DENTITION AND DENTAL DISEASES 259 



it to puff, blow, and sweat on the least exertion. When given at all, 

 it must be well boiled, used very sparingly, and mixed with other 

 foods. For cattle it should not be boiled, but given in a rough- 

 ground or crushed state, and when used judiciously, and given in 

 combination, for instance, with decorticated cotton cake, it is a 

 splendid feeding substance. 



381. Barley. — If there is one thing more than another which I 

 have a great fancy for, it is well-boiled, sound, sweet barley, for feeding 

 to horses or cattle when recovering from any illness. If the animal 

 can be induced to take it, there is nothing better, when it is mixed 

 with a little bran. The boiling of barley seems to change its pro- 

 perties, converting the starchy matter as it were into dextrine, thus 

 aiding the first part of the process of digestion. For a very useful 

 and agreeable change in feeding for a horse there is nothing to equal 

 a mash of fresh, well-boiled barley, given twice a week, mixed with 

 a little bran and salt. It is readily digested, and is very refreshing 

 to a tired horse after heavy work on a stormy day. Barley should, 

 however, never be given raw to a horse, as it produces intestinal 

 disorders of various kinds. For cattle it is best boiled, but may be 

 given raw when crushed and mixed with other foods. For a calf, 

 where milk is scarce, barley-flour (meal) combined with the same 

 quantity of good oatmeal, well boiled, and mixed with skim milk, 

 makes the best food, and will be found far superior to any of the 

 fancy patent calf-meals. It keeps the stomach and bowels in proper 

 order, and the young animal thrives and does well on the mixture. 



382. Oats may be looked upon as the staple food for both horses 

 and cattle, but upon no consideration should they be boiled for either. It is 

 a waste of time, money, and fuel to boil oats, as it makes no change 

 in them ; the horse is inclined to bolt them in this state without 

 chewing, and they pass through a cow unchanged. For the horse, 

 as already stated under teeth {par. 355), oats should be given whole 

 in the berry, except in the case of a young animal which is teething, 

 or an old one with uneven teeth, when they may be bruised. For 

 cattle, they should always be mashed or crushed, and mixed with 

 other foods. Farmers, as a rule, have a very great fault in giving 

 too many oats to cattle. The cereal, being the produce of their own 



