POTATOES. 167 



same nutritive ratio (i to 6.1) as oats (p. 103), with three times 

 more mineral matter, but a little less fibre, which can be amply 

 supplied by hay or straw. I have no experience of rice meal 

 in the feeding of horses. Mr. W. F. Shaw informs me that 

 " in an agricultural district where oats command a good price, 

 the more enlightened farmers sell their oats, and feed their 

 farm horses on rice meal with chopped hay in a slightly 

 damped state. These horses keep most excellent condition on 

 the rice meal with a very small percentage of oats, and do not 

 suffer from colic or other abdominal disorders, more frequently 

 than the other farm horses of the same district which are fed 

 exclusively on oats." These remarks from an experienced 

 veterinary surgeon confirm the good opinion of rice meal 

 which a study of its analysis would suggest. 



RYE. 



Horses are fed on rye (Secale cereale) to some extent in 

 Northern Europe ; but even in Russia, where it forms the 

 staple food of the peasants, it is considered to be much inferior 

 to oats as an article of fodder. It is, I believe, generally given 

 in a coarsely ground state, moistened with water, and mixed 

 with chop. I have often heard that it is not safe to give more 

 than 5 Ib. of rye daily to a horse. 



COCOANUT MEAL. 



According to experiments made in the French army, cocoa- 

 nut meal proves an efficient substitute for oats. It is the 

 residue in the manufacture of cocoanut oil, and has nearly 

 the same composition as dried brewers' grains. 



POTATOES. 



Raw potatoes given to horses are very apt to disagree with 

 them. In fact, many experienced veterinary surgeons are of 

 opinion that they have a poisonous effect on these animals. 



