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: Plan 1.-Adopted throughout the Midland counties. Weekly allowance per horse in November, December and January— 12 bushel of oats, 1 peck of beans, and 1 cwt. of hay, costing for three months. Ditto through February, March and April 2 bushels of oats, 1 peck of beans, and 1 cwt. of hay, costing....... Ditto May, June and July 3 pecks of oats, 1 peck of beans, and vetches or lucerne, costing Ditto in August, September and October 1 bushel of oats, bushel of beans, clover, pea straw, &c., costing.... Total yearly cost.... In districts where oats are scarce, bran or pollard is mixed with beans, and given as follows: Weekly allowance in the autumn quarter 13 bushel of oats, 2 pecks of split beans, and 1 cwt. of hay, costing for three months... Ditto in the winter quarter £ s. d. 710 0 21 bushels of oats, 2 pecks of split beans, 56 pounds of swedes, and barley