FOD 



FOD 



149 



improvement of our breed of hor- 

 ses. They would b>' capable of 

 doing much greater service, and be 

 likely to hold out to a greater age. 



FODDER, dry food for horses 

 and other cattle. The term in- 

 cludes cornorgrain,hay and straw, 

 the stalks and leaves of Indian 

 corn, the haulm of pease and beans. 

 &;c. Dried weeds, and leaves of 

 trees, may also serve as fodder for 

 hungry and hardy cattle. 



Mr. Lisle recommends elm 

 leaves, dried on the small branch- 

 es, as a great relief to cattle in 

 winter. He says the cattle will 

 eat it before oats, and thrive ex- 

 ceedingly with it. Also, the chaff 

 of all kinds of grain, in the old 

 countries, is reserved for fodder, 

 and made more account of than 

 the straw. In this country it is 

 suffered to be driven away by 

 winds. This is an i)istance of our 

 want of economy. 



In such a country as ours,where 

 the winters are long and cold, and 

 where grass does not serve for 

 the cattle so much as half the year, 

 providing fodder, and preserving 

 it, are matters of high consequence. 

 In this business, a great part of the 

 farmer's care and strength is em- 

 ployed. For there are not more 

 than two months in a year, in 

 which farmers are not either pre- 

 paring, and laying up fodder for 

 their flock, or else dealing it out 

 to them. 



The ways to increase the quan- 

 tity of fodder, will be found under 

 other articles. The ways to pre- 

 serve it, so as to make the great- 

 est advantage from it, may be here 

 considered. 



One important caution to be ob- 

 served is, that hay, which is the 

 principal fodder, should not be so 

 much dried as to occasion its wast- 

 ing. When it has been properly 

 made, it should not be carted in, 

 if it can be avoided, at a time when 

 the weather is dry and windy, nor 

 in the hottest part of the day. — 

 iVIornings and evenings are the 

 best times for removing it, as there 

 is a dampness in the air which pre- 

 vents it being too crispy. The 

 leaves will not crumble, nor the 

 seeds shatter out. The best parts 

 of the hay are often lost by not ob- 

 serving this caution ; or af least 

 much diminished. 



The hay which is to be stored in 

 small or narrow mows, and on 

 scaffolds, will keep well with little 

 drying. That which goes into a 

 large mow, will need to be drier, 

 as the air will not penetrate so near 

 to the centre of it. 



In disposing of the different kinds 

 of hay and other fodder, some re- 

 gard should be had to the places, 

 or parts of the barn, in which the 

 different sorts of cattle are kept. 

 The clover hay, for instance,should 

 be laid up near to the stable where 

 horses are kept, as this is the most 

 suitable fodder for them. The 

 good hay of other kinds, should 

 be put where it can be handily 

 given to the calves, milch cows, 

 and working oxen. The meanest 

 fodder nearest to the apartment of 

 the growing young stock, on which 

 it is commonly bestowed, and 

 which is more proper for them 

 than for the rest. 



In those parts of the country 

 where salt hay cannot be had, it is 



