GRASS AND HAY. 35 



Carrots are the best roots for horses, and, next to 

 them, parsnips. Swedes may also be given. Horses 

 in South Africa often get pumpkins as "green meat." 

 Other roots may be given, in a boiled state, to animals 

 used for slow draught. 



" Carrots also improve the state of the skin. They 

 form a good substitute for grass, and an excellent 

 alterative for horses out of condition. To sick and 

 idle horses they render corn unnecessary. They are 

 beneficial in all chronic diseases of the organs con- 

 nected with breathing, and have a marked influence 

 upon chronic cough and broken wind. They are ser- 

 viceable in diseases of the skin. In combination with 

 oats, they restore a worn-out horse much sooner than 

 oats alone." (Stewart.) 



Dr. Voelcker points out, that the nutritive value of 

 different root-crops depends largely upon their state 

 of maturity ; that unripe loots are not alone poor in 

 sugar hence their decreased value but also contain a 

 number of organic acids (notably oxalic acid), and 

 imperfectly elaborated nitrogenous substances, which 

 appear to be the cause of their unwholesomeness ; that 

 the leaves of their roots contain a far larger proportion 

 of oxalic acid than does the root itself hence, the 

 scouring effect produced when the leaves are given 

 and that moderate-sized and well-matured roots are 

 far more wholesome than monster ones. 



Grass and Hay. I am convinced, from long 

 experience, that the maintenance of good condition in 

 the horse is much more dependent on the proper 

 supply of grass than on that of corn. 



The following are the best Indian grasses : 



