WHEAT. 462 WHEATEAR. COEFFiaESTS OF DIGESTIBILITY OF BREAD OF DIFFERENT SORTS ■Whitebread (standard patent).. Entire-wheat bread Graham bread Protein Fat Carbohydrates Energy Per cent. 85,3 80.4 77.6 Per cent. 56.4 65.8 68. U Per cent. 97.5 94.1 88.4 Per cent. 90.1 85.6 80.7 total fat, and 46 per cent, of the total carbo- liydrates. They contain a high percentage of starch and may be profitably combined with materials rich in protein, meat, eggs, etc., to form a well-balanced diet. Wheat is ordinarily so yaluable for human food that it is not used for feeding farm ani- mals. But when the crop is yery abundant and the market value correspondingly low, it may be profitably fed. Several milling products of wlieat such as bran, shorts, and middlings are important feeding stuffs, as are also various by- products obtained in the manufacture of wheat breakfast foods. Wheat straw is a well-known feeding stuff, and is also used for bedding. The untlireshcd wheat is sometimes fed under the name of sheaf wheat. The green wheat is occa- sionally cut and cured as hay. Slirunken or damaged wheat is very often more valuable as a feeding stuff than for marketing, while wheat screenings (inferior grains and weed seeds) are also fed. The average composition of winter and spring wheat and several wheat products is shown in the following table: many horsemen only as an occasional food. It is especially useful for feeding dairy cows, as it gives the desired bulk to the ration and supplies a considerable amount of protein and ash, which are needed for the production of milk. Digestion experiments have shown that on an average about 02 per cent, of the total dry matter, 78 per cent, protein, 2'J per cent, crude fibre, and C) per cent, nitrogen-free extract, of wheat bran are digestible. See Colored Plate of Cere.^ls. Bibliography. Morrow and Hunt, .S'6i7s and Crops of the Farm (Chicago, 1892) ; Bulletin No. 2-'f of the United States Department of Agricul- ture (Washington, 1900) ; Goodfellow, Dietetic Value of Bread (London. 1892) : Jago. Text-Book of the Heience and Art of Bread Having (ib., 1895) ; Kick, Flour Uillinrj (ib., 1888) ; Cereals and Cereal Products, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Chemistry, Bul- letin 13, pt. 9; The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials, United States De- partment of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 28 (revised) ; Snyder and The CoMPO.siTioN of Wheat and Wheat Products Wheat, spring., winter.. bean spring wheat... bean winter wheat.. middlings .shorts screenings straw Per cent. 10.4 10.6 11.5 12.3 12.1 11.8 11.6 9.6 Protein Per cent. 12.5 11.8 16.1 16.0 15.6 14.9 12. 5 3.4 Fat Per cent. 2.2 2.1 4.5 4.0 4.0 4.5 3.0 1.3 Nitrogen-free extract Per cent. 71.2 72.0 54.6 53.7 60.4 511.8 65.1 43.4 Crude fibre Per cent. l.B 1.8 8.0 8.1 4.6 7.4 4.9 38. 1 Per cent. 1.9 1.8 5.4 5.9 3.3 4.6 2.9 4.2 As regards composition, wheat grain is very nutritious. It contains somewhat more starch, less fat, and more protein than corn, and thvis is a better balanced feeding stuff. Winter and spring wheat do not differ materially in com- position. Low-grade flour of dark color and not very satisfactory for l)aking lias a high feeding value, especially for growing pigs, hard-worked horses, and milch cows. Stale bread is some- times fed to farm animals. The terms mid- dlings and sliorts are often used interchangeably. Occasionally shorts consist of reground bran, almost free from floury particles, with the sweepings and dirt of the mill added. Such material is very inferior for stock and should not be used. Good middlings do not have a very high content of crude fibre and are es|)ecially useful for feeding pigs and horses. For the latter, middlings should be mixed with corn njcal, oats, or other feeding stuffs, as this material is rather concentrated. Digestion ex- periments with middlings have sliown that about 75 per cent, dry matter, 80 per cent, protein, 3:i per cent, crude fibre, and 81 per cent. )iitrogen- frce extract are digestible. ]?ran contains a high percentage of crude fibre, and in this respect somewhat resembles straw. Although it contains considerable nutritive material, it is given by Voorhees, Studies on Bread and Bread-Making, United States Department of Agriculture. Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 67 ; Woods and Jlerrill, A Report of Investigations on the Diges- tihility and Xntritire ^'alne of Bread, L^nited States Department of Agriculture, Office of Ex- periment Stations, Bulletin 85: Snyder, Studies on Bread and Bread-Making, Ignited States De- partment of Agriculture, (Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 101 ; Atwater, Bread and the Principles of Bread-Making. United States De- partment of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 112. See Tr.ow. ri.owiNG: ItE.M'iiRS, I!i;.riXG ; etc.; alMi r,iii;.li; ,l.CAUOXI; Flour. WHEATEAR (variant of vhitc-ear. corrupt supposed singular of trhitcarse, in allusion to its white rump: infiuenced by popular etymology W'ith ifheat + ear). A snuill European migra- tory song-bird (Saaiicola a-nanihc) of the thriish family, which now and then occurs on the north coasts of Asia an<l .merica. Its colors are gray, black, and white, with the under parts Inift'y, Its form is slender and iis wings and legs are long. It is terrestrial in habits, and feeds on worms and insects. The wheatear makes its nest in an old wall, or in a crevice of a quTirry or gravel-pit, often in a deserted rabbit-burrow, ami generally lays six pale-blue eggs. The male
