FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH PEANUTS. 
By AMY L. DANIELS anp ROSEMARY LOUGHLIN. 
(From the Department of Home Economics, University of Wisconsin, 
Madison.) 
(Received for publication, December 7, 1917.) 
Although, popularly, the peanut (Arachis hypogea) is classed 
as a nut, it more properly belongs to the grain or forage crop. 
the “nut” or fruit being the seed of a legume comparable to the 
bean or pea seed. Its use as human food has been largely lim- 
ited to peanut butter and confectionery, and little attempt has 
been made to include it as a regular article of diet. Considerable 
emphasis, however, has been placed upon its value as food for 
stock.! It forms one of the best forage crops for pigs in the south, 
while in Europe peanut meal is a much used feed. The good re- 
sults obtained with it here have suggested that man might profit- 
ably add it to his list of staple foods. 
In the investigation rats were fed rations consisting of lard, 
cornstarch, sifitable inorganic material, and either ground roasted 
‘peanuts or peanut meal. In some cases 2 per cent of butter fat 
was substituted for an equivalent amount of lard; while in other 
cases 5 per cent was substituted. One group was given peanut 
meal to which lard, cornstarch, and butter fat were added, the 
mineral content being supplied wholly by the peanut meal. 
The value of the proteins of the peanut is shown by the per- 
formance of animals (Chart I) fed a ration which furnished 18 
per cent of protein obtained from peanuts.?, The rats which 
were given an insufficient amount of the fat-soluble food acces- 
sory failed to grow normally. The addition of 5 per cent of but- 
ter fat stimulated growth, and reproduction followed. When 
very young rats were given this 5 per cent butter fat ration 
1Henry, W. A., and Morrison, F. B., Feeds and Feeding, Madison, 
16th edition, 1916, 178. 
2 The Spanish peanuts used contained 24 per cent protein (N X 6.25). 
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