u 



THE FAMILY HORSE. 



horses rarely taste oats," as is asserted by an eminent English author. 

 Good, well-made hay, free from dust and dirt, and sound, well sea- 

 soned oats may, in a general way be regarded as the staple food for 

 horses. But no animal can do as well on a monotonous diet, even if 

 of good quality, as it will with a judicious variety. Careful analyses 

 have been made of the various food products, and their respective 

 chemical constituents ascertained, approximately at least. It is well 

 known that certain food elements, consisting largely of carbon, 

 produce fat and heat. These are commonly known as carbohydrates. 

 Another class, rich in nitrogen, and known as albuminoids, are 

 mainly muscle formers. The following table exhibits the nutritive 

 constituents of various kinds of food material, as determined by Dr. 

 Peter Collier of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and Dr. Wolflf, 

 of Hohenheim, Germany : 



Kind of Food Material. 



Timothy Hay 



HuDtyarian 



Red Clover Hay 



Alfalfa Hay-- 



Corn Fodder 



Esparsette (green) 



Corn Stalks (green) - - . 



Wheat Straw. - 



Oat Straw - - - 



Oats 



Indian Com -- 



Barley 



Wheat Bran (coarse) -. 



Linseed Cake (new process)- 



Cotton-seed Meal 



Carrots 



9.7 



10.8 



12.3 



14.4 



1.1 



3.3 



1.8 



3.0 



4.0 



12.0 



10.0 



10.0 



12.9 



32.4 



41.5 



1.0 



22.7 



29.4 



26.0 



33.0 



4.1 



6.5 



4.4 



40.0 



39.5 



9.3 



5.5 



7.1 



8.1 



7.3 



2i.4 



1.4 



5* fS 



45.8 

 38.5 

 38.2 

 27.9 

 6.5 

 8.2 



'36.9 

 36.2 

 55.7 

 62.1 

 63.9 

 59.1 

 31.5 

 3.1 

 10.8 



_^ 



3.0 

 2.2 

 2.2 

 2.5 

 2.0 

 0.6 

 0.5 

 1.2 

 2.0 

 6.0 

 6.5 

 2.5 

 3.5 

 3.6 

 18.0 

 0.2 



DIGESTIBLE 

 NUTRIENTS. 



1.4 

 0.9 

 1.2 

 1.0 

 1.0 

 0.3 

 0.2 

 0.4 

 0.7 

 4.7 

 4.8 

 1.7 

 3.1 

 3.2 

 16.2 

 0.2 



8:1 



7:1 



1 :3 



2:8 



14:4 



4:1 



9:1 



45 t 8 



29:9 



6 



The figures under the head of "Nutritive Ratio" in the last 

 column represent the relative proportions of carbohydrates, or ele- 

 ments that supply heat and fat, and the albuminoids or muscle-form- 

 ing elements. The actual per cent of digestible nutrients in any kind 

 of food product varies greatly, but the ratio remains substantially 

 unchanged. 



An improved method of presenting the facts at a single glance 

 is the following diagram, piepared by E. H. Jenkins, Ph. D., of the 



