16 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



'WHAT IS THE CHEAPEST FOOD FOR HORSES ?" 



Leaving out of the question all otlier consitlora- 

 tious except tlie amount of nutritious matter which 

 Clin be obtained for a given sum, Indian Coen at 

 present prices, is unquestionably the cheapest food 

 that can be obtained for horses, cattle, sheep, or 

 any other stock. 



But "we can not leave out all other considerations. 

 Neither horses, cattle or sheep, can thrive on corn 

 alone. It is too concentrated. Their stomachs 

 are large, and are designed to extract nutriment 

 from more bulky and less nutritious food. A horse, 

 not at hard work, weighing, say 1000 lbs., requires 

 about 30 lbs. of good hay per day. He requires 

 this amount of nntriment — and he also requires 

 this amount of lulh. Probably 15 lbs. of Indian 

 meal contains as much nutriment as 80 lbs. of the 

 best hay, and yet the horse would not do as well 

 on it because, for one reason, it is too concentrated. 

 But if Ave should feed 15 lbs. of hay, 10 lbs. of 

 straw, and 5 lbs. of corn-meal, we should have 

 about as much lull-y and we think about as much 

 nutriment. If the horse is required to work, more 

 corn should be given. 



Ilay and oats are universally conceded to be the 

 best food for horses. Oats are not as nntitious as 

 corn, weight for weight. At least, such is our 

 opinion. The corn contains much more starch, oil 

 and other available carbonaceous matter — audit 

 is this, and not the amount of nitrogen, which de- 

 termines the nutritive value of food. As com- 

 pared with oats, corn is relatively deficient in 

 nitrogenous matter. Probably horses at hard work 

 require a more nitrogenous food than corn and hay. 

 ■ If so, a little peameal mixed with the corn-raeal 

 would supply it. Oats now are very high. In 

 this city a bushel of oats, weighing32 lbs., is worth 

 60 cents, or nearly two cents per lb. while corn is 

 worth only one cent per lb. By grinding tliree 

 bushels of corn with one bushel of peas we should 

 have a food containing as much nutriment ot every 

 kind as eight bushels of oats, and at about half the 

 price. Clover hay is more nitrogenous than Timo- 

 thy or meadow-iiay, and when cured and free from 

 dust, it is excellent for horses. Bran and i?horts 

 also contain considerable nitrogenous matter, but 

 this season they are too liigh to be fed profitably to 

 horses. 



One of tiie clieapest foods that can be obtained 

 for liorses, is to cut and cure oats wliile compara- 

 tively green, and feed them out without tiireshing. 

 Of coursej they should be cut into chaff. "With 



corn and pea-meal, they attbrd a good substitute 

 for hay and oats, and lar cheaper. 



Of course, these remarks are only applicable to 

 the present time, when hay and oats are unusually 

 high. We need hardly add that horses will do 

 well on corn-meal and straw alone. 



WATER FOR SHEEP. 



There are some farmers who entertain the 

 opinion that sheep do not need water in winter. 

 Others think if the sheep need any water they can 

 satisfy their thirst by eating snow ! 



That sheep need water there can be no doubt. 

 In Mr. Lawes' recent experiments, alluded to on 

 another page, the sheep were allowed all the water 

 they wanted, and those fed on hay alono drank, 

 from February 22d to March 22d, on an average, 

 33 lbs. of water per head per week. The next 

 month they drank 40 lbs. each per week; the next 

 month, 45^ lbs. ; the next month, 39^ lbs. ; and 

 during the whole period of seven mont:hs each 

 sheep drank, on an average, 40^ lbs. per week. 



Now does any one suppose that if the sheep did 

 not need water they would drink three quarts a 

 day? In some of Mr. Lawes' previous experi- 

 ments on sheep, when the writer was at Rothaiu- 

 sted, a well-known sheep-breeder, who came to look 

 at the sheep during the progress of the experiment, 

 was surprised on asce.-taining the large quantity of 

 water they drank, and he suggested that they ira 

 bibed more than was good for them. To test thf 

 question, the quantity of -water was restricted io 

 what he thought a well-behaved sheep ought to 

 drink ; but on weighing the sheep at the end of 

 the week, as usual, it was found, if we .recollect 

 right, that every sheep had lost weight — at least 

 the scales indicated that they had not done as well 

 as usual, and for the future they were allowed all 

 the water they would drink. 



In the recent experiments it will be noticed that 

 the sheep did not drink so much Avater in winter 

 as in summer. They drank the greatest quantity a 

 short time before they were sheared, and immedi- 

 ately after the wool was removed tliere was, in the 

 language of Mr. Laaves, " a sudden and very great 

 decline." We may also mention that after shear- 

 ing there was a notable decline in the amount of 

 food consumed in each of the four pens during the 

 week immediately succeeding the shearing. 



To deny sheep water in winter is jnaiiifestly in- 

 jurious; and to compel them to obtain it from 

 snow is very unwise. A great portion of the food 

 consumed by all animals in winter is expended in 



