376 The Feeding of Animals 



erly compounded from ordinary farm products, such 

 as silage, roots, meadow hay, legume hays and the 

 cereal grains, will generally contain protein in suffi- 

 cient proportion, and will seldom need reinforcing with 

 the nitrogenous feeding stuffs. It is probably true, how- 

 ever, that when w^orking animals are called upon to en- 

 dure a severe strain material advantage is gained from 

 introducing into the ration a small quantity of some 

 nitrogenous feeding stuff, such as beans or oil meal. 



One of the opinions regarding the feeding of horses 

 which has widely prevailed and which is still held by 

 many is that oats in liberal proportions are essential 

 to the successful maintenance of road and work horses, 

 especially the former. It has been believed, as has 

 been stated, that this grain imparts to the horse greater 

 nervous activity or life than any other feeding stuff, 

 and when it was announced that "avenine," an alkaloid, 

 had been extracted from oats, this was quickly accepted 

 as an explanation of their peculiar effect. We have 

 given up the avenine and seem likel}' to modifj^ our 

 views in other ways, for it is becoming increasingly 

 evident that other grains may be substituted for oats 

 with no detriment to the horse and with a material 

 saving to his owner. Barley, brewer's grains, maize, 

 maize cake, wheat, wheat bran, wheat middlings, have 

 been extensively and safely fed in the place of oats, 

 wholly or in part, by experiment stations and in prac- 

 tice by omnibus and horse -car companies. In this way 

 the cost of maintaining horse labor is materially de- 

 creased, for usually oats are comparatively much more 

 expensive than other grains and the ])y- products in pro- 



