430 



Sussex Ground Oats. 



[OCT., 



unground husk and any extraneous matter, it being found that 

 a coarse quality is liable to cause digestive disorders in young 

 chicks, and that the husky portions cannot be digested even by 

 adult fowls, so that much of the feeding-value is lost. It is the 

 Sussex method of grinding by means of specially dressed stones 

 that (by the utilization of the whole grain) produces a poultry 

 food so evenly balanced in itself ; its own ratio of flesh forming 

 to that of heat and energy producing material being, on an 

 average, that of one to four and a half, which is as near as 

 possible to theoretical perfection. Long use in Sussex has 

 proved the value of this particular meal in the production of 

 fat and lean in desirable proportions ; and that the flesh of fowls 

 fed with it is white in colour and excellent in flavour. 



It may be stated that, as a matter of fact, Sussex Ground Oats 

 are very seldom pure oats, it being found necessary to assist the 

 grinding process by a small admixture of another grain ; in the 

 majority of cases, barley is used for tHe purpose in the proportion 

 of about one sack of barley to ten sacks of oats. The proportion 

 of barley is sufficiently small to make it quite unobjectionable 

 even for the feeding of young chicks. 



The grinding stones, which generally measure about 4 ft. in 

 diameter, are made from Derbyshire Peak stone ; they weigh 

 about I ton each, and when in constant use last from a year to 

 a year and a half The grinding surface is prepared by furrow- 

 ing, the furrows being cut perpendicularly on one side and 

 sloping on the other ; the prepared surface being very similar to 

 that which was, until lately, used generally for grinding corn, 

 but with the addition of pitting on the flat sections between the 

 furrows. The tool used for the dressing is a sharp, hard, steel, 

 short-handled pick, called a thrift. A pair of stones being both 

 furrowed alike, the sharp edges of the grooves on the one 

 come against those on the other, and cut the grain, the pitting 

 assisting in producing the fineness of the ground product. 



The process is expensive because it is slow, and the stones 

 require to be frequently dressed. The stones are run at an 

 average of about one hundred and forty revolutions per minute, 

 and it is maintained that the high temperature produced in the 

 grinding has a direct bearing upon the peculiar properties of 

 the meal. The process of grinding consists simply in a pre- 



