THE CAUSES OF DIGESTIVE 

 DISORDERS— II 



Experience proves that there is no better con- 

 centrated food for a horse for good hard work 

 than oats. This can be readily explained. First 

 of all, it contains the essential flesh- forming, fat 

 and heat-producing elements in approximately 

 their proper ratio. It also supplies to the ner- 

 vous system, as no other grain appears to do to 

 the same degree, the sustenance that gives life and 

 ambition. In addition to this, oats have a physi- 

 cal property that mechanically fits them for 

 ready digestion in a greater degree than any 

 other grain. This is due to the fact that the par- 

 ticles of the meal are more loosely put together 

 than in any other grain and that the hull is 

 coarser. On this account, when a masticated 

 mass of oats enters the stomach, owing to its 

 looseness it is readily permeated by the digestive 

 fluid, so that digestion goes on readily and thor- 

 oughly. Possibly the most indigestible of all 

 grains, when fed by itself, either ground or whole, 

 is wheat, and this is due to its physical character. 



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