80 THE STOCK owner's ADVISER. 



one-half; and red clover, about three-fifths. In substance they 

 vaiy about the same, and as to healthfiilness they are to be esti- 

 mated in the same order, timothy being at the head. The herd 

 grass may be placed next to timothy in substance. It does not 

 grow well on uplands or heavy lands. It grows best in low, 

 damp lands, and is extensively cultivated throughout the Cotton 

 States. We have frequently seen fine fields of this grass in the 

 Cotton States, and always confined to low, damp lands. 



Some of the annuals make a good hay. The rescue grass 

 ranks first in value; the Hungarian, second; millet, third. Millet 

 fed with its seed makes a tolerably good food. It is extensively 

 grown throughout the Southern States. Another annual exten- 

 sively used is the corn fodder, obtained by pulling the blades 

 from the stalk, and, when dry, binding them in bundles and 

 storing away for winter use. This process of curing is generally 

 used in the Southern States. In many parts of the country the 

 stalks are cut with the blades left on, put on shocks to dry, and 

 then stored away for winter food. Corn fodder is not so healthy 

 a food as some others, and in the Southern States, where it is 

 extensively used, many diseases are contracted by its constant 

 use. It appears to dry up the blood, and from its dryness and 

 brittleness it is apt to harm the throat. The writer has traced 

 encephalitis or inflammation of the brain to the continued use 

 of damaged fodder. 



The different straws are wheat, rye, oats, and barley. They 

 possess a limited amount of substance, about one-twentieth as 

 much as good timothy hay. They are of but little value to the 

 horse, and should only be iised in making chop feed. They are 

 too dry when used in any other way. It is best to feed dry hay 

 moistened with water, and add the chop to it. This makes the 

 dry feed soft, and the horse will keep fat on much less food than 

 by any other mode. Most of the hay allowed between meals 

 should be cut and rolled in chop. If the owner would consider 

 the improved condition of his horses and the cheapness of this 

 method, the trouble of cutting the feed would not be objected to. 



