368 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



grains, as barley and speltz, will give better returns when 

 cooked or steamed than when fed dry. 



Certain vegetable substances may be improved as food 

 for swine by cooking them, for the reason first, that they 

 are rendered more digestible and second, that thus pre- 

 pared, they will be consumed in larger quantities. Pota- 

 toes are of the former class. Fed alone, they are an indif- 

 ferent food for swine, but when cooked and fed along with 

 meal in the form of a mash, they furnish a cheap food for 

 growing swine, viewed from the standpoint of the food nu- 

 trients. Alfalfa and clover, when chaffed and mixed with 

 meal, with or without vegetables, makes a good food for 

 growing swine and for brood sows. A limited amount of 

 boiled grain, especially barley, possesed of much water rel- 

 atively, poured over cut fodder to soften it, and then fed to 

 horses while still warm two or three times a week, will have 

 a helpful influence on the digestive tract when the horses 

 are on dry feed. Whether the additional labor and cost of 

 fuel will justify such feeding, must be determined by the 

 conditions under which the work -is done. There can be no 

 doubt, however, about the utility of the practice of boiling 

 hay and feeding the extract thus obtained to calves when 

 the milk supply is not sufficient to meet their needs. 



