the first of these causes the horse must never be allowed to fast for any long period, if it can possibly be avoided, it being found from experience that at the end of four hours his stomach is empty, and the whole frame becomes exhausted, while the appetite is frequently so impaired if he is kept fasting for a longer period, that when food is presented to him it will not

be taken.

Previously to the introduction of railroads, harness horses were often required to do long distances in the day, and it was found that if the whole journey must be performed without stopping to bait, it exhausted the horse less to increase the pace up to nine or ten miles an hour than to dawdle over the ground on an empty stomach. If two horses are driven or ridnen fifty or sixty miles under similar conditions as to the weight they have to draw or carry, and the one is taken at the rate of six miles an hour, which will keep him fasting from eight and a half to ten hours, according to the distance, while the other has traveled fast enough to do it in six or seven hours, the latter will be less exhausted than the former, though even he would be all the better for a feed in the middle of the journey, the time devoted to this act being easily picked up by the increased energy which would be given by the corn. No horseman of experience is ignorant of these facts, and after a long day the hunting man who knows what he is about, will always be seen on the lookout for a feed of corn or a pint of oatmeal for his hunter, before he attends to his own wants.

The human stomach will bear hunger far better than that of the horse, and if the rider feels his appetite pretty keen, he may be satisfied that the animal which carries him is still more in want of food. The kind of work which the horse is intended for affects not only the quantity of food required, but also its quality. Thus very fast work, as in racing and. hunting, strains the muscular system as well as the heart and lungs to the utmost, and therefore the food which is best fitted for the development of the former to the highest degree, consists of those kinds which present the elements contained in the muscular tissue in the largest proportions consistent with the due performance of the digestive powers. These are found in oats and beans. But nature herself teaches every animal instinctively to keep within such limits as are safe, and hence it is found that though every horse will greedily devour a peck or a peck and a half of corn daily, yet he will not go beyond this quantity, even though it is not sufficient for his wants, and in spite of his being deprived of every other kind of food. The demands of his muscular system are supplied by the corn, but there are cer tain saline matters in hay which are not found in the former, and being necessary for the performance of several important functions, the stomach receives its warning through the appetite, and no more corn is received

into it. On the other hand, the hard-worked horse, fed on hay alone, craves for corn, and will greedily devour almost any quantity put into his manger until he upsets his digestive powers, when the appetite for it ceases. It is found by experience that a certain proportion of hay and corn is best adapted to each horse according to the work he has to do, and his own particular constitution; so that in laying down rules for feeding, it is necessary first of all to ascertain what demands will be likely to be made upon the system. Few owners of carriage horses would like to see them driven to the door with their muscles showing the lines between them, as they ought to do in a race-horse when fit to run. Such a state of high training as will put the latter in condition would be impracticable for the former without wearing his legs out, and not only destroying his rounded and level appearance, but taking away the air of high spirit and life which tends so much to gratify the eye. Hence the feeding suited to give the one nothing but muscle is not fitted for the other, who must have more hay and less oats, as well as less work. So also in deciding upon the proportion, if any, of oats and beans, regard must be had to the amount of work which is demanded; for there can be no doubt that while admitting the good effects of beans in large quantities upon the severely tried cab or omnibus horse, they are injurious to the carriage horse, whose blood soon becomes heated under their constant use. Lastly, the peculiar constitution of each horse must be studied before it can be known whether the average quantity and quality of food which will suit the majority of horses doing the same kind of work, will be enough or too much for him. Some washy animals pass their food through them so quickly that they do not absorb from it onehalf of the nutritive elements contained in it. These must be fed largely if they are kept at work, and those articles of food must be selected for them which have a tendency rather to confine the bowels than to relax them. Independently of this extreme case, it never can with certainty be pronounced beforehand what amount of food will keep an untried horse in condition; but in a large stable an average can easily be struck, and it is this quantity alone which can be estimated here. In the following pages, therefore, I shall give a description of the several alimentary wants of the horse, and then show in what proportions they are found in the varieties of keep which have already been described, so as to enable the horse master to make his selection according to circumstances.

All these substances are found in the blood, but the composition of this fluid does not enlighten us as to the wants of the system, because it is continually receiving and giving off its various elements. The blood of a horse fed on highly nitrogenized food, does not differ on analysis from that of another which has been kept on the opposite kind of diet. Physio

logical research, however, tells us that muscle is chiefly composed of fibrin, and that every time a bundle of its fibres contract, a certain expenditure of this material is made, calling for a corresponding supply from the blood, which cannot be afforded unless the food contains it. Hence the badly fed horse, if worked, soon loses his flesh, and not only becomes free from fat, but also presents a contracted condition of all his muscles. And this science is confirmed by every day experience, and the fact is generally admitted that to increase the muscular powers of a horse, he must have a sufficient supply of nitrogenized food.

