but 

 has sometimes proved injurious to stock on account of the lint and 

 the dust that it collects. It has also a decided laxative effect when , 

 fed in large amounts, on account of the high per cent of oil that it 



