THE CONCENTRATES 175 
is usually removed before the grain is sold. The hull is not, as we 
shall see, suited for feeding livestock, on account of its sharp barbs 
and high content of ash (silica, see p. 186), but it is sometimes 
ground with rice for feeding purposes. The hulled rice is a very 
valuable fattening feed. It contains considerably more nitrogen- 
free extract than any other available feeding stuff, viz., nearly 80 
per cent, while its protein content is low (on the average, 7.4 per 
cent). Owing to the high starch content and the minute amount 
of fiber in the hulled rice, it has the highest percentage digestibility 
of any vegetable feed known, its digestion coefficients being as fol- 
lows, according to the German digestion trials: 
Dry matter, 98 per cent; protein, 86 per cent; nitrogen-free 
extract, 100 per cent, and fat, 90 per cent. 
According to the Louisiana station, the ground, rough rice is 
worth 7 per cent more than corn as a feed for farm stock, and 
hulled rice is worth 16 per cent more. Supplemented with cotton- 
seed meal and other high-protein feeds, ground rice furnishes 
southern farmers a highly nutritious ration for cattle, sheep, or 
horses. The only thing that stands in the way of its general use 
for feeding is its cost. 
II. LEGUMINOUS AND OIL-BEARING SEEDS 
The leguminous seeds, like peas and beans, soybeans and cow- 
peas, are valuable concentrated feeds, and their use for feeding 
farm animals is increasing every year, as farmers come to realize 
their value and appreciate that they can greatly reduce their feed 
bills by growing high-protein forage and grain crops on their farms. 
At the same time the fertilizer bills may be reduced, since these 
crops render available for plant use thé free nitrogen of the air 
through symbiosis with certain soil bacteria, and leave the soil 
richer in this expensive fertilizer element than it was before the 
crop was grown thereon (p. 113). These grains have a high digesti- 
bility and contain two or three times as much digestible protein as 
the cereal grains. With the exception of soybeans, which contain 
nearly 15 per cent digestible fat, the leguminous seeds are all very 
low in this component, containing only about 1 per cent thereof. 
Further information as to the character of the seeds given will be 
found under the discussion of the respective crops as forage plants. 
The chemical composition of these seeds will be seen from the 
following: : , 
“4 
