128 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 
III. STRAW OF CEREALS AND LEGUMES 
Straw is the stems and leaves of cereals and legumes after the 
ripe seeds have been removed. During the latter stage of the vegeta-. 
tive period of the plants soluble materials are transferred to the 
seeds, and other parts of the plants are left relatively depleted in 
feed components. Hence we find that straw is low in protein and 
fat and in more valuable carbohydrates, although still high in nitro- 
gen-free extract and likewise high in fiber. Straw from cereals cut 
at different stages of ripening differs considerably in chemical com- 
position and feeding value. Kellner gives the following analyses 
of oat straw cut at three different periods of growth—unripe, ripe, 
and over-ripe: ?4 
Composition of Dry Matter of Oat Straw at Different Periods of Ripening, 
in Per Cent 
Crude Nitrogen- r 
protein Fat Z ae Fiber | Ash 
UDTIPO ois jos cessvesciseue eS esc 10.1 1.9 50.6 |, 29.4 8.0 
RRAPO | scns.-omleysl aeutnadel asters 4.9 1.2 48.6 37.8 7.5 
Over-ripe................ 4.3 1.4 36.9 49.8 7.6 
The amount of net energy yielded in the digestion of straw cut 
at the usual time is small, and in some cases, like coarse rye or 
wheat straw, it is not sufficient to maintain an animal at an even 
body weight. Oat and barley straw is more valuable than the 
other kinds of straw, and is used as a regular part of the feed 
rations of horses and fattening cattle, especially in European coun- 
tries. It is generally cut fine and fed wet, mixed with concentrates 
or sliced roots. It is fed in this way both for the net nutrients that 
it supplies and also, perhaps largely, because it is believed to act 
as a filler and enables animals to digest their grain feed more 
thoroughly when thus diluted with cut straw. 
The different kinds of cereal straw have, on the average, the 
following chemical composition: 3 to 4 per cent total protein; 36 
to 39 per cent fiber; 36 to 46 per cent nitrogen-free extract, and 1 
to 2 per cent fat. 
The digestibility of the dry matter and the nitrogen-free extract 
is low, viz., 40 to 50 per cent, and that of protein only 20 to 30 
per cent. The total digestible matter in straw ranges from 37 to 
“<The Scientific Feeding of Animals,” p. 169. 
