FEED AXD FEEDING. 327 



very invigorating article of diet. They are very stimulating, 

 and are also astringent. The use of beans alone would cause 

 inconvenient costiveness. It would pay well for our farmers 

 to give more attention to the culture of beans for feeding pur- 

 poses. Two pounds of crushed beans a day added to the 

 horse's feed during the winter will greatly increase his strength 

 and endurance. 



Peas. — These possess similar properties to beans. They are 

 not quite so stimulating. They should be crushed. They 

 contain, in one thousand parts, live hundred and seventy-four 

 parts of nutritive matter; but, like beans, this is by no means 

 the standard of their invigorating and sustaining quality. 

 They arc much more valuable as an article of feed than this 

 would indicate. Given whole, peas may do mischief by swell- 

 ing in the stomach. 



Buckwheat. — In some parts of this country, buckwheat is 

 ground with other feed, and is considered very nutritious and 

 healthy. 



Wheat. — The better part of the wheat flour is too expensive 

 for horse-feed. It is only the shorts and bran that are given 

 the horse. Shorts are mild, non-stimulating and nutritious. 

 Mixed with cut or chopped hay, shorts are valuable feed. 

 Scalded shorts are often recommended as the first feed after 

 recovery from sickness, and also during sickness. They seem 

 to have a laxative effect on the bowels. Bran is not so nu- 

 tritious as shorts, but mixed with cut hay is very much 

 relished, and makes good feed. 



Barley. — Barley contains 920 parts of nutritive matter in the 

 1000. It is the common food of the horse in some parts of the 

 continent of Europe. It is very stimulating and laxative. It 

 might do for horses that work hard. It should be bruised and 

 given with cut hay. Boiled barley is a good laxative. When 

 a horse is on the use of the flax-seed jelly for the purpose of 

 fattening him, he should have a feed of four or five pounds of 

 well-boiled barley every week or ten days. 



