2 6o VETERINARY LECTURES 



land, is apt to be used too freely, some giving as much as 8 pounds 

 to 10 pounds per day when only about half this quantity will be 

 assimilated or taken into the system, the other half passing through 

 the bowels as waste material. Better results may, therefore, be 

 obtained by selling half the oat-crop, and, with the money, pur- 

 chasing linseed and cotton cakes. Mixing these with the remaining 

 oats (crushed) will give a quicker and more profitable return and a 

 richer manure heap. 



383. Maize (Indian corn). — This is a good all-round article, and 

 will give better results on expenditure than any other known feeder. 

 For the horse, when doing quick work, it is, however, of little or no 

 use, either boiled or raw, nor should it be given to a horse which 

 has a tendency to lay on fat, or to one having little work to do, as it 

 throws the animal out of condition, conduces to swelled legs, grease, 

 and cracked heels, and makes the animal lazy and sluggish ; but for 

 a cart-horse, or waggon-horse, having regular working-days, it 

 answers fairly well, when broken and mixed with oats, beans, pease, 

 and bran. For cattle or sheep it answers splendidly when made into 

 meal, or broken and mixed with cotton and linseed cakes. For the 

 pig, it should not be given to a very young animal, as it is apt to 

 produce irritation of the stomach, accompanied with fits. Pollards 

 are much better, or barley and oatmeal mixed, and well boiled. For 

 a half-grown or full-grown pig, Indian meal should be well boiled — 

 scalding, as is practised by many, is not sufficient. There are 

 several preparations now made from maize and used for the feeding 

 of stock, such as maize germ cake and meal, cooked and rolled 

 maize, known as Uveco, Ceros, cooked food, etc., all of which mix 

 well with other concentrated foods. 



384. Beans. — These are much favoured by many feeders, being 

 given boiled, whole, or broken, and as meal, both to horses and 

 cattle. For the horse, I have no fancy for beans as a food, owing to 

 their tough, indigestible skin, and, from long observation, I find that, 

 in many cases, they produce intestinal disturbance, with diarrhoea. 

 Before using, they should, however, be well washed, particularly 

 foreign beans, as they are usually very much mixed and covered 

 with dirt. Beans, it will be found, generally enter into the composition 

 of the mixed horse foods prepared by corn merchants. For cattle,, 



