CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 5OI 



this practicable, and the same* is true of peat. In some in- 

 stances, the peat must first be dried by laying it open to the 

 sun. 



The mode of using litter will vary with its nature and 

 with the conditions under which the animals are kept. Earth 

 and peat are more commonly used as absorbents in con- 

 junction with other litter used to provide a suitable bed on 

 which the animals may lie. When thus used, they are more 

 commonly spread in the trench behind the stalls in which 

 the droppings and urine accumulate. But in some instances, 

 especially in western Europe, these substances are used as 

 the sole sources of litter. They are placed in the stall to 

 the depth of several inches and are removed at intervals. 



When straw or fodder is first fed, and the rejected 

 portion used as bedding, the source of supply is very con- 

 venient since the labor involved consists simply in removing 

 the refuse from the manger or food box and spreading it 

 in the stall in the one instance or in the shed or yard in the 

 other. Cattle that are being fattened or cows fed plenti- 

 fully on good food will not eat any considerable quantity 

 of straw, but this does not hold true of cattle or horses that 

 are being carried through the winter, and it is even less true 

 of breeding flocks of sheep. When fed at the noon hour, 

 the refuse is ready for use as litter just when it is most 

 wanted, that is as night approaches. 



When animals are confined in stalls the larger por- 

 tion of the day, care should be taken by the attendant to 

 throw back the droppings that may have fallen upon the 

 platform several times during the day, to insure greater 

 cleanliness. When they run at large in sheds and yards, the 

 frozen droppings should be removed occasionally, when 

 they cannot be deeply covered with litter. It is usual to 

 supply litter but once a day. 



The amount of litter required will vary with the class 

 of animals, the food fed and the materials used. Horses 

 call for the least in proportion to their weight and swine 

 probably for the most in cold weather. Show animals 



