ITO FOOD. 



"Nonsense! folly! downright stupidity!" some sporting reader may 

 exclaim. "Look at all men, when in training. Do not they, during 

 such time, live upon dry foodV^ Certainly not. Not upon food "dry" 

 in the same sense as is implied by the sound Jaay and seasoned oats of 

 the stable. Bread, seen upon any human table, whether as loaf or bis- 

 cuit, is a moist substance, when compared with either of the articles on 

 which horses subsist. But what shall be said about the contents of the 

 rack or the manger, when compared with the under-done rump steak of 

 which man, when in training, so frequently partakes ? 



Nor is the subject fairly reviewed, when the form of food is alone 

 considered. The horse does not graze without selection. Certain herbs 

 are scrupulously avoided; others are eagerly sought for. The animal 

 does not eat straight before it ; but the head moves to either side, each 

 mouthful being carefully collected with the lips before the juicy tops of 

 the plants are operated upon by the teeth. The horse feeds only off the 

 growing ends of the grasses. The varying herbage may be supposed 

 to present numerous savors to the keen scent of the pasturer ; and a 

 fresh flavor may be relished with each new mouthful. Nature has evi- 

 dently scattered variety, where the dull sense of man can perceive only 

 sameness ; and, to the temperate palate of a horse, the verdure of the 

 fields may afford a delicious and an ever-varying banquet. 



The instinct which enables the animal to make a selection among 

 numberless growing plants, fades and is lost when moisture has departed 

 with the color, and the perfume natural to the herbage has been changed 

 by art. The animal perceptions may be puzzled ; for art can defeat in- 

 stinct. Some quadrupeds, as if much perplexed, will pick the hay, 

 eating little, but spoiling more than is consumed. Others appear to 

 distaste the preparation, and these refuse it altogether. Few inhabitants 

 of the stable will accept ail that may be placed before them, though the 

 rejection may depend more upon the fastidiousness begotten by captivity, 

 than be generated by positive dislike. Few animals exhibit either choice 

 or discretion in the selection of certain portions of prepared fodder. The 

 rejection of particular parts seems to be guided only by fancy or caprice. 

 That which in the green state would be abhorred, when " cut and dried" 

 may by preference be devoured. 



We can reasonably conclude that the impulses of instinct, being natural 

 instructors, convey wise ladmonitions. Many people are so credulous as 

 to believe that the Creator is all-wise, and that nothing formed by the 

 will of Omnipotence is without a special purpose. It is man who 

 converts grass into hay; thus rendering nugatory that discrimination 

 which was bestowed as a protection upon the lower life. 



Some persons may feel disposed to assert that all power to injure is 



