404 



NKW KNCiLAND FARMER 



Jt'IiV 3. 1R33. 



F,om Mr. DirsfV,-taimni Snrf;r,m) l^sstni m, ('„> suljj.-ct. 

 ON COOKIIVG FOOD FOR HORSES. 

 The Iblloivirig extract cannot I'ail to he l]ii.'lil\ 

 iiitercstiiiif and useful to the owners and nianageis 

 of horses. 



Horses, like other animals, do not always content 

 themselves with just eating what is necessary for 

 their proper support : they are apt to indulge in any 

 thing they find agreeahle to their palate ; and there 

 is an immense variety in their food, if we look to 

 the various grasses which are to he found in good 

 old pasture, and hy. that indulgence they expose 

 themselves to various diseases, and, for the time, 

 render themselves unfit for any active exertion. 

 If a horse's bowels are loaded with clover, or any 

 kind of I'ood, we know he could not gallop any 

 great distance without injuring himself. If he 

 has been fully fed, and is allowed to drink fn'e- 

 ly of water, and afterwards started on a jnnrney 

 at a Kn)art pace, the almost invariable con.«e(pienc> 

 is, that he begins to pm-ge, he is soon fatigued, hi 

 prespires from the weight he is carrying in his bel- 

 ly, he gets sick, and cannot go on. The natural 

 action of the bowels throws oft' the load, and il 

 the horse is not pushed on too fast, he is some- 

 times able to get well to the end of bis jom-ney ; 

 but if his pace is increased he gets sick, the load 

 and mass contained in the stomach and anterior 

 portion of the bowels cannot escape, and as (^\er- 

 cise prevents and suspends the digestive process a 

 chemical process is set up in its stead, producing 

 rapidly various derangements, which are too fre- 

 quently followed by violent disease or death. This 

 occurs less frequently in well regulated coaching 

 stables where a regular and large allowance of oats 

 are given ; because, as in coaching stables, tin- 

 quantity of oats is so large that Utile hay is eaten, 

 the horsi's are therefore less liable to gorge them- 

 selves than under other circumstances, but even 

 there, it is generally, nay, I may say invariably, 

 considered necessary to turn the horses roiiiul in 

 their stables for half an hoin- before starting, in or- 

 (ler that the stomach may have time to act in .some 

 degree upon what has been taken into it, and that 

 it may have p^issed into the bowels. Tlieaninials, 

 are, by this means, allowed time to empty them- 

 selves, which they will generally be found to do as 

 they leave the stable or as they start with the 

 coach. 



Under this view of the sidyect, it will be seen 

 that a moderate proportion of nutritious food is 

 only required, and that it is advisable to present il 

 in as small a compass as will suit the nature of the 

 digestive organs. 15ut it would appear that a cer- 

 tain proportion of hulk is also necessary to the 

 quantity of nutritious matter, to kee[) up the prop- 

 er action of the bowels. If the food is too rich 

 and too much concentrated, il deranges the stomach 

 and bowels and produces disease; if too poor and 

 bulky, it yielils not the proper degree of support 

 to the animal, while Us bulk impedes respiration, 

 and its weight detracts, by its burdensomeness, 

 from the capability of the animal exerting him- 

 self. 



From these remarks, it will appear obvious, that 

 the grand desideratum is to give food containing 

 as much nutriment, and in as small a bulk, as is 

 consistent with the economy of the aninud. 



If this problem is solved, it will follow as a cor- 

 ollary, that it will be in^portant to give that food 

 which has been found best suited in its proportions, 

 in such a state aa is best suited for digestion. This 

 js a point however, worthy of consideration, and 



Maturally suggests the piestion, Imw is the bo(l_\ 

 -;i|>plied with nourishnniit by taking in food into 

 ihe stomach? The roiimion noticni is, that much 

 .lepends, as I have indeed before mentioned, on 

 ihe bariliicss of the food ; and it is a eommon say- 

 ing, in order to show off' a horse which is in cou- 

 lition, "that he has plenty of hard meat in him." 

 i\ow, this is a very silly and erroneous idea, if we 

 inquu-e into it, for, whatever may be the consistency 

 (f llie food whi<h is taken into the stomach, it must 

 before the body can possibly d(;rive any substaniial 

 support or benefit from it, be converted into chyme, 

 — a i)ultaceons mass; and this as it passes onward 

 from the stomach into the intestinal canal, is ren- 

 dered still more fluid, by the admixture of the se- 

 cretions from the stomach, the liver, and the pan- 

 creas, when il becomes of a milky appearance and 

 is called chyle. It is then taken into ihesystein ot 

 ihe lacteals, and in ibis fluid, this soft state — and 

 in this state oidy — mixes with the blood, and passes 

 ihrough the circulaling vessels for the nourishment 

 of the system. 



The fooil, no doubt, when taken into the st(Uii- 

 ach, at once salisties the animal's hunger; but il 

 the digestion is suspended by any meims, it soon 

 proves injurious, and weakens, instead of support- 

 ing, the system. 



Now, if the hardest of the food must, in this 

 unumer, be broken down and di.^solverl liel'ure it can 

 really enter into the .system, it must ap|)ear evideni 

 that something approaching lo this solution, il 

 done artificially, would greatly aid the organs ol 

 digestion in this process, and that thereby much cx- 

 <:rtion might be saved to the .system, and, at the 

 same time nom-ishment would be more rapidly 

 conveyed into it. It is with this view that I wnnlil 

 recoimuend the general ad(qaiuu of cooking food 

 for horses and cattle. 



