THE FEEDS 339 



used. Care must be exercised in the sifting or a considerable 

 part of the nutritious bran will be discarded with the hulls, 

 causing unnecessary waste."' Where barley meal can be 

 purchased at a reasonable price it is an excellent addition 

 to a fattening ration as well as to a mash. 



Brewers' Grains. — Brewers' grains are a barley refuse from 

 the brewing of alcoholic beverages and are sold on the 

 market both wet and dry. Wet brewers' grains can be pur- 

 chased only in the vicinity of breweries, where they may be 

 hauled directly to the farm, because of their high water 

 content and the ease with which fermentation takes place. 

 Wet grains make an excellent food, as they are succulent, 

 palatable, and nutritious. Care should be taken, however, 

 that they be fresh and unfermented, as, if strong or musty, 

 they will affect the flavor of the egg. 



Dried brewers' grains are the wet grains with the moisture 

 driven off. In this state they have good keeping qualities 

 and are light in weight, thus enabling them to be shipped to 

 distant markets. Because of their high protein and fat 

 content, together with their light, chaffy nature, they make 

 a valuable addition to the mash portion of the ration and form 

 a good supplementary food to corn meal and wheat middlings. 



The average amounts of the nutrients found in 100 pounds 

 of dried brewers' grains are 7.5 pounds of water, 3.5 pounds of 

 ash, 26.5 pounds of crude protein, 55.6 pounds of carbo- 

 hydrates, of which 14.6 pounds are crude fiber, and 6.9 

 pounds are fat. The amounts digestible for chickens are not 

 known. 



Buckwheat Bran and Middlings. — ^In the preparation of 

 buckwheat flour the outer layers of the kernel are separated 

 into the hulls and middlings. The hulls, which have but 

 very little feeding value, are sometimes mixed with a varying 

 proportion of the middlings and sold as buckwheat bran. 

 This feed is a better cattle than poultry feed, however, as 

 poultry do not require the hulls to add bulk to the ration. 



Buckwheat middlings are high in protein and fat, and are 

 oftentirhes used in fattening rations to produce white flesh. 



' Jaffa, California Bulletin No. 164. 



