REARING AND FEEDING FARM STOCK. 1Q3 



worn out. They have, to be sure, many horses which have been 

 in their service for ten or twelve years, but I speak of the aver- 

 age. Now, the distinction between the railroad horse and the 

 omnibus horse is, that the latter rests the whole Sunday, while the 

 railroad horse works every day of the week. Many persons 

 suppose that this rest accounts in a great measure for the differ- 

 ence in the lives of the two classes of animals. I do not think it 

 does altogether, for it is notorious to those familiar with the rail- 

 road labor of New York, that there are certain times in the day, 

 at morning % and at night, when the mechanics are rushing to their 

 work and returning to their homes on the outskirts of the city, 

 when the railroad horses are overloaded to an extent to which the 

 omnibus horses are never subjected. I think this overloading has 

 a good deal to do with shortening their lives, as well as not being 

 allowed any period of rest. There is another thing ; the veter- 

 inary surgeon is called to attend to ten times as many omnibus 

 horses on Monday as on any other day in the week. It is found 

 that this day of rest ( perhaps because connected with full feeding) 

 tends to produce colic. Out of 1,200 horses, there may be twelve 

 who will be suffering from colic on Monday morning. 



I mention these circumstances to enable you to see that there 

 are important differences ; but the main fact remains, and I think 

 it is one upon which you can rely as truly as upon any demonstra- 

 tion in mathematics, that it has been established on satisfactory 

 testimony, that twelve pounds of hay and sixteen pounds of meal 

 is the best food for a hard working horse. They get nothing 

 besides this, except once in a while a few carrots. Formerly they 

 were accustomed to give carrots, or some other roots, once a day, 

 for the purpose of keeping them in health, but careful experiments 

 have satisfied them that a feed of carrots once a week, is suffi- 

 cient. 



Now, in relation to the remark that twenty pounds of hay is 

 sufficient for a cow ; I weigh my hay every day and if there is any 

 left over at night, I weigh that and deduct it from the amount 

 given, and my twelve cows have consumed during the winter 

 twenty-four pounds of hay each a day. At the same time I should 

 remark, that last season I was unable to procure the help needed 

 to cut my hay in time, and the consequence was, that a consider- 

 able portion was cut after it was in the best condition. It is 

 probable that may account for the fact that my cows needed four 

 pounds more. 



