266 BEDDING. 



consuming it ; and it should not be of an irritating nature. 

 Inferior samples of English straw are often full of thistles and 

 other weeds. 



The chief advantages of straw used in sufficient quantity, 

 are the ease with which it can be procured ; the dry and 

 comfortable nature of the bed which it affords; its freedom 

 from properties injurious to the feet ; and its nice bright 

 appearance. On the other hand," we find that owing to its 

 feeble power of absorption, the urine becomes distributed 

 throughout the lower layer of the bedding to an extent in- 

 compatible with the united conditions of economy and 

 sanitation. Thus, if we desire to preserve a straw bedding 

 in a thoroughly sweet-smelling state, we are obliged to reject 

 a comparatively large proportion of it at each (( mucking-out," 

 and even then we cannot always get rid of the objectionable 

 presence of ammonia from the atmosphere of the stall or box. 

 The plan of selecting and drying the less tainted parts is not 

 altogether a desirable compromise ; for having been used 

 under the horse, they will be more or less bruised, and even 

 if they are dried in the sun, they cannot be rendered 

 thoroughly sweet. The fact of straw being " long," increases 

 the wastefulness entailed in cleaning out the floor of the box 

 or stall. To obviate this source of loss, straw is sometimes 

 used in a chopped condition for bedding. Foreign straw is 

 often so long, that it would be well to cut each length into 

 three or four parts. These disadvantages, which long- 

 continued habit is apt to make us overlook, cause a more 

 or less pronounced smell of ammonia and other products of 

 decomposition to pervade the atmosphere of the large 

 majority of stables in which straw is employed as a bedding. 



PEAT MOSS (MOSS LITTER). 



Origin and nature. Peat is formed in more or less stagnant 

 water, such as that of marshes, by the decomposition of bog 



