Feeding Wheat to Stock. 



35i 



construction of the silo. This imperfection also prolongs the 

 direct respiration of the plant tissues, thereby increasing the 

 amount of water and carbon dioxide produced. 



Professor King has also shown that the unavoidable losses, 

 i.e., " the loss of feeding value which cannot be prevented in 

 the interior of a silo with air-tight linings when filled in the 

 best practicable manner," may be reduced to as little as 2 to 4 

 per cent., and in good practice need not exceed 4 to 8 per 

 cent. The main precautions to be observed seem to be a 

 well-constructed air-tight silo, the use of mature crops, and 

 careful packing, so that as little air as possible is enclosed 

 in the mass when the silo is filled. 



[tJ.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' 1 Bulletin, No. 133.] 



Feeding Wheat to Stock. 



In connection with the Exhibition at Paris last year there 

 was held an international congress upon the feeding of live 

 stock. A report on the subject of wheat as a ration for 

 animals was drawn up by M. Vacher, and a summary of this 

 report is contained in the Belgian Bulletin de F Agriculture* 



Wheat may form an excellent ration for stock, but how far it 

 is economical depends upon the price of the grain ; and the 

 question whether to put wheat on the market or to use it on 

 the farm is one which must be determined according to its 

 value at the time. Experiments in five different ways of 

 feeding wheat are noticed. 



1. Raw Wheat. — Wheat fed in the natural state may suit 

 the horse, which, by reason of its perfect mastication, digests 

 almost the whole of the nutritive elements (according to 

 experiments by MM. Miintz and Girard). Swine also assi- 

 milate it well, but it is not economical in the case of cattle, 

 which only utilise 40 or 50 per cent, of the nutritive 

 elements. 



2. Flour. — If steamed before use, wheat flour becomes very 

 digestible, but it is apt to form a paste in the mouth, so that 



"1901. Vol. XVII., part 3. 



