FOOD FOE HOUSES. 371 



and acquire strength and endurance by exercise. These 

 tender things will of course only lay the foundation for this 

 development of muscle at this early age. This playful 

 exercise consumes food which must be supplied with a lib- 

 eral hand, for this exercise is necessary to the value of the 

 future horse. The young eagle takes frequent short circles 

 around its home-nest, preparatory to those longer flights 

 with pinions nerved against the fierce, rude blasts over 

 mountain and valley. Nature's process of educating colt 

 and eaglet is very similar. Muscular development, great 

 endurance come of frequent exercise. The foal is allowed 

 to travel a few miles with the dam each day, after a month 

 or two old, to give gentle exercise. In all cases care is 

 taken not to heat the blood of the dam, and the moderate 

 exercise of the foal in following her is a benefit. 



FOOD FOR HORSES. 



The horse is one of the most important of our domestic 

 animals, being the principal draft animal on the farm, in 

 cities, for commercial transshipment, and upon public roads. 

 We have twelve millions of horses to feed and care for ; and 

 a knowledge of all the economies in their maintenance is of 

 the highest consideration. Unfortunately, science has not 

 made many accurate experiments t% determine the proper 

 feeding standards for horses under the various purposes for 

 which they are kept. 



Youatt gives the proportion of the ration usually em- 

 ployed in England for agricultural cart-horses as 8 pounds 

 of oats and 2 of beans, added to 20 pounds of chaff ; and 

 then 34 or 36 pounds of the mixture is given as a day's 

 ration to moderate-sized horses (probably of about 1,400 

 pounds' weight), on hard work. This chaff is hay and 

 straw half and half cut together. And in this case they 

 give no long hay at night. This observing author says of 

 this mixed feed (grain and chaff together) : " By this 



