THE HORSE HYGIENE AND SANITARY CONDITIONS. 667 



than oats. 3. Rye bran, fed with new corn, prevented scouring. 

 4. Ten pounds of hay per day is sufficient for a work-horse. 



The Cost of Keep. We farmers find it difficult to con- 

 sider any question without asking about the cost. We may see, 

 from the recorded experience of twenty-three English firms, 

 that the average cost of keeping a horse one week was $1.87. 

 The highest cost given was $2.76, in which case there was fed 

 70 pounds bruised oats, 28 pounds bruised beans, 243 pounds 

 pulped roots, 42 pounds barley, and straw ad lib. The lowest 

 cost, $1.14, was made in the use of 63 pounds oats, 42 pounds 

 roots, and 196 pounds straw. A mixture of 56 pounds cut hay, 

 56 pounds cut straw, 56 pounds ground oats, and 56 pounds 

 pulped potatoes, cost $1.56. In the case where 56 pounds hay, 

 42 pounds oats, 12 pounds bran, and straw ad lib., were used, 

 the cost was $1.32. In all these cases the horses were reported 

 to have worked regularly and to have done well. The cost of 

 keep for the year was $97.24. 



In my own experience, when the work-horses of the farm 

 are fed corn and hay in winter, and oats, corn, and hay in 

 summer, the cost of keep averages $72.00. Where the hay is 

 cut and the oats and corn ground, there is a saving, and the cost 

 is reduced about one-fourth. The latter plan of feeding is not 

 only less expensive, but more conducive to health. Yet, when the 

 farmer is pressed with work, and the corn and oats and hay are 

 at hand, it is less work to feed them unground, uncut, and dry. 



Drink. The amount of water taken daily will depend on 

 the size of the horse, the work engaged in, the weather, and 

 feed given. The animal, like the vegetables he feeds on, in a 

 state of nature, is composed of about three-fourths water by 

 weight. If the food consumed is green, undried, there will be 

 less water drank to meet the demands of the system. When 

 the grasses and grains have become ripe and dried, it is plain 

 that the animals will need more water to drink. By respiration, 

 the animal exhales moisture with every breath. The process of 

 depuration can not be carried on without moisture; every pore 

 of the skin and mucous membrane, in the ever-acting process 

 of depuration, or throwing off impurities of the system, carries 



