898 
G. E. GRIFFIN. 
gratified to see that everything had been cleaned up. (No, their 
teeth were not in poor condition ; we are positive of this, as we 
noted it on the record.) Strange to relate, these animals com¬ 
menced to pick up immediately, and within ten days they im¬ 
proved so wonderfully that their riders failed to recognize them. 
These horses did their usual troop work, which was light. After 
living a month on this ration they were as suddenly returned 
to their hay and oats. Both of them suffered with indigestion 
for several days, but otherwise the sudden change was not in¬ 
jurious. We were under the impression that we would certainly 
have some acute digestive disorder on the sudden change from 
dry to green feed and molasses, but none appeared that could be 
observed. We were not surprised at the indigestion on going 
back to the dry feed. 
All of the horses partaking of the molasses, including the 
four sick ones, improved in spirit, coat, condition, wind and 
flesh, and looked better than any of the other horses in the 
garrison. Remembering that they (the 8) accomplished con¬ 
siderably more work and under more unfavorable conditions 
apparently and that they probably received less grooming, the 
results as observed are certainly astonishing. 
We will not go into the relative nutritive qualities of foods, 
as we are positive very few of those who peruse this would 
care to read it, but I will remark that the grass raised on the 
island of Porto Rico is very innutritious, consisting of little 
but water and cellulose ; as a consequence the pastured cattle 
are large of abdomen and watery and stringy of muscle; the 
ox, which is the draft animal of the country, is fed the tops of 
the sugar cane and in many ways has his ration of the innutri¬ 
tious grasses added to. 
On ending the experiment the horses were gradually restored 
to their usual ration of twelve pounds of oats and fourteen 
pounds of hay daily, which they ate greedily. 
So much interest was shown in the experiment that not a 
single question was ever asked as to its results, or if molasses 
was of any value as a food for horses. As this is the first time 
