FOOD AND WATER 253 



caution in getting it in, and many a one has taken fire from this omission, 

 or if not absolutely burnt it has been so heated that it cuts quite black and 

 is unfit for food. If the hay is dusty it is either from having being flooded, 

 which marks its lowland character, and in this case the dust is of a mineral 

 nature ; or the vegetable material becomes powdery from being over-heated, 

 and thereby rendered brittle, and easily broken down by the slightest 

 friction. Experience alone can enable the purchaser to select exactly the 

 proper kind and condition of hay, but if once a good sample is carefully 

 examined by the eye and nose it can scarcely be forgotten. When hay 

 has been burnt it is not always at first refused even by the most dainty 

 horse, but in a day or two he finds it disagrees with his stomach, and he 

 will then leave the contents of his rack untouched. Of course there are 

 many degrees of " mowburn," but unless the hay is only slightly affected it 

 is better to avoid using it, as it may produce irreparable injury to the 

 stomach or lungs. Half rations of good food are far better than an un- 

 limited quantity of bad hay and corn, and this the horse-master soon learns 

 by experience, but often not until he has paid for it by the production of 

 some serious disease. The staying powers of the horse are dependent upon 

 the quantity and quality of the corn he has eaten, but his health is chiefly 

 affected by his hay. This is an important consideration to every stableman, 

 and of its truth I am convinced from thirty years' experience with my own 

 horses as well as numberless others. Such are the qualities and evidences 

 of good hay ; let us now examine into those belonging to this kind of food 

 when it is of an opposite nature. 



Burnt hay, as has been said above, has many degrees. When it is 

 almost charred, quite dry, and friable, it should not be used for horses in 

 any case, but it may be given to sheep with safety. If the heating has not 

 gone far enough to destroy a certain oily feeling to the touch, and if it is 

 still fragrant to the smell, it may be used. 



Musty hay is known by its peculiar musty smell, its washed-out colour, 

 and its mouldy appearance. The mould is caused by a minute fungus, 

 which is bred by damp coming from rain or dew, left in the grass when 

 carried ; the natural sap does not cause fungus. Sometimes this mould is 

 not found throughout the hay, but only in patches ; that happens when the 

 crop has been only partially dried. No hay is so unwholesome as that 

 which is musty, and it is instinctively refused by all horses until they are 

 driven to eat it by starvation. Salt is often used to induce horses to eat 

 it, but, though it will have that effect to a certain extent, it scarcely makes 

 it at all less unwholesome, and the groom must not fancy that his charge 

 will escape the ill effects which result from musty hay in every shape. It 

 is also often cut into chaff with straw ; but this plan also has no advantage ; 

 and in every way musty hay may be considered as a poison to the horse, 

 and not a very slow one. 



Weather-beaten hay is that which has lain out in the rain for many 

 days before it could be got in dry. It is generally but not necessarily 

 musty, but if not so, it is devoid of nourishment, the soluble matters fit 

 for food having been mostly washed out of it. It may be known by its 

 faint, sickly smell, by its sapless and withered appearance, and by the 

 presence of dust. The colour varies greatly, depending upon the manage- 

 ment ; for if the hay has not been put together in cocks during the making, 



