dicated for a few days, the teams were weighed once, and again after an interval of twenty-four hours:

The loss experienced here authorized me to conclude, that the allowance under the circumstances was not sufficient. The 30.8 lbs. of steamed potatoes could not have adequately replaced the 11 lbs. of hay; it would have been highly interesting to have ascertained how horses kept on the standard and usual allowance would have stood the same amount of fatigue. Unfortunately this comparison could not be made, all the horses in the stable having been put on the potato regimen at the same time. There is this much to be said for the particular course tried, however, that the animals did their work with great spirit, and continued in excellent health.

EXPERIMENT II.

INTRODUCTION OF JERUSALEM POTATOES INTO THE RATION.

Jerusalem potatoes are held excellent food for the horse; they are eaten greedily, and he thrives on them. In this second experiment, 30ths lbs. of Jerusalems cut into slices were substituted for 11 lbs. of hay, the same theoretical equivalents being assumed for them as for the common potato. The ration now consisted of:

Having been accustomed to this regimen for some days, the teams were weighed, and having gone on for eleven days they were weighed again :

No. 2.

Both teams. Means per horse.

3245

First weighing
Second weighing..

....

In 11 days....... gain 55 loss 33

gain 22 gain 0.9

A result which leads to the conclusion, that the equivalent assumed for the Jerusalem potato was correct; the animals had done their work, and gained, one with another, ths of a pound in weight.

9 10

EXPERIMENT III.

RATION OF HAY AND POTATOES.

Eleven pounds of hay, in the usual allowance, were replaced by 30.8 lbs. of potatoes; the whole of the oats and straw, by 15.4 lbs. of hay. These substitutions were made upon the supposition, that 100 of hay was equivalent to 280 of potatoes, to 50 of oats, and to 520 of straw. The ration, then, was composed as follows:

This was a ration which it was the more interesting to try, from the circumstance of Professor Liebig* having come to the conclu sion, from certain theoretical views, that it must be impossible to keep horses in health and strength upon hay and potatoes exclusively. The experiment was continued for a fortnight:

In one fortnight, consequently, the weight of eight horses had increased by an aggregate sum of 440 lbs., or 55 lbs. per head—an increase at the rate of, as nearly as possible, 3.9, say 4 lbs. per diem ; and allowing the greatest latitude for error, it seems that we cannot estimate the increase per head at less than 1.76, say 12 lbs. per diem. The condition of the horses was most satisfactory; the dejections were healthy in appearance; the only inconvenience observed was, the considerable bulk of the allowance, and the additional time which had to be given the teams to their meals. This inconvenience was particularly obvious in the case of the older horses. Besides the two experimental lots, other twelve horses were put upon the same regimen, and with the same good effects. The equivalents adopted in the composition of the ration, in this third experiment, may therefore be regarded with perfect confidence as suitable. Experience, indeed, would rather lead us to conclude, that the nutritive power of the potato had been estimated at somewhat too low a rate.

EXPERIMENT IV.

SUBSTITUTION OF OATS AND STRAW FOR A PORTION OF THE HAY. The ration here consisted of:

The horses, having been two days on this diet, were weighed. The experiment was continued for eleven days:

Under this regimen, consequently, the weight of the teams remained very nearly the same as it was before beginning the experiment; still there was something gained.

In conducting this experiment, we had an opportunity of observing how important it is to habituate the animals to their new regimen before weighing for the first time. Had this precaution been neglected, the result would have come out against the ration, for the animals were found, when first entered on it, to weigh together as many as 9372 lbs., and two days afterwards no more than 8933 lbs.,

* Agricultural chemistry.

which would have indicated a loss of 449 lbs. ; the difference being due, however, in great part, or entirely, to the less bulky or weighty food employed.

EXPERIMENT V.

POTATOES SUBSTITUTED FOR A PORTION OF THE HAY.

The ration made use of in the first experiment looks so well, in reference to economy of hay, and, indeed, answered so well under the peculiar circumstances in which it was tried, that I thought it would be advisable to try it again when the horses were doing ordinary work. The ration consisted of:

The first weighing took place after the horses had been over a week on the ration, and the experiment was continued for 63 days. In team No. 1, Braun, from indisposition, had been replaced by Rapp, a horse nine years old, and weighing 1157 lbs.:

In the course of two months, consequently, on a ration in which 11 lbs. of hay were replaced by 30.8 lbs. of dressed potatoes, the weight of the horses may be said to have been more than maintained. This experiment seems to show satisfactorily, that the equivalent of the potato cannot be far from the number 280.

EXPERIMENT VI.

JERUSALEM POTATO FOR A PORTION OF THE HAY.

