FEEDING 207 



vations have included some sixteen thousand horses 

 belonging to the omnibus company, about seventeen 

 thousand army horses, and one thousand horses used 

 for heavy freighting. In summing up his conclusions 

 on the use of corn, the following should have the effect 

 of dispelling whatever prejudice may exist against the 

 use of this feed for all classes of horses.* 



"Our first experiments were made with Indian corn. They 

 were undertaken with all kinds of horses and gave most satis- 

 factory results. The Campagnie trenerale des voitures and the 

 Campagnie generale des omnibus began about 1870 to feed 

 Indian corn, and the results were so satisfactory that since 

 that time the first named company has almost entirely ceased 

 to feed oats. The latter company has continued to feed both 

 oats and corn, effecting a saving of from one million to one 

 and one-half million francs a year. In view of these facts, the 

 opponents of corn have been forced to admit that it is a suita- 

 ble feed for draft horses. They have insisted, however, that 

 since it does not contain the so-called stimulating principle 

 'avenine' it should not be used for saddle horses and others 

 where speed is required. Examples of the successful use of 

 corn were cited in the author's earlier publications. The 

 horses of the French expedition in Mexico were fed exclu- 

 sively on corn. Our recent experiments on cavalry and artil- 

 lery horses have shown that Indian corn may generally replace 

 oats without in any way causing the horses to deteriorate. 

 The horses fed the corn ration were used the same number of 

 hours in the military drill and in the maneuvers, and were 

 ridden at the same gait as those fed exclusively on oats, and it 

 was practically impossible to perceive the least difference 

 between the two classes. The army officers, prejudiced as 

 they naturally were, were forced to admit that all the horses 

 showed the same energy and vigor. A careful record showed 

 that the sickness and mortality were the same with horses on 

 the two rations. 



"Corn and oats are quite similar in composition. In ex- 

 periments made at the laboratory of the Campagnie generale 

 des omnibus in co-operation with Muntz, the author found 

 very high coefficients of digestibility for corn, as shown by the 

 following results: Protein 86.1, fat 93.9, sugar and starch 100, 

 crude fiber 82.8, saccharifiable fiber 86.9, undetermined sub- 

 stances 85.2 per cent. These coefficients show that the nutritive 

 ingredients of corn are much more assimilable than has been 

 generally believed in Europe. As regards physical character, 



•Experiment station record, Volume XII, Page 14. 



