282 POULTKY CULTURE 



Cornmeal consists of the finely ground whole grain. 



Wheat constitutes one of the very best poultry feeds. 

 Wheat carries less fat or oil but more starch and protein than 

 corn. It is, therefore, a more nearly balanced ration fed alone 

 than corn, better meeting the needs of the young and develop- 

 ing chick. Wheat may satisfactorily form a part of the rations 

 for most all purposes in poultry feeding, as for egg production, 

 growth, and development, and for finishing work. There are 

 many varieties of wheat. Wheat may be fed whole, as in 

 scratch feed, cracked, as in chick-feeding, or ground, forming 

 part of the mash. 



Sixty pounds of wheat constitute a bushel. 



In buying any kind of feed for poultry one should avoid 

 spoiled, moldy, or rotten feeds. Shrunken wheat is often 

 sold as "chick wheat," but it must be remembered in buying 

 this grade of wheat that the grains are lower in digestible food 

 nutrients than the plump, fully developed grains of wheat 

 usually sold as seed wheat. 



In studying the structure of a wheat grain, we find that it is 

 surrounded with three outer coats which show about the same 

 composition with corresponding feeding value as the straw. 

 Beneath these three coats we find the fourth or aleurone layer. 

 This layer during the process of milhng goes with the outer three 

 coats to form bran and middhngs. It is rich in protein. 



The germ or embryo of the wheat grain is rich in mineral 

 matter (ash), protein, and oil. Thin-walled starch cells 

 make up the balance of the grain. Protein matter or gluten is 

 found associated with these starch cells. It is the gluten of 

 the flour that causes the dough to be sticky. This tenacity 

 enables it to retain the gas-bubbles which form in the process 

 of yeast fermentation preparatory to baking. This causes 

 the porous or so-called light bread. 



In the manufacture of flour from 25 to 35 per cent, of the 

 weight of the wheat grains goes to form by-products, as shorts, 

 middlings, and bran. Shorts sometimes consist of ground-over 

 bran. Shorts are supposed to contain more of the finer parti- 

 cles of the by-product, excluding much of the coarser outer hull 

 layers. Middlings contain more of the finer particles than 

 bran. 



