DENTITION AND DIET. 133 



(m THA Diet of Horses — (Men often Dig their Graves 

 WITH iHEiR Teeth, and the same is true as regards 

 HoRS>,n) — Variety of Food necessary — Effects of 

 certain kinds of Food — As regards the requisite 



quantity ^ ETC. 



H is admitted by medical men, and the experience of the reader 

 Diay possibly have confirmed the fact, that a great proportion of 

 the diseases occurring among live stock are produced, either di- 

 rectly or indirectly, by errors in diet; consequently the means of 

 prevention should be known, and used accordingly. 



No special form of diet can, for any great length of time, pre- 

 serve the integrity of the animal system. In order to substan- 

 tiate this assertion, we sha'l show the effect of simple elementary 

 principles on the body o/" uan, inferring, at the same time, tint 

 man's sei-vant, the horse, Js included. The reader has probably 

 beard of the experiment n.ivie by Napoleon Bonaparte, which 

 was that of trying to suppl/ tlie nutritive wants of his system by 

 living on a concentrated prepmt'on of beef, in the form of jolly. 

 He gave it a fair trial, yet cara^ very near starving on the same 

 and he was led lo remark that tbe stomach was a sort of scav- 

 enger, which required a given d^i^ount of rubbish to sort from, 

 and select the necessary elements for renovating the tissues. He 

 probably selected jelly because it is highly nutritious, containing 

 more of the flesh-making principb than most articles of food 

 It was rich, not only in nitrogen, but aho in oxygen, hydiogen, 

 and carbon, four of the principal elements which compose th^ 

 animal fabric. 



The fact is, no single article of diet, let n he ever s ^ rich in the 

 elements cf organized tissues, can long support life. A. nation of 

 men subsisting long on a simple form of dht, without variety 

 would soon become emaciated, and die of iuuutrition. I^et the 

 Grahamites abstain from milk, and live on broad and water, and 

 they would soon exterminate themselves. Milk is a highly nu- 

 tritious compound, and furnishes their systems ^ith the equiva- 

 iMits that we obtain from beef and mutton. The inhabitants of 

 the "Celestial Empire" (Chinese) are great consumers of rice. 

 It is tlie ,^iiu<'ipal article of diet among the poorer classes, many 

 of w^''^'^ ur? iunk and lean, and would make very raspeotabie 



