202 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 
Immense numbers of steers are fattened in the South on these 
feeds only, generally mixed in the proportions of four parts of 
hulls and one of meal. The fattening is continued from 90 to 120 
days. Sheep and dairy cows are also fed mixed cotton-seed meal 
and hulls with good results. “All the information at hand indi- 
cates that this practice is both economical and profitable. The diet 
apparently does not injure the health of the animals, nor impair 
the healthfulness of the resulting products.” ** 
Coconut meal is a by-product in the manufacture of coconut 
oil from dried broken pieces of coconut kernels (so-called copra). 
It is used very little as a stock feed in this country except on the 
Pacific coast. It is relatively low in protein, fat, and fiber, its 
composition being about as follows: 20 per cent protein, 6 to 3 
per cent fat, 9 to 10 per cent fiber, and 6 per cent ash. 
According to digestion experiments conducted at the Massa- 
chusetts station,’’ the protein is 90 per cent digestible, the fat 
wholly digestible, and the nitrogen-free extract 87 per cent digesti- 
ble. As the price of coconut meal is generally but slightly higher 
than that of wheat bran, it is, as a rule, more economical than this 
feed, especially for dairy cows, but it cannot be fed in as large 
amounts as wheat bran, nor can it be kept more than a few weeks 
in warm weather on account of its tendency to turn rancid. 
Fresh coconut meal has a pleasant, aromatic flavor and is 
greatly relished by cattle and other stock; two to three pounds 
daily is a fair allowance for cattle. It should always be fed mixed 
with other concentrates. It is also fed to some extent to horses, 
pigs, calves and poultry. 
Soybean meal is the ground residue obtained in the manu- 
facture of soybean oil. The meal fed in this country is imported 
from either Japan, China, or Manchuria; so far as is known, none 
is manufactured here, although soybeans are now grown quite exten- 
sively in various parts of the United States. It is a valuable 
concentrate for farm stock, and is one of the richest nitrogenous 
feeds on the market, containing about as much protein and fat as 
cotton-seed meal (41.4 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively) ; 
it has a lower fiber content (5.3 per cent) and a higher digestibility 
than this meal. According to Kellner, only 3.4 per cent of the 
protein is present in amide form, and the protein has a digesti- 
bility of 97.7 per cent. The soybean meal is, therefore, a highly 
digestible feed, well adapted for feeding young stock, dairy cows, 
steers, and other farm animals. It is fed in this country almost 
entirely on the Pacific coast, where it is used largely for poultry 
+6 Loc. cit, * Bulletin 152. 
