178 STABLE ECONOMY. 



New Oats are slightly purgative, indigestible, and unprofit- 

 able. They seem to resist the action of the stomach, and to 

 retain their nutriment. They make the horse soft ; he sweats 

 soon and much at work. [Oats, and indeed all kinds of 

 grain, are less watery, and therefore more nutritious and 

 sweeter, grown in America than in Great Britain ; so that 

 these observations will not hold good entirely, applied to this 

 country.] If they must be used when under three or four 

 months old, they may be improved by kiln-drying. They are 

 not good, however, till they are about a year old. They may 

 be kept till too old, when they become musty and full of in- 

 sects. The period at which oats begin to degenerate depends 

 so much upon the manner in which they are harvested and 

 preserved, that the age alone affords no rule for rejecting them. 

 They can be kept in good condition for several years. 



Fumigated Oats are those which have been exposed to the 

 vapor of ignited sulphur. They are put through this process 

 to improve their color. A good deal of the sulphur adheres 

 to the husk of the oat, which is of a pretty color. A little 

 sulphur can not do the horse any harm, but light small oats 

 absorb a considerable quantity. The sulphur is easily de- 

 tected by rubbing the oats between the hands a little warmed. 

 When the sulphur is in large quantity, the horses refuse the 

 oats, or they do not feed heartily. I do not perceive that 

 fumigated oats are objectionable in other respects. 



Kiln-dried Oats are those which have been dried by the 

 application of fire. They are generally blamed for producing 

 diabetes ; but though this disease is common enough, it does 

 not appear wherever kiln-dried oats are used. In many parts 

 of Russia, oats and all other kinds of grain are kiln-dried in 

 the straw before they are stored. It is not likely that this 

 would be the case if it were so prejudicial to the oats as 

 many people imagine. Most of the kiln-dried oats which are 

 given to horses have been damaged before they were dried, 

 and I suspect that the injury received in harvesting or in 

 storing has more to do with diabetes than kiln-drying has. 



Bad Oats. — Some oats are light, containing little nutriment 

 in proportion to their bulk ; some contain much dust and 

 chaff, small stones, and earth ; these can hardly be called 

 good oats, yet there are others which are much worse. 

 Light, husky, and ill-cleaned oats may be sweet and whole- 

 some ; if they do little good they do no harm, but some oats 

 are positively injurious to the horse. They may please the 

 eye tolerably well, but they have a bad smell and a bitter 