The horses were brought back to the same conditions as in the second experiment, 30.8 lbs. of Jerusalems being substituted for 11 lbs. of hay. The team No. 2 was alone subjected to this experiment, being kept on it for 16 days, and first weighed after having had it for some time:

First weighing........ No. 2. 4395 lbs. Average weight per horse 1098.9 Second weighing..

In 16 days....

66

4396.7"

gain 1.7

1099.1

0.2

This result confirms that which was elicited by the second experiment.

EXPERIMENT VII.

INTRODUCTION OF FIELD-BEET, OR MANGEL-WURZEL, INTO THE

RATION.

Horses readily get accustomed to field-beet. The root is sliced, and mixed with chaff, (cut straw.) For 11 lbs. of hay, which I retrenched, I allowed 44 lbs. of beet; i. e. I took 400 as the equivalent number of the root. The ration consisted as under:

A horse, after having been kept on this diet for some time, was weighed; and the regimen having been continued for a fortnight, he was weighed again :

First weighing.
Second weighing.

1014.0 lbs. 1023.0 66

9.4 gain

This horse was all the while doing rather hard but very regular work; for eight hours every day he was in the shafts of a grinding mill. He did not alter in condition; the dejections were healthy.

During the winter of 1841-2, our cows ate a considerable proportion of our beet; and, as a substitute for the 33 lbs. of meadow-hay, which is their usual allowance, we gave 721 lbs. of beet. The ration then stood thus:

Hay
Beet.
Straw

Upon this regimen, the weight of the inmates of one of our stables

Increase due to births and to growth.

1837

It thus appears that, in foddering kine, the quantity of beet allowed with advantage may be large; but it is also obvious, that the nutritive value of the root is not great. At Bechelbronn, at all events, we found it requisite to replace 9 or 10 of hay by 40 of root. Our beet, it is true, contains but 12 per cent. of dry matter; in other places, where the proportion of dry substance to the water is larger, it is possible that a smaller proportion would be found to answer the end.

EXPERIMENT VIII.

INTRODUCTION OF THE SWEDISH TURNIP INTO THE RATION AND

REPLACING A PORTION OF THE HAY.

Swedish turnip, combined with some dry forage, answers excellently with the horse. Analysis, indicating 280 as the equivalent of this article, two horses were put upon the following ration, in which 11 lbs. of the usual allowance of hay were replaced by Swedish turnip :

...

Hay
Straw.
Oats
Swedes

11 lbs. ...5.5

..7.2

..30.8

It was obvious before the lapse of but a few days, that the horses were falling off upon this regimen, that they were not fed; and on weighing them, this plainly appeared:

The equivalent for the Swedish turnip adopted, had therefore been too high; the allowance was not sufficient. This led me to analyze the article again; and I discovered that the true equivalent of the sample with which I was operating, was at least 676, and not 280 as I had presumed before. Indeed, in another experiment with the same pair of horses where the equivalent of Swedish turnip was assumed at 400, I found that though the animals kept up their weight at the point to which it had fallen, they gained nothing; whence it may be safely inferred that the No. 400 was still too low, and that the new equivalent 676 is nearer the truth.

EXPERIMENT IX.

INTRODUCTION OF CARROTS INTO THE RATION.

Horses are extremely fond of carrots; and there is no root perhaps, the nutritious qualities of which have been more vaunted or exaggerated. Yet, analysis appears to indicate that 350 of carrot are required to replace 100 of good meadow-hay. On one occasion, in the stable at Bechelbronn, when the potato in one of our rations was replaced by an equal weight of carrots, the effect was highly disadvantageous; and even in following the theoretical equivalent of the carrot (350) we had still no reason to be perfectly satisfied. I now believe, in fact, that as many as 400 of carrots may be found requisite to replace 100 of good meadow-hay.

The carrot crop of 1841 having been a failure, I had to limit myself to observations made on a single horse, which was put upon a ration in which 11 lbs. of hay were replaced by 38.5 lbs. of carrots. The horse, habituated to this diet,

Nevertheless he remained in good condition, so that the equivalent 350 is probably not far from the truth. I ought to say, however, that the men think this number too low; an opinion in which they would be borne out, could we but be certain that the loss of weight of the horse just indicated was not accidental.

EXPERIMENT X.

BOILED RYE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR OATS.

It has been stated, that rye boiled till the grain bursts may be used as a substitute for an equal bulk of oats in the keep of a horse. The experiment which I made on the point is very far from bearing out any thing of the kind. By preliminary trials I had ascertained that rye of good quality swells to twice its former bulk by boiling. The two horses that were made the subjects of experiment now, had been kept for some time on a ration formed of:

For the oats, the same quantity by measure, 8.8 pints of boiled rye were substituted, containing 4.4 pints of raw grain, weighing 4.15 lbs. On the 11th day it was deemed prudent to interrupt the experiment, of which the following are the results :