As I have remarked above, the nutrition of muscle requires fibrin, but in addition the brain and nerves must be supplied with fatty matter-phosphorus and albumen. The bones demand gelatine and earthy salts, and the maintenance of heat cannot be effected without carbon in some shape or other. But it is chiefly with nitrogenized food that we have to deal in considering the present question, there being plenty of the other substances I have mentioned in all the varieties of food which are not largely composed of fibrin. It may therefore be taken for granted that the hardly worked horse requires oats or beans, or both mixed together in varying proportions, together with such an amount of hay as will supply him with the starch, gum, sugar, fat and saline matters, which his system requires, while on the other hand, the idle animal does not use his muscular system to any extent, and therefore does not require much or any oats or beans. The following table exhibits the proportions of these various elements in the several kinds of horse food most frequently used in this country:

RACE HORSES are fed upon the best upland hay, of which about six to eight pounds are given to each, on the average, daily, and from fifteen to twenty pounds of the best oats; in some cases beans being substituted for

an equal weight of the latter. The quantity of hay varies according to the constitution, grass feeders being allowed less, and delicate, light carcassed horses more than the above. The limit to the oats is the appetite, the trainer taking care not quite to satisfy the horses, which would pro

duce satiety and disgust, but giving him as much of this food as he can without this effect. One-third of the hay is given in the morning, after exercise, and the remainder at night. The oats are divided into four feeds, one being given the first thing in the morning, the next on coming in from exercise, the third at four o'clock in the afternoon, and the last at seven or eight in the evening, when the stable is closed for the night. Very little water is allowed in the morning, two or three "godowns" being all that is usually given, about half a bucket full on coming in from exercise, after the horse is dressed and fed, the same quantity in the afternoon, and a full allowance at night. Once a week, if required by the state of the bowels, a bran wash is given, but this is omitted when the time of trial is approaching.

The HUNTER is fed in nearly the same way as the race horse, the chief difference being that a little more hay is allowed, and consequently less corn. Few hunters get more than five or six quarterns of oats, and, indeed, there are not many which will eat more; for, in order that the appetite for this kind of food shall be as highly developed as in the race horse, the animal must have been reared on oats from the earliest period, which few hunters but those bred for the race-course have been. The allowance, therefore, is generally about ten pounds of hay, and five or six quarterns of oats, or five quarterns of oats and half a quartern of beans. The hay and corn are given at the same times as in the racing stable, and the water also in the same proportions. Gruel is given when the hunter comes home after a hard day, as it restores the tone of the stomach, after long fasting, better than oats, which, moreover, the exhausted horse generally refuses, till he has had something to give his stomach a fillip. A bran mash should be given once a week, or every ten days, unless there is a tendency to purge, when, of course, it is not wanted. No change of food is required during the hunting season, but after this is over, it is necessary to decide whether the hunter shall be turned out for the summer, or soiled in-doors. The advocates of the two precedings are warm in support of their several opinions, which will be treated of hereafter under the head of summering. HACKS require from three quarterns to a peck of oats, and ten to twelve pounds of hay daily. The latter is given in two portions, one at night and the other in the morning, the former being divided into four feeds, which are put into the manger at six or seven A. M., ten A. M., four P. M., and seven or eight P. M.

In most stables some of the hay is cut up with an equal quantity of straw, into chaff, and of this about a peck a day is given with the corn, the object being to induce the horse to masticate it thoroughly. The plan is so generally adopted now that I need not insist upon its advantages, which may be accepted as indisputable. If these horses are much exposed to the weather during the winter and early spring, a few beans in place of some of the oats may be used with decided benefit, especially if they have been accustomed to them in previous seasons. It must always be remembered, however, that they have a tendency to produce inflammation, especially in the feet and eyes; and, therefore, in those animals which have a weakness in either of the organs named, beans should be carefully avoided. Generally speaking, hacks are of small size, and they do not, therefore, require more than an average allowance of food, on which footing I have calculated their hay and corn; but if it so happens that any of my readers have a hack of full size, he must make allowance accordingly. These horses are now very commonly allowed a water tank, constantly supplied with water, and in that case there is no necessity for doing more than to see that it is daily cleansed, and that the ball-cock acts properly. When they are watered from the bucket, the groom generally gives it them in moderate quantity early in the morning and in the afternoon feed, finishing with a full allowance at night. HARNESS HORSES are fed much in the same way as hacks, but if they are used for a close carriage, and are of full size, they must have more hay than I have named, by fully a quarter of a hundred weight weekly. PONIES may be kept with very little corn, one or two quarterns a day, according to size, being all that is generally allowed. They will eat from sixty pounds to seventy-five pounds of hay weekly, and they are as much benefitted by chaff as larger horses. FARM HORSES are treated very differently in different localities, independently of the various fancies indulged in by individuals; their work also being subject to great changes, according to the seasons, it is necessary to apportion their food in the same ratio. Again, it happens sometimes that oats or beans are scarce and dear, and the farmer, if he grows them, will be inclined to sell them and use some cheaper kind of food for his horses, or, if he has to buy, he will still more carefully look out for a substitute at a lower price. The following are the most usual modes of feeding these horses, as far as I have been able to ascertain: