31 



during- part of the test, and later of oats and hay. Lot 2 was fed 

 the same ration except that blood molasses was substituted for part of 

 the grain in the ratio of 1 pound to 2 pounds; 2.5 pounds to 3 pounds, 

 and, later, of 3 pounds to 4 pounds. This latter ratio represents about 

 what was considered the comparative value of the molasses feed. In 

 earlier Scandinavian experiments « the successful feeding of 2.2 pounds 

 of beet-sugar molasses per head daily to work horses was observed; 

 other similar tests might be cited. 



mUITS, FRESH AND DRIED. 



Although horses are often given apples as they are given lumps of 

 sugar, fruit is not generally thought of as a feeding stuff, yet its use 

 for this purpose is by no means novel. The Arabs, according to E. 

 Daumas,* commonly feed their horses fresh dates. In such dates the 

 pits are soft and are eaten with the pulp. Sometimes 3 or 4 ]3ounds 

 of fresh dates are mixed with water to a sort of mush before feeding. 

 It is believed that dates are fattening, but that they do not produce 



muscle. 



In California and possibly in other regions fruit, especially prunes 

 and other dried fruit, is sometimes fed when the market is overstocked 

 or when for some other reason it can not be profitably sold. Accord- 

 ing to a recent statement,'^ small prunes of low market value have 

 been successfully fed to horses for a long period. It is stated that 

 the horses eat them with relish. The pits should be crushed before 

 feeding. 



The California Station'^ has reported analyses of a number of fresh 

 and dried fruits and discussed their value as stock feed. A recent 

 report of the Arizona Station '^ gives the composition of almond hulls 

 or pericarps, the portion of the almond removed before the nut i.s 

 marketed, and states that this material has been found to be a fatten- 

 ing feed for horses. 



All common fruits when fresh are very succulent, containing on an 

 average 80 to 90 per cent water, the nutritive material consisting 

 almost entirely of carbohydrates. When dried — i. e., concentrated 

 by evaporation — they are much more nutritious. Raisins, prunes, 

 dried peaches, etc., contain about 2.5 per cent water and about 70 per 

 cent carbohydrates, of which a considerable part is sugar. The value 

 of sugar as a nutrient is recognized, and it is not surprising, therefore, 

 that fruits, especially after drying, should have a considerable feed- 

 ing value. 



«K. Landt. Akad. Ilandl. Tidskr., 34 (1895), p. 246. 



6Les Chevaux du Sahara. Paris: Calmanu h6\y, 1887, p. 134. 



c Pacific Kural Press, 60 (1900), p. 402. 



ti California Station Bui. 132. 



^Arizona Station Rpt. 1902, p. 269. 



