36 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA 



them, parsnii:^s. Swedes may also be given. Horses in 

 South Africa often gQt ;pum'p'kins as "green meat." Other 

 roots may be given, in a boiled state, to animals used 

 for slow draught. 



"Carrots also improve the state of the skin. They 

 form a good substitute for grass, and an excellent 

 alterative for horses out of condition. To sick and idle 

 horses they render corn unnecessary. They are beneficial 

 in all chronic diseases of the organs connected with 

 breathing, and have a marked influence upon chronic 

 cough and broken wind. They are serviceable in diseases 

 of the skin. In combination with oats, they restore a 

 worn-out horse much sooner than oats alone." {Stewart) 



Dr. Voelcker points out, that the nutritive value of 

 different root-crops depends largely upon their state of 

 maturity ; that unripe roots are not alone poor in sugar — 

 hence their decreased value — but also contain a number 

 of organic acids (notably oxalic acid), and imperfectly 

 elaborated nitrogenous substances, which appear to be 

 the cause of their unwholesomeness ; that the leaves of 

 their roots contain a far larger proportion of oxalic acid 

 than does the root itself — hence, the scouring effect 

 produced when the leaves are given — and that moderate- 

 sized and well-matured roots are far more wholesome than 

 monster ones. 



Grass and Hay. — I am convinced, from long experi- 

 ence, that the maintenance of good condition in the horse 

 is much more dependent on the proper supply of grass 

 than on that of corn. 



The following are the best Indian grasses : — 



Dooh {Cynodon dactylon), called Jmrrycdee in Madras, 



