423 
Report  of  Feeding  Experiments  on  Sheep,  Sfc. 
with  swedes,  cut  into  slices,  and  hay-  and  straw-chaff.  The 
hay-  and  straw-chaff  were  mixed  in  equal  proportions,  and 
weighed  quantities  of  the  mixed  chaff  were  placed  before  the 
sheep,  and  periodically  a heap  of  roots  was  weighed  out,  from 
which  the  sheep  were  supplied  and  allowed  to  eat  as  much  as 
they  liked.  As  regards  roots,  hay-  and  straw-chaff,  all  the  sheep 
were  treated  alike. 
As  concentrated  additional  food,  all  the  sheep  were  supplied 
during  the  first  eight  weeks  with  £ lb.  of  good  linseed-cake  per 
head  per  day.  In  addition  to  the  cake,  the  sheep  in  Pen  I.  had 
|lb.  of  barley-meal  per  head  per  day  ; those  in  Pen  II.  the  malt 
and  malt-dust  produced  from  £ lb.  of  the  same  kind  of  barley  as 
that  upon  which  the  sheep  in  Pen  I.  were  fed  ; and  in  Pen  III. 
the  sheep  had  ^ lb.  of  pea-meal  (from  old  peas)  per  head  per  day. 
It  is  impossible  to  malt  properly  a small  quantity  of  barley.  A 
maltster  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Woburn  for  this  reason  was 
requested,  before  putting  the  usual  quantity  of  15  quarters  of 
barley  on  the  malt-floor,  to  reserve  a sufficient  quantity  of  the 
barley  to  furnish  a full  store  for  the  requirements  of  the  whole 
experimental  period. 
The  malt  and  malt-dust  produced  from  15  quarters  of  barley 
were  weighed,  and  from  this  weight  the  quantity  corresponding 
to  the  amount  of  barley  consumed  in  the  course  of  the  experi- 
ments was  readily  calculated. 
Both  the  barley  and  the  malt  and  malt-dust  were  ground  into- 
meal,  and  in  this  state  given  to  the  sheep.  Eight  cwts.  of 
barley-meal,  it  was  ascertained,  produced  6 cwts.  2 qrs.  and 
20  lbs.  of  ground  malt  and  malt-dust,  in  the  condition  in  which 
the  latter  was  consumed  by  the  sheep,  which  shows  in  round 
numbers  a loss  in  weight  of  16 J per  cent.,  which  the  barley 
sustained  in  the  process  of  malting.  Or,  in  other  words,  140  lbs. 
of  barley-meal  corresponded  with  117  lbs.  of  malt  and  malt-dust, 
in  the  condition  in  which  both  were  given  to  the  sheep. 
The  barley-meal  had  the  following  composition  : — 
Moisture 18  ■ 10 
Oil  1-67 
* Albuminous  compounds  (flesh-forming  matters)  ..  9 "56 
Starch,  sugar,  and  digestible  fibre  63  "39 
Woody  fibre  (cellulose) 4- 73 
f Mineral  matters  2 -55 
100-00 
* Containing  nitrogen.  1 • 5d 
f Including  sand  and  silica  -55 
The  malt  produced  from  this  barley,  fresh  taken  from  the 
kiln,  contained  only  4J  per  cent,  of  moisture ; but  after  it  was 
ground  into  meal,  and  had  been  exposed  to  the  air  for  some  days, 
