i;o VARIETIES OF FOOD. 



" heated " state of the system. Gram is best used in combina- 

 tion with bran, Indian corn, barley, or unhusked rice ; or 

 with two or more of these grains. The nature of such com- 

 binations will naturally be governed to a large extent by the 

 capabilities of the local market. In almost all cases bran will 

 be readily obtainable. Gram before being used, should be at 

 least seven or eight months old ; should be given in a broken 

 and dry state ; and should be mixed with a vehicle, such as 

 bran or chop, that will dilute it, and will separate its particles, 

 so that the digestive juices may freely act on them. The 

 process of steeping gram in water is objectionable, because 

 it increases the indigestibility of that grain. With gram as 

 the staple food, we may with great advantage combine it with 

 bran in the proportion of seven parts of the former to five parts 

 of the latter. If oats or Indian corn is available, I would by 

 no means recommend the use of gram, except, as in the case 

 of beans and peas in England, to increase the proportion 

 of nitrogen in the food. For this object we might employ 

 the following combination, in which the bran is a useful 

 addition : 



Oats or Indian Corn ...... 10 parts 



Gram ........ 2 



Bran ........ 3 ,, 



If a mixture of gram and maize be employed without 

 any other grain, it may require an addition of bran or 

 chop, owing to deficiency in woody fibre. The necessity 

 of this addition is not imperative when gram is used with 

 Indian oats, the percentage of husk in which is very high. 



Kultliee (DolicJios biflorus) is used extensively through- 

 out the Madras and Bombay Presidencies as a food for 

 horses. It is always given boiled ; because the hardness of 

 its husk is supposed to preclude its employment in a dry 

 state. This conclusion probably requires further corroboration. 

 I am inclined to think, from my experience among native 



