OATS. 21 



unlimited quantity of oats without it disagreeing 

 with them ; while, on the contrary, gram, JMthee, 

 barley, &c., given in adequate amounts, almost al- 

 ways upsets the digestion, inducing diarrhoea, and a 

 general " heated " state of the system. 



In order to make up for the inferior quality of the 

 oats, we may, with great advantage, supplement them 

 by an addition of gram, or ktilthee, which should not 

 exceed a third of the whole amount. This practice is in 

 accordance with that, in England, of adding beans 

 to the corn, and is particularly applicable to old 

 horses whose powers of assimilation are impaired. 

 In England, new oats are rightly considered to be 

 indigestible an objection which may be removed by* 

 having them kiln-dried; but, in this country, they do 

 not appear to be injurious to any great extent a fact 

 which may be accounted for by the extreme heat of our 

 tropical sun. New Indian oats never present the soft, 

 pulpy appearance seen in new English corn. 



Oats should be given in a bruised state, for then, 

 not alone is the possibility of the grain passing through 

 the horse in an undigested state avoided, but also, 

 the animal is obliged to chew it more thoroughly than 

 were it given whole. 



This grain is principally grown in Tirhoot and Dehra 

 Doon. 



Gruel is best made by mixing a pound of oatmeal 

 well up with a quart of cold water, to which should 

 be added three quarts of boiling water, the whole being 

 put to simmer over the fire occasionally being stirred 



