1.52 VARIETIES OF FOOD. 



Austria appeared to prove, that although horses like maize, 

 digest it, and, on it get fat and acquire glossy coats, they show 

 a marked deficiency in vigour, speed, and stamina, as compared 

 to animals fed on oats. Also, Professor Bruchmliller, who 

 conducted a six months' trial of feeding 5,200 horses partly on 

 maize, came to the conclusion that it can be used to advantage 

 only with horses which are not required to move out of a walk. 

 Against this we have the fact that in South Africa the mail 

 coach horses, which have to do ten to twelve mile stages 

 over bad ground at a sharp trot or gallop, go through their 

 work well, and keep in good condition on nothing but maize 

 (about 1 8 Ibs.) and oat chop or straw chop (about 5 Ibs.) with 

 an occasional feed of grass on the veldt. As I have often sat 

 behind them, I can vouch for the good effect maize has on 

 their mettle. " The great Paris Omnibus Company has tried 

 replacing half the oats usually provided for the horses by 

 crushed maize (including the cobs) with most excellent results. 

 The cobs provide the cellulose lacking in the maize, and the 

 two together are equivalent in composition and feeding value 

 to oats. The New York Omnibus Company give each of 

 their horses 14 Ibs. of maize a day ; while the Berlin Tram- 

 ways Company supplement 3 Ibs. of oats with 15 Ibs. of 

 maize per horse per day, with most satisfactory results. 

 Maize has proved an excellent food for horses doing hard and 

 regular work at a moderate pace, but is less suited for hunters 

 or light hacks " (Farm Foods). The writer of the above 

 extract (E. von Wolff) is not quite correct in saying that the 

 grain and cob of maize, when combined, are equal in composi- 

 tion to oats ; because oats are richer than this mixture is in 

 mineral matter and fat. Passing over this slight exaggeration, 

 we have the fact that the London Road Car Company's 

 horses, which show better condition than the horses of any 

 other Metropolitan omnibus company, are fed almost entirely 

 on maize and hay, as we shall see later on. At present, in 



