The Locust, or Carob Bean, is now largely used by the stock-feeder. It is extremely rich in sugar, and is therefore an excellent fattening and milk-producing food. It is used largely in the preparation of the sweet kinds of artificial food for cattle. It is not well adapted for young animals, owing to its deficiency of albuminous matters. The following analysis shows the average composition of this food:—
| Water | 14 |
| Sugar | 50 |
| Albuminous matters | 8 |
| Oil | 1 |
| Gum, &c. | 20 |
| Woody fibre | 5 |
| Ash | 2 |
| ——— | |
| 100 |
Dates have been used, but only in very small quantities, as cattle food. Their composition is not constant, some samples being greatly inferior in nutritive power to others; they are rich in sugar, and if they were obtained in sufficient quantities they might, like carob-beans, come into general use with the stock-feeder. They contain about 2 per cent. of flesh-formers, 10 per cent. of fat-formers (chiefly sugar), and 2 per cent. of mineral matter.
Distillery and brewery dregs (or wash) are chiefly used by dairymen. According to Dr. Anderson, an imperial gallon (700,000 grains) of distillery wash (from a distillery near Edinburgh) contained 4,130 grains of organic matter, and 276 grains of mineral substances. He considers that 15 gallons of this stuff were equal in nutritive materials to 100 pounds of turnips. The following is the centesimal composition of brewery wash:—
| Water | 75·85 |
| Albuminous matters | 0·62 |
| Gummy matters | 1·06 |
| Other organic matter (husks, &c.) | 21·28 |
| Mineral matters | 1·19 |
| ——— | |
| 100·00 |
Molasses constitute a very fattening food, sometimes, but not often, given to stock. Treacle and molasses are composed of non-crystallisable sugar, cane-sugar, water, and saline and other impurities. The composition of average specimens of molasses, as imported, is as follows:—
| Cane-sugar | 50 |
| Non-crystallisable sugar and grape-sugar | 25 |
| Water, saline matter, and organic impurities | 25 |
| ——— | |
| 100 |
If admitted duty free, molasses would be a much more economical food than it now is, but at its present price it must be regarded as a mere flavoring food.