Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1869-11-26
Furious Kinds OF Food for stock.


Furious Kinds OF Food for stock.
Il is customary, in some stables, to
feed horses and COWS AL the year round
on what is turned cut feed composed OF
eut hav. ine meal. shorts, small quantity
Of salt and considerable water; the whole
being mixed together, j. served out. dd
1iiits1n. This kind of feed might (and
sometimes does) agree with animals, but
it Is not light to feed Them year after year
on the same. Tor the reason Just set fort n.
Another reason Tor obiecting to this food
i, that in the stables alluded TO, we hear
of greatmany cases of tympanitis ana
fatulent colo diseases somewhat identl-
cali. arising. no doubt, from the presence
of - large a quantity OF water as some
persons are in the habit OF using it satu-
rates the food and retards digestion. Not
only ,hi>. but when dry TODD, highly
charged with water. enters the stomach.
the temperature of the later causes the
food 10 swell. increase in bulk and dis
tend that organ. and also tavors fermen-
tation instead of digestion; hence arises
fatulcncy.
| d not. however, mean 10 contend
that such food is at all times the direct
cause of Indigestion, collie, &C., because
many stablerS are ready to testify they
have fc1 the same for many years with
on, any apparent inconvenience TO their
horses but | contend that il acts indi-
rect!y in the manner alluded to; and al
though some horses may get used TO 1t,
and others. having wonderful digestive
organs, assimila,e it, yctthc day ofrcckon
ing may not be tar of
contend that water taken with food
ALWAYS retsrds digestion. The proper
solvent, of the food are the gastric fluids,
and the COW has abundant facilities for
supplying the requisite quantity. An
ordinary COW Is said To Secrete, while
feeding. fluid. or salivial and gastric
characters. at the rate of one gallon per
hour.-cnough We should Judge, to satu-
rate common meal,-thcretore the wa
ter i not needed. urge no objection
against the more rational custom ofmcre-
IL sprinkling the TODD with sailed water,
in view OF absorbing dust which often
alouuds in inferior hay; but seriously
object to the above hydropathic method
OF preparing food,
From experiments made on the human
subject, it has been aSccrtaiued that pars-
ujp~, carrots. lurnipS and cabbage, which
contain nom - 10 90 per cent, Of water,
require over twice ~ much time to digest
as solid fooddoes. Cabbage forexample
requires twenty, and broiled bccfstcak
only eight hours 20 digest.
Turn cow in luNuriaut pasture of
grass or clover, and after par,aking of
one or the other, she j. liable to become
blown or ho,en"-'ympauitic the alb
domeu becomes distcnded with gas
either carbouic acid gas or sulphurette
hvdrogeu-and unless the same be con-
deuscl or evacuated. rupture and death
are sure 10 follow. This imporfec, di-
gestiuu and consequent generation of gas
j. due to the presence of vegetable fluids
f. NJ ia green fodder. Therefore, ami
mails having weak digestive organs-pre-
disposed 70 flatulcncy->hould have the
privilege of watering their own food with
saliyial fluid.
The best diet for such an animal would
bc dry feed, composed of ground oats.
cracked corn, fine feed, and 4 small guam
tity of sweet hay On the other hand,
a con>tipated state OF the bowels always
indicates coarse food and in this view
the English use chopped straw and coarse
bran with decided advantage. Animals
should never be watered Immediately be-
fore, nor after, meals, but after the lapse
of an hour from feeding time is the best.
DR. Dadd