378 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



relative value of cut and uncut hay, as well as ground 

 and unground grain. To this end, 3,000 horses were fed 

 ground oats, cut hay, and straw; and 3,000 were fed upon 

 uncut hay and unground oats. The allowance to the first 

 was ground oats, 16 Ibs.; cut hay, 1% Ibs.; cut straw, 2K 

 Ibs. To the second was allowed ungrouud oats, 19 Ibs.; 

 uncut hay, 13 Ibs. The horses which had 26 Ibs. of ground 

 oats, cut straw, and hay, did the same work as well, and 

 kept in as good condition, as those that had 32 Ibs. of 

 unground oats and uncut hay. This was a saving of 6 Ibs. 

 per day on the feed of each horse, and was estimated at 

 5 cents per day, per horse, or $300 per day upon the 6,000 

 horses. This was demonstrating the economy of machinery 

 over horse muscle in the mastication of food. These 

 figures have a significance that would not attach to an 

 experiment with a few horses. The result of a ration 

 applied to 3,000 horses must be accepted as an unques- 

 tionable fact. In this it is a great contrast to the German 

 experiments upon a single animal. The real advantage 

 was not all in saving animal muscle in cutting and grind- 

 ing; but the grinding reduced the grain to finer particles 

 than the horse would masticate it; and, besides this, it 

 assisted the hard-worked animal in eating its meals in so 

 much less time ; and this, giving so much more time to 

 rest, would have a favorable effect upon its condition. 



The ration of thousands of horses on street railroads in 

 this country has, finally, been fixed upon the same princi- 

 ples. The ration for summer is half oats and half corn, 

 ground together, 16 Ibs. to each horse, with 12 Ibs. of 

 cut hay. In winter, 16 Ibs. of corn-meal, with the same 

 amount of hay, forms the ration. Corn-meal alone, in 

 summer is too heating; but, in winter, the corn-meal 

 seems well adapted to keeping up animal heat and con- 

 dition, and, being cheaper than oats, is generally adopted 

 in New York City; but in many other cities half oats is 



