200 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



consume, but liunters should eat from 12 to 

 14 lbs. of oats per day, and about 11 lbs. of liay. 

 If more oats are consumed, less hay will be eaten, 

 and vice versa. 



A feed of oats is roughly a quartern measure, 

 the fourth part of a peck. A peck is the fourth 

 part of a bushel ; and four bushels should go to a 

 sack. 



Oats are now sold by the weight, which altera- 

 tion from selling by measure arose from the 

 Railway Companies only recognising weight in 

 their transactions. 



1 ton = 20 cwt. = 160 stone = 2,240 lbs. 



1 quarter of oats = 2 sacks = 24 stone 

 1 sack ... ... ... = 12 stone 



1 truss of straw ... = 28 lbs. 



1 truss of old meadow-hay = 56 lbs. 



1 sack of oats, allowing 12 lbs. per diem, lasts a horse 14 days 



1 truss of hay ,, 11 lbs. ,, ,, ,, 5 „ 



2 trusses straw ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 5 ,, 



1 ton of hay should last 6 horses 1 month. 



Oats should feel heavy when weighed in the 

 hand, and have plenty of i kernel in comparison to 

 the husk. A thick-skinned variety may look 

 larger until the grain is extracted, and the latter 

 then found smaller than the thinner skinned oat. 

 Black oats have less husk than white ones. Oats 

 should be free from any musty smell, and if kept 

 in bulk must be frequently turned over to allow 

 air to circulate round them. If kept in a very 

 confined place it is sometimes convenient to put 

 them in sacks, and constantly reverse the position 

 of each, but they keep better when freely exposed. 

 Oats are fit to use when the grain divides clean 

 and sharp when bitten between the teeth. 



Quite as important as oats, if indeed not more 



