176 
ON THE USE OF SALT 
the nutritive quality of the hay and corn, but communicate de¬ 
leterious properties to them. By vegetating at the expense of 
the plant, they impoverish it, and by their presence render it 
irritating and injurious, capable of producing different diseases, 
depending on the state of the constitution; but, according to 
Professor Gohier, they usually commence by an irritation of the 
intestinal canal. The less of this fodder is given, the less is the 
evil produced; it is therefore true, that we may be permitted, 
when there is no other food, to diminish as much as possible 
the ration, and only to give those parts which are least dete¬ 
riorated. We should recommend that the mouldy hay and mil¬ 
dewy corn, or chaff, should be carefully shaken, and lightly 
beaten, to separate from them the deleterious poisons which 
they contain; they should then be sprinkled with salt water, to 
unfold the nutritive principles which remain. The quantity of 
salt recommended in a treatise, published in 1816, on occasion 
of the injury of the fodder during this rainy season, was rather 
more than an ounce and a half of salt dissolved in water, sprink¬ 
led over six pounds of hay. Thus prepared, the mouldy or mil¬ 
dewed fodder is certainly not more injurious than before it was 
sprinkled with the salt water. It has never been supposed that 
this proceeding can add to the irritation and inflammation which 
bad fodder would produce; because the natural stimulus pro¬ 
duced by a condiment which all animals seek, can never be con¬ 
founded with the irritating effect caused by substances which 
all animals refuse; and also because we have seen, that it is 
advisable to shake and beat the fodder as much as possible, to 
rid it of the mildew and mould. But we will not dissemble 
that an aliment like this can never become thoroughly wholesome. 
It is, doubtless, on account of this that the good effect of salt 
becomes problematical in the opinion of some persons, who 
conceive that the muriate of soda adds to rather than diminishes 
the evil. We are convinced that bad fodder cannot be made 
perfectly wholesome, and that by salting it we only expose our¬ 
selves to the risk of having that irritation attributed to the salt, 
which is caused by the fodder itself. 
We can, however, affirm, that salt is far more efficacious in 
preventing mildew than in remedying it. It should be used 
immediately after the hay is made, and at the time when it is 
stacked. The following illustrations, collected in different loca¬ 
lities, may possibly determine some farmers to salt their hay, 
when they think there is reason to fear that it may be mildewed. 
We shall report them in considerable detail. 
u Before the hay-harvest,” says M. Kausler, Protestant mi¬ 
nister at Oberroth, “ I took great care to carry all the hay 
