FOOD. 195 



provender for horses. Barley, rye, or wheat, if dry, would require a pro- 

 portion of chaff to be mixed with those grains, so as to render either of 

 them safe. Few things are more common in agricultural districts, than 

 for animals to be injured by eating the latter kind of food. Quadrupeds 

 often break loose, and gorge upon wheat; when the cereal, swelling after 

 it has been swallowed, not unseldom ruptures the stomach and destroys 

 the life. All dried grain should be moistened before it is placed in the 

 manger. When properly soaked, barley, wheat, or rye are more whole- 

 some than oats. Mingled with chaff, they are quite as beneficial, even 

 when administered in the dried state. They are, moreover, when re- 

 garded in the view of weight for weight of nutriment, far cheaper than 

 the vast majority of England's favorite provender. 



Might not the ship biscuit, which is now used only as a food for dogs, 

 be profitably employed in the^ stable ? It contains no husk. Its surface 

 is not surrounded by dangerous hairs. It is all nutriment ; and, being 

 slightly moistened by the action of steam, would doubtless be consumed 

 with avidity, after the fii'st distaste, natural to timidity, had been over- 

 come. This species of provender would be cheaper than the raw, hard, 

 and unprepared grain, which might with advantage be superseded bj 

 crushed biscuit mingled with a proportion of chaf£ 



The action of heat is well known to change the nature of corn, while 

 fermentation converts the starch of the raw seed into sugar. Might not 

 a coarse kind of bread be made for the stable ? This is no whim of the 

 author's imagination. Such a plan is common throughout Germany, 

 where it is not unusual to see a carter feeding himself and steed off the 

 same loaf The groom might possibly resist such an innovation upon 

 his rights and leisure ; but a better order of dependents could be found, 

 to whom the extra labor would merely prove a pastime. 



Besides bread and biscuits, there are various roots which might prove 

 very acceptable to a vegetable eater. The digestion of all such articles 

 is promoted by the substances being cooked before they are presented. 

 The fire extracts much of the water with which they all abound ; heat 

 also, in some measure, arrests the tendency to ferment. Why should 

 such simple and natural food be denied to the creature which nature has 

 sent upon this earth with an appetite fitted to consume it ? There is 

 ample room for choice in the list which has been indicated ; so far as 

 experiment has hitherto tested the value of such articles of food for 

 horses, results have been obtained which seem to say the change might 

 be generally adopted without danger. 



A sameness of diet is known to derange the human stomach. Under 

 such a system, the palate loses its relish, while a loathing is excited 

 which destroys appetite. How often do grooms complain of certain 



