Suggestions for Stock-feeding in the Winter of 1893-94. 477 
thirty to forty years, he ancl his father before him have been 
horse-keepers in London, and, like many others similarly 
situated, have aimed at securing efficiency with economy in the 
feeding of hay and corn, which are serious items of w r orking 
expenses in the metropolis. One leading result of accumulated 
experience is this: Mr. Johnson’s horses eat no hay whatever, 
as such — that is, they receive no hay at all, save in the form of 
chaff that is mixed with the com. To some men this will be a 
revelation, for hay in racks has been commonly considered a 
sine qud non for horses that are stable-kept. Mr. Johnson, 
however, assures me that the system of feeding his horses which 
he has now arrived at is better than any other he has tried, 
that his horses work well and are always in good condition, and 
that virtually no need is found for medicines. The only litter 
is sawdust, at 4 d. a sack. 
The corn used is Russian oats, the average cost of which for 
a year past was 17s. Id. per quarter of 304 lb. These oats are 
lighter than ours, with a larger proportion of fibrous husk, and 
weigh 38 lb. per bushel. No fixed quantity per horse is laid 
down as a regulation for the grooms, but the average consump- 
tion has been 15§ lb. per horse per day. Bran is used as 
well, but not to any great extent ; the quantity so far, though 
used for the most part all the year round, has been only about 
one-third of a lb. per horse per day. The current price of it is 
a trifle under 5 1. per ton, and as hay is at least fifty per cent, 
higher in price per ton, more of the bran and less of the hay 
will now be used. Formerly the oats were macerated in water 
for a day or so before feeding them, but this practice has been 
discontinued, and they are fed in a dry and also in an uncrushed 
state, mixed with hay-chaff and a modicum of bran. The 
amount of hay used — all of it in the form of chaff — averages 
about 34 lb. per horse per day, or half a ton per horse per 
annum — a remarkably small quantity, as will be readily 
admitted — and the mixture of chaff, oats, and bran is not even 
damped when fed. That the oats should be crushed in a mill 
would seem to be a reform required in the modus operandi of 
this simple and economical dietary. No other kind of corn but 
oats and bran is used : in summer, however, the dietary includes 
a liberal supply of green food, and in winter of kohl rabi and 
carrots. The roots and greenstuff are, of course, an addition of 
very considerable importance, in reference not only to economy, 
but to the health and comfort of the horses. 
The chief lesson taught by this instance of horse-feeding is the 
broad fact that hay, as such, is not indispensable by any means 
to the extent we have been in the habit of thinking, and that 