When the food is broken down by cutting the 

 hay and straw, and bruising, boiling or straining the 

 oats, not only is ihere less waste, by the whole be- 

 ing used as maiigiT meal, but much labor is saved 

 lo the animal, in having tough dried hay, and hard 

 oats, niaslicaled for him, and in a state almost pre- 

 pared for digesiiim ; and as ri'gards the oats, all 

 the nonrishment they can afliu'd is readily yield- 

 ed to the digeslivi! organ.s ; for not oidy may I re- 

 fer to the fact already stated regarding the poid- 

 try on board the Coldstream Indiaman, but i 

 may also observe the fict that we find, tlnit unless 

 the grain is broken down, or otherwise killed hy 

 boiling, it is not acted on, and will grow as readily 

 after having pa.sseil through the liorse,as the olives 

 did after having passed through the tmkeys. Oats 

 like every other seed, is jiossesscd of vitality, and 

 it would appear tinit the organs of digestion, and 

 their secretions, do not act upon bodies possessing 

 it. Were it not for this exception, the gastric 

 juice, which acts upon and dissolves every 

 dead matter taken into the stomach, would 

 act upon the stomach itself; but it is not pos- 

 sessed of this power. Worms are, from this 

 cause, also allowed to live in the sioinach, hut 

 when dead, become acted upon like other dead 

 matter. Hence we often find worms when de- 

 stroyed by medicine, disappear, although we liave 

 not observed ihein pass with the faeces. 



It is therefore necessary to destroy the life of 

 the foo<l taken into the stomach, before it can yield 

 nourishment to the animal. This may be done, 

 as already stated, by bruising; and the finer it is 

 bruised the better, because it is capable ol 

 being more completely y.ixed with the qui 



straw or hay, and the whole is ilim more easi- 

 ly eaten ; but as the experiments of Captain Cheyne 

 have shown, it may also be steamed or boiled, and 

 given with the same advantage, and from what 

 li;is been stated regardingdigestion, it must be pret- 

 ty obvious that this kinil of cooking brings the food 

 nearer to the state of being readily dissolved and 

 acted upon by the digestive organs. The only ob- 

 jection which will at once occur, I know is, that 

 lioiled or steamed meat will incline a horse to 

 purge : this, hoiwever, is not so much the case as 

 nntny, without trial, may suppose, and where it 

 does occur, is perhaps owing to too large a quan- 

 lity being given at one time, as indeed is al- 

 most invariably the ease ; for stablemen, when they 

 give buile<l food, always suppose it necessary, at 

 least the practice is, to give nearly double the 

 quantity or more at a time, than they would think 

 it proper to give of raw food ; but if the rich 

 cooked or stewed food is mixed with a less nutri- 

 onsaiul raw material, the whole of the boiled i» 

 taken into the system, without producing the laxi- 

 tive effect. Nay more, it sometimes ])roves, 

 in casts of horses which have a natural ten- 

 ilency to purge, that, by a judicious use of soft 

 feeding, this is overcome. Captain Cheyne had 

 a grey liorse of this kind, and it was feared that he 

 woiild not agree with the feeding, but it is found 

 he il<jw does his work better than ever he did, and 

 with less tendency to laxity of bowels than former- 

 ly, Slid when I saw him a few days ago, he was 

 as fat on the rib as any horse in the working con- 

 dition ought to be. 



All horses on this restricted feeding are found 

 to hi light in their belly ; but, while this is the 

 case, llie appearance of their coats, the quantity of 

 lilt on their ribs, and the manner they are able 

 to do their work, show that they have sufiicient 

 eourishment, while (what is the subject of the 

 most inqxulant consideration with me) their dis- 

 liensing with the doctor shows that their health is 

 most materially improved by it. In conclusion, I 

 shall only at present mention, that as I was passing 

 Mr. Croal's oflicc, two or three days ago, and ob- 

 serving a pair of horses, as fresh as racers, in one 

 of the pair-horse coaches, he observed, what was 

 worthy of notice, " There's condition for you," and 

 (pointing to about two bushels of oats and cut hay 

 en the coach) " this is there allowance for the 

 night, and which is sent out regularly every day to 

 the out stages." 



If such, then is the fact with regard to horses 

 doing fast work, the advantages which might he 

 obtained hy a similar plan being adopted among 

 I'arm horses, must be too obvious to require further 

 irgument. — Ed. Quae. Jour. Aug. 1832. 



Tincture nf Roses. Take the leaves of the com-, 

 mon rose, place them, without pressing them, in a 

 liottle, pour some good spirits of wine upon them, 

 close the bottle, and let it stand until it is required 

 for use. This tincture will keep for years, and 

 yield a perfume, little infirior to otto of roses. A 

 lew drops of it will suffice to imiiregnate the at- 

 mosphere of a room with a delicious odour. — 

 Common vinegar is greatly improved by a very 

 small quantity being added to it. 



The Romans greatly valued the cuckoo, as an 

 cuticle of food ; and the French and Italians eat 

 it, at this day. When fattened, it is said tg be a^, 

 delicate as the land-rail. 



