LECTURE ON THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 
655 
entirely upon barley meal, made thick, is founded on a fallacy. I 
question whether they would not get quite as fat upon a mixture of 
barley meal with pollard. I am not sure whether this point has been 
sufficiently tested to warrant me in laying down a positive axiom, 
but the matter is certainly worthy of consideration. At all events, 
attention must be given to the quantity as well as quality of food. 
Animals will get fat upon straw, though it contain but a small 
quantity of nourishment. Feed a horse upon oats alone and he 
will become emaciated ; give him plenty of straw, and he will get 
fat. This arises from the circumstance that in the one case there 
is, and in the other there is not, a sufficient bulk for the digestive 
organs to act upon. Hence arises the fact, that all animals appear 
to get fatter on green food than on dry : it is merely because there 
is in the former case a greater bulk than in the latter. With 
regard to the steaming of food, that practice appears to have been 
growing of late — and I think justly — into favour. A striking fact 
in connexion with that subject has come to my knowledge. A 
quantity of vetch hay which was very musty, as such hay often is, 
had been got together, and several stock horses were fed upon it. 
The result w’as, that the animals became very thin. It was sug- 
gested that the same hay should be steamed ; the suggestion was 
acted upon, and then the animals got into good condition. I am 
disposed to think that by this means a great deal of indifferent food 
might be made much more beneficial. The cooking of food is a 
very important point in consideration of this subject, and a given 
quantity of vegetable matter in a steamed form will produce much 
better results than in the raw form. How far the extra expense 
would j ustify the carrying out of such a practice on a large scale is 
another question. Probably the general adoption of the practice of 
cooking will be the termination of discussion on this subject, but our 
progress will be slow towards such a result. In years of scarcity 
in the north, fine sawdust is frequently mixed with the food of 
horses, and also the inner part of the bark of the pine. This is 
merely given for the purpose of distending the stomach. The 
quality of water has great influence upon the condition of animals. 
Animals frequently have what appears to be good water, when, in 
fact, they are loath to it, and bloody urine sometimes arises from 
the use of it. As many evils arise from bad water as from scarcity : 
I have seen fearful consequences proceeding from that cause. 
Now, these various points, gentlemen, must be looked at as a 
whole, before we can arrive at any correct general conclusion. 
Without recapitulation, let me say that the most desirable way of 
meeting the evils that exist is to endeavour to get rid of their 
causes ; first, by the more perfect cleansing of the stables, build- 
ings, and sheds ; and, secondly, by the draining of the yards. This 
