12 



CONCENTRATED AND COMMERCIAL FOODS. 



A number of concentrated and commercial feeds used in Hawaii 

 were analyzed. Some of them, like brewers* grains and rice products, 

 are the usual commercial articles: others, like the algeroba rt or kiawe 

 beans, are more typical of Hawaii. 



The sample of brewers' grains was obtained from a brewing firm in 

 Honolulu. The wet grains contained about 75 per cent of water, but 

 the sample analyzed was air dried. 



For a number of years a feeding stuff has been manufactured on 

 the sugar plantations from the waste molasses and the dry. liner por- 

 tions of bagasse. This material has usually been given the name of 

 molasscuit, but more recently it has been on the Honolulu market under 

 the name of "sugar bran." As the composition of waste molasses differs 

 quite widely and the capacity of the bagasse to absorb the molasses is 

 also variable, there is every reason to suppose that molasscuit would 

 not be at all uniform in composition. This supposition is borne out 

 by the analyses of the three samples. Sample Xo. 1 was obtained 

 from a plantation on Hawaii. Sample Xo. 2 was obtained from the 

 same source and made from same materials, except that the bagasse 

 was dried before the molasses was added to it. Sample Xo. 3. a 

 sample of sugar bran, was obtained in the Honolulu market. 



The seed pods of Prosopis julfflora are known locally as algeroba 

 or kiawe beans, the term ; 4 bean*' being applied to the pod and the 

 seed together. This tree, which is verv common in the neighborhood 

 of Honolulu and in many other places at sea level, is rapidly spread- 

 ing up the valleys and to the higher levels, and the •"beans" are 

 assuming an important place among local feeding stuffs. 



Owing to the fact that the seeds in the pods are extremely hard and 

 are also protected by a seed coat, which can be detached only with 

 difficulty, very few of the seeds are digested when the pods are fed 

 whole or even coarsely chopped. In fact, it is to the germination of 

 seeds which have passed through the digestive tract of animals whole 

 and uninjured that the rapid spread of the tree is largely due. As the 

 seeds contain much of the protein which appears on analysis of the 

 whole pods, efforts have been made to grind the pod^. so as to break 

 the seeds and render them more digestible. It is impossible to do this 

 with ordinary grinding machinery, owing to the sugary and gummy 

 nature of the pod. Several local dairymen have attempted to interest 

 manufacturers of grinding machinery in this matter, and samples of 

 meal prepared by a mainland manufacturer appeared to be all that could 

 be desired. In these samples the seeds were completely ground, but 

 portions of the outer seed coat resisted grinding. Assuming that when 



"This is not the true algarroba, and the spelling indicated is the usual Hawaiian 

 one. 



