Food and Feeding. 173 



only say that the grain should be thoroughly 

 dry and free from any musty smell. We 

 all know that old oats are more digestible 

 than new oats, and that kiln-drying, in the 

 case of oats, Is generally employed to 

 Improve the condition of musty corn. Con- 

 sequently, kiln-dried oats should be viewed 

 with more or less suspicion. 



When a horse eats unbrulsed oats, which 

 Is not one of his natural foods, he is very 

 liable, owing to the smoothness of their coats, 

 to swallow them without properly chewing 

 them, as we may see by an Inspection of 

 his dung. The process of bruising Increases 

 the difficulty of swallowing them without 

 sufficient mastication, and it also exposes 

 their Interior, which contains their nutritive 

 constituents, to the action of the digestive 



