FORAGE. 43 



When, however, the process is well managed, the smell is exceedingly 

 faint. Several large factories have been erected in various parts of the 

 country, in which the processes of washing, kiln-drying, and fumigating 

 are carried on under the same roof. 



Damp oats are objectionable, and should not be taken. Dampness, 

 however, is in some measure a question of degree, and of the length of 

 time during which it has existed. Continued damp, especially when the 

 oats are stored in bulk, soon produces softness, mustiness, or sprouting. 



Softness is the first effect produced by damp. The flour, though not 

 in perfectly good condition, may still be wholesome, but any such defect 

 militates against good hard condition in the horse. 



Mustiness is a further stage resulting from damp. Musty oats are 

 easily recognised by the smell. They are altogether unfit for food, and 

 are sometimes poisonous, being in an incipient stage of decomposition. 

 When examined under the microscope a fungoid growth may be detected 

 on the inner skin. 



Mouldy oats are in a state of positive decomposition, and are obviously 

 unfit for food. 



Sprouting is a process of new growth or germination in the oat in- 

 duced by damp combined with some amount of warmth under certain 

 conditions of the weather. In this respect it will be seen that sprouting 

 differs from mustiness or mouldiness, which are processes of decompo- 

 sition and death of the grain. Oats, which have sprouted, are quite 

 unfit for food. 



Other defects in oats are dirt, stones, and want of proper winnowing. 

 These defects, though they militate against the value, may be remedied 

 by screening and winnowing. 



73. Distinction between old and new oats. 



The chief distinction between new and old oats lies in the smell. 

 New oats smell fresh and of the earth. There is a decided earthy smell 

 about them, which is lost in the old oat. Old oats, if newly thrashed 

 out, may smell fresh, but there is not the earthy smell about them. As 

 a rule, however, they smell rather musty and frequently of rats. 



In new oats the outside of the husk in well-saved samples is bright 

 and shining, having almost a glazed appearance, especially in the black 

 variety. In old oats this glazing is lost. The outside, though it may be 

 perfectly clean, is dim and the ends of the husks in white oats, and the 

 point of the kernel in both white and black oats, are always a little 

 darkened. Badly saved new oats may in these respects sometimes 

 resemble old oats ; but in such cases they will probably be distinguished 

 by their softness. 



The taste of the new oat is fresh and somewhat milky ; and its flour, 

 when moistened in the mouth, readily adheres together. The taste of 

 the old oat is slightly bitter. In the mouth the flour feels dry and is not 

 easily moistened. In the new oat there is a certain degree of juiciness, 



