THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



199 



of superficial observers, who do not mark the 

 distinction between the appearance of a fat 

 and a muscular animal ; who conceive, so that 

 the bones are covered and the points are 

 rounded, all that is requisite has been at- 

 tained. But that is a very fallacious impres- 

 sion. Let any person who is sceptical on this 

 point ride a horse in the summer which has 

 just been taken out of a grass field, along with 

 another kept on hay and corn, at the moderate 

 rate of seven or eight miles in the hour ; the 

 grass-fed horse will sweat profusely, while the 

 other will be perfectly cool and dry. This 

 proves that the system, of the one eating grass 

 over-abounds with fat and those portions of 

 the blood which are destined to form that 

 deposit. 



Those who advocate grazing will no doubt 

 exclaim, " Oh ! this is a test of condition 

 which is not required in young and growing 

 animals." I beg to state that it is highly im- 

 portant if the acme of condition is to j)e at- 

 tained by animals of mature age, that the 

 growth and gradual development of their 

 frames should be composed of those^ healthy 

 and vigorous elements upon which the struc- 

 ture of future condition can be raised. Ani- 

 mal substances are to a very great extent 

 subservient to the nature and quality of the 

 food with which the individuals are nourished. 

 I believe farmers would find it much to their 

 advantage if they were to consider this sub- 

 ject with reference to feeding cattle and sheep, 

 so that they might select those kinds of food 

 which abound with properties more conducive 

 to flesh than fat. There is no kind of food 

 whioh the horse consumes which has not a 

 tendency to deposit fat. It is a substance 

 which must exist to a certain extent : but as 

 it is muscular power, not a disposition to adi- 

 pose rotundity, which enhances the value of 

 the animal, the reasons are obvious what 

 guide should be taken in the selection of 

 food. 



I have on a former occasion hinted the pro- 

 priety of bruising the oats, and I will now 

 state my reasons for doing so. The first I 

 will mention is economy. Three bushels of 

 oats which have undergone that process are 

 equivalent to four which have not, and the 

 animals which consume them derive greater 

 benefit. Various schemes are adopted to in- 

 duce horses to masticate their corn, all of 

 which are ineffectual. Scattering them thinly 

 over the surface of a spacious manger, mixing 

 a bandfui of cut hay or straw with each feed, 

 antl such like devices, will not cajole the ani- 

 mal to the performance of mastication, A 

 horse that is disposed to colt his com, how- 



ever carefully it may be spread along Ms 



manger, will scon learn to drive it into a heap" 

 with his nose, and collect as much with hil 

 lips as he thinks fit before he begins to masti- 

 cate. "Whatever food, enters ihe stomach of 

 any animal, and passes away in an undigested 

 form, may be considered as so much dross or 

 extraneous matter, which, not having afforded 

 nourishment, is prejudicial to the creature 

 which consumed it. A mistaken notion of 

 economy is often the incentive to turning 

 horses out in summer, to be entirely depen- 

 dent upon grass for their support A few re - 

 marks will surely dispel that error, Twenty' 

 two bushels of oats — allowing one bushel per 

 week from the 15th of May to the 16th of 

 October — may be as the produce of half arj 

 acre of land, and half a ton of hay that pi 

 another half acre, although a ton and a half 

 per acre is not more than an average orop, 

 It requires at least an acre of grass land to 

 support a horse during the period above 

 named. — Mark Lane Express, 



MANAGEMENT OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



BY AN EXTENSIVE PRACTITIONER. 



Greenhouse plants should never be supplied 

 with much water in wet or frosty weather, anal 

 none unless the soil in the pots becomes dry 

 This rule must be particularly attended to, 

 from the beginning of November till the e»A 

 of February. 



In March, the plants may be occasion' 

 ally syringed overhead to clean and refresh the 

 leaves, but always select fine days for the pu 1 ^ 

 pose ; and let this, as well as the general wa- 

 terings, be done in the morning, from the mid-- 

 die of September to the beginning of M%y } 

 and at all other times in the evenings! 



As the season advances, and the weather 

 becomes milder, increase the quantity of ai*,. 

 until, by the middle of May, a large portico 

 of air may be left on all night, except in case 

 of severe frost. And this rule of admitting 

 air must be attended to throughout the winter 

 at every convenient opportunity * but alwayb 

 make a practice of shutting up early in the 

 afternoon. 



Always keep the plants clean, and periecLlj 

 free from dead leaves and weeds ; this mmst b* 

 particularly attended to in the winter season* 



About the beginning of March repot all tin 

 plants that require it, and top-dress the re- 

 mainder with good fresh soil. Some free-grow- 

 ing kinds may require potting two or three 

 times in the course of the summer, but tile 

 last potting should never be later than the' mid- 

 dle of September. 



