264 



VETERINAKY HYGIENE 



Parsnips are said to be good feeding for both store and 

 fattening cattle, in fact some have considered them equal 

 to oil cake, but the palate soon tires of them. 



Potatoes are frequently used for feeding, either cooked or 

 simply cut. In the raw state they produce purging, and 

 in the horse colic, while it is even said enteritis may be 

 cause'd, but this can only occur in the event of some 

 poisonous substance being formed in potatoes which have 

 been damaged. Cooking no doubt destroys the indigestible 

 properties of potatoes, but excepting for slow worked farm 

 horses they are not recommended as a diet. Cooking has 

 no influence in destroying the poison formed in damaged 

 potatoes (see p. 194). 



Even with cattle the effects of potatoes have to be 

 watched as they are liable to disagree. Cattle may receive 

 one or two bushels of steamed potatoes daily mixed with 

 their hay. 



The following table from Wolff gives the chemical 

 composition of the various ' roots ' : 



PREPAEATION OF FOOD. 

 Chaff. 



The use of chaff has more than once been alluded to in 

 these pages, especially its economical value. It is no 

 exaggeration to say that large commercial firms in the 

 United Kingdom must save many thousands of pounds 

 annually by its use, and their horses are better and more 

 rationally fed. 



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