The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-01-10


hay being just moistened so that the
meal will adhere to it. This mixes the
concentrated with the bulky food, and
the hay separates the particles of meal
so as to render the mixture porous, and
the gastric juice now circulates freely
through the mass and operates npon the
whole contents of the stomach at once.
The best way to use corn-meal, as a sim
gle grain food, is to mix it with moist
ened clover hay. If the clover is of good
quality, it contains larger percentage
of albuminoids (muscle-forming food)
than corn-meal, and thus helps to bal
ance the constituents.
But one of the best rations for work
horses is corn, oats and flaxseed, ground
together corn and oats in equal
weight, and to 10 bushels of the mixture
of corn and oats add one bushel of flax
seed, and grind fine all together. The
corn and oats make well balanced ra-
ton, and the faxseed is rich in oil, mus
cle-forming and BODYBUILDING elements;
but its oil is its greatest sanitary ele-
ment. This small proportion of oil is
just sufficient to keep the bowels in ex-
cellent condition, the coat sleek, and
every portion of the system in well bal
anced activity. And then by feeding
this ground mixture with twice its bulk
of moistened cut hay, you have as per-
feet ration for work horses as can be
compounded. All regular grist-mills now
have an apparatus for mixing different
grains together, so that the farmer has
only to carry the oats, corn or flaxseed,
in proper quantity to mill, and they will
all be mixed without hand labor. If the
farmer has no straw-cutter, he may use
oat or wheat chaff to mix with the meal
to render it porous.
In wintering horses that are doing
but little work, straw may be fed with
the last ration and the horses viii do
well. From eight to ten pounds of
this meal to each horse daily, will bring
them through finely, even on good
straw. When oats are too expensive,
corn-meal and wheat-bran mixed in
equal weights, with one pint of oil-meal
to each horse, will give good result.
If hay is scarce, two pounds of decor
ticated cotton-seed meal, four pounds of
corn-meal, four pounds of bran and
straw will winter horses well. If the
farmer has clover-hay and straw, these
should be mixed ogether-better if both
be cut before mixing, but they may be
mixed in the manger without cutting.
The first winter is trying time to
the weanling colt. If the dam was a
large mixer and it had abundant nutri-
ment, grew finely till weaned, and was
then made dependent on grass, it has
had setback before cold weather
came And if it is still to be dependent
upon hay and straw for growth through
the winter, it will be but little heavier
in spring than when weaned. 1t is food
only that develops young animals, and
a good digestion is all important. If a
colt has been fed well before weaving,
and after weaving has had deficient
nourishment, this has not only checked
its growth but commenced contracting
its powers of digestion, and will soon
incapacitate it for digesting sufficient
food to make vigorous and rapid
growth. Many a fine horse has been
spoiled in the defective growth of the
colt. But the food given to the wean-
ling should be appropriate for the devel-
opment of frame and muscle. Such
food as will produce fat rather than
muscle can not be too strongly con-
demned. No corn meal should be given
to the young colt.
If the colt is in the poorly nourished
condition l have been describing, the
best chance of recovery is with the milk
ration. The colt may be taught to take
fresh, warm milk, and when it has
learned to take this, skim milk may
gradually be substituted. Even sour
milk will generally be taken greedily
but in the winter skinned milk need
not be sour. This milk contains SO
large a proportion of casein, or muscle
forming food, and phosphate of lime,
that it is exactly adapted to the growth
of muscle and bone. l once saved, by
the use of sour milk, very likely colt
that had got extremely poor by bad
management, and it afterward made a
fine growth. Cows milk will do what
no other food can for a stunted colt
The best grain ration for a colt is one &c
two quarts of oats with pint of OF
meal twice per day. This and good hay
will keep colt in fine condition through
the first winter. Although the col
should be well sheltered in a good sta
BILE, vet it should have an opportunit,
for exercise every day.-Rural Neu
Yorker.