NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 401 
when in full. flower, but before the seeds fall; if left longer, it becomes 
dry and woody and lacks in nutrition. An essential point in making 
hay is that when the crop is cut it should remain as short a time as pos- 
sible in the field, If left too long in the sun it loses color, flavor, and 
dries or wastes. Smith asserts that one hour more than is necessary in 
the sun causes a loss of 15 to 20 per cent in the feeding value of hay. 
It is impossible to state any fixed time that hay must have to cure, this 
depending, of course, upon the w^eather, thickness of the crop, and many 
other circumstances; but it is well known that, in order to preserve the 
color and aroma of hay, it should be turned or tedded frequently and 
cured as quickly as possible. On the other hand, hay spoils in the mow 
if harvested too green, or when not sufficiently dried. Mowburn hay pro- 
duces disorder of the kidneys and bowxls and causes the horse to fall off 
in condition. 
The average horse on grain should be allowed from 10 to 12 pounds 
of good hay a day. It is a mistake of many to think that horses at light 
work can be kept entirely on hay. Such horses soon become pot-bellied, 
fall off in flesh, and do not thrive. The same is true of colts; unless the 
latter are fed with some grain they grow up to be long, lean, gawky 
creatures, and never make as good horses as those accustomed to grain 
with, or in addition to, their hay. 
Straiv. — The straws are not extensively fed in this country, and when 
used at all they should be cut and mixed with hay and ground or crushed 
"grain. Wheat, rye, and oat straw are the. ones most used, and of these 
oat straw is most easily digested and contains the most nourishment. 
Pea and bean straw are occasionally fed to horses, the pea being preferable, 
according to most writers. 
Chaff. — Wheat and rye chaff should never be used as a food for horses. 
The beards frequently become lodged in the mouth or throat and are 
productive of more or less serious trouble. In the stomach and intestines 
they often serve as the nucleus of the "soft concretions," which are to be 
described when treating of obstructions of the digestive tract. 
Oat chaff, if fed in small quantities and mixed with cut hay or corn 
fodder, is very much relished by horses, it is not to be given in large 
quantities, as I have repeatedly witnessed a troublesome and sometimes 
fatal diarrhoea following the practice of allowing horses or cattle free 
access to a pile of oat chaff. 
Grains. — Oats take precedence of all gains as a food for horses, as 
the ingredients necessary for the complete nutrition of the body exist 
in them in the best proportions. Oats are, besides, more easily digested 
and a larger proportion absorbed and converted into the various tissues 
of the body. Care must be taken in selecting oats. According to Stewart, 
the best oats are one year old, plump, short, hard, clean, bright, and 
sweet. New oats are indigestible. Kiln-dried oats are to be refused, as a 
rule, for even though originally good this drying process injures them. 
Oats that have sprouted or fermented are injurious and should never be 
fed. Oats are to be given either whole or crushed — w^hole in the majority 
of instances; crushed to old horses and those having defective teeth. 
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