INTRODUCTION. 15 



also contain a nitrogenous alkaloid, called avenin, 

 which possesses the property of acting as a nerve 

 stimulant It is on this account that horses large- 

 ly fed on oats are so spirited. The salts or ash 

 that these substances contain are all needed in 

 the animal body in order that they will grow, and 

 also support the system in older animals. Oats is 

 the grain par excellence for the horse, and peas for 

 the pig. Corn, alone, has not sufficient albumin- 

 ates and salts and has too much starchy substance, 

 which is converted into fat, and is therefore a 

 grain which is not fit food for a young growing ani- 

 mal. It is necessary to feed other materials which 

 contain albuminates to supply the deficiency of this 

 material in the corn. And I am satisfied that the 

 prevalence of cholera among pigs in the corn grow- 

 ing States is in a great part due to the feeding of 

 too much corn. In Canada, where the pig is 

 mostly fed on peas and oats and the refuse of 

 wheat and rye, cholera is unknown. It is true 

 there have been a few cases of cholera in Canada, 

 but it has been mostly on the borders where it was 

 supposed to have been brought over the river, and 

 some years ago at Montreal, supposed to have 

 been caused by feeding on distillery slops. Messrs. 

 Lawes and Gilbert made a number of experiments 

 on feeding in England and found that pigs fed ex- 

 clusively on corn would frequently swell in the 

 neck. They did not wish to discontinue the exper- 

 iment, and therefore resolved to try the effect of 

 putting some mineral substance in a trough 

 within the reach of the pigs. They made a mix- 



