Feeds for the Horse. 



309 



are in each case the mean of two days' rations. The ' Mainte- 

 nance ration, l^o. 1,' was fixed at three-fifths of the 'Previous' 

 ration; but, as the animals gained in weight, 'Maintenance 

 ration, N"o. 2/ which was one-tenth less than No. 1, was subse- 

 quently adopted. Even then the horses rather gained in weight. 

 Finally, as it was considered that the standard or ' Previous ' 

 ration was too high, the ration for work, as given in the bottom 

 line of the table, which is one and one-half times as much as 

 'Maintenance ration, No. 1,' and about one-tenth less than the 

 'Previous' ration, was adopted. It is, however, said that 

 under the new regime the horses were somewhat underfed, but 

 whether the reduced ration is still maintained we are not aware. 

 It will be observed that the proportion of beans fed was very 

 small compared to that of cereals. Still, it will be seen presently 

 that the proportion was very considerably higher than in the case 

 of the omnibus horses of Paris." 



491. Rations fed to Paris omnibus horses. — The following table 

 presents the average ration of the horses belonging to the Paris 

 Omnibus Company for six years (1879-80 and 1884-87 inclusive). 

 The figures are calculated from the results given in the annual 

 reports of the general secretary of the company, and are furnished 

 by Lawes and Gilbert in the paper mentioned. ^ The average 

 number of horses belonging to the company was about 13,000, 

 and their average weight was 1,210 pounds. 



Average rations fed to horses of the Paris Omnibus Company dur- 

 ing six years — Lawes and Gilbert. 



"It will be seen that the actual amount of dry matter supplied 

 per head per day is nearly twice as much as in the case of the 

 ^ Log. cit. 



