INDIAN COEN. 29 



Eating it in this state, sometimes makes the animal's 

 mouth sore, in which case, bruised maize should be 

 substituted. I have heard of maize in cobb (or husk) 

 being given after having been passed through a particu- 

 lar kind of machine that cut up the head of the corn 

 as well as the grain which it enclosed, and that this 

 combination of grain and husk formed an excellent 

 and easily digested food: it would be certainly an 

 economical one. In South Africa, although the best 

 judges prefer to give the grain dry than damp; still it is 

 frequently used after having been soaked overnight in a 

 minimum of water, and then mixed with chaff. I do 

 not see much objection to this practice ; for the chaff 

 takes up so much of the remaining moisture, that there 

 is but little danger of the horse swallowing the grain 

 without first chewing it. I may mention that the 

 danger to be feared from the improper use of maize, is 

 that it might produce colic. 



It would be useless to deny that both in Europe and 

 in America, maize, when given as the only grain, has 

 been proved to be an unsuitable food for horses that 

 have to do hard, and, especially, fast work. The ques- 

 tion naturally arises : what is the cause of the difference 

 between maize used in those countries and maize in 

 South Africa. The correct answer to this is, I am 

 convinced, that the difference does not lie in the 

 respective values of the Indian corn ; but in the 

 material with which it is given. South African chaff 

 is exactly like tibben (seepage 40), and consequently it 

 forms an admirable vehicle for the mealies, in that it 

 separates the particles one from another, and by its 

 softness allows the animal to thoroughly masticate 

 them, whether the grain be whole or broken. 



