158 Feeding. 



the horse is endowed -with his proper masticatory 

 powers, no human invention or appliance will 

 supersede them. It is more natural for the 

 horse to masticate his food than to receive it in 

 a partially cooked or digested state. 



Among beans, the Lincolnshire tic is the 

 favourite for feeding horses. This variety is small, 

 having a thin bright husk and a highly nutritious 

 kernel, weighing heavy in the hand, and proves 

 a very profitable feed during excessive work. 



The nutritious matter of beans amounts to as 

 much as 31 per cent., and they are very advanta- 

 geously mixed with oats and chaff to the extent of 

 one- quarter or one-half by weight of the former. 

 The weight of beans ranges from 60 to 66 pounds 

 per bushel. 



As a separate feed they are positively injurious. 

 Under all circumstances they should be combined 

 with other varieties of food, and carefully with- 

 held from idle horses. Their immediate effects 

 are the production of constipation and disorder 

 of the digestive organs, the end of which is fre- 

 quently fatal. 



In the animal body, when properly administered, 

 beans form a very useful agent in the manufac- 

 ture of flesh (muscle), hence their superiority in 

 producing a great amount of hardihood. The 

 weight of the body is greatly increased by their 

 use in proper form and qualities, and the general 

 health steadily maintained under greatest vicissi- 

 tudes. 



