36 BUREAU OF ANIilAE INDUSTEY. 



age stock raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, ami clearness. 

 Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell. 



Chemical and microscopic examination will frequently be necessary 

 in order to detect the presence of certain poisons, bacteria, etc., and 

 can, of course, be conducted by experts only. 



FOODS AND FEEDING. 



In this phice one can not attempt anything like a comprehensive 

 discussion of the subject of foods and feeding, and I must content 

 myself with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of 

 food, preparation, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and 

 quantity. Improper feeding and watering will doubtless account for 

 over one-half of the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and 

 hence the reader can not fail to see how ver}' important it is to have 

 some proper ideas concerning these subjects. 



KIXDS OK K( on. 



In this country horses are fed chiefly upon hay, grass, corn fodder, 

 roots, oats, corn, wheat, and r3'^e. Many think that they could be fed 

 on nothing else. Stewart, in "The Stable Book," gives the following 

 extract from Loudon's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, which is of inter- 

 est at this point: 



In some sterile countries they [horses] are forced to subsist on dried fish, and 

 even on vegetable mold; in Arabia, on milk, flesli balls, eggs, broth. In India 

 horses are variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few, per- 

 haps no, oats are grown; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses. In 

 Bengal a vetch, something like the tare, is used. On the western side of India a 

 sort of pigeon pea, called gram {Cicer arietinum) forms the ordinary food, with grass 

 while in season, and hay all the year round. Indian corn or rice is seldouT given. 

 In the West Indies maize, guinea corn, sugar-corn tops, and sometimes molasses are 

 given. In the INIahratta country salt, pepper, and other spices are made into balls, 

 with flour and butter, and these are supposed to produce animation and to tine the 

 coat. Broth made from sheep's head is sometimes given. In France, Spain, and 

 Italy, besides the grasses, the leaves of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, and the seeds 

 of the carob tree are given to horses. 



For information as to the nutritive value, chemistry, and classifica- 

 tion of the different kinds of food, I will refer the reader to Jordan's 

 or Armsby's book on feeding aiiimals, or to "Smith's Veterinary 

 Hygiene." 



We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of 

 the digestibility of foods; and by this we mean the readiness with 

 which foods undergo those changes in the digestive canal that tit 

 them for absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal 

 econom3^ 



The age and health of the animal will, of course, modif}^ the digesti- 

 bility of foods, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, pre- 

 serving, and preparing the foods. 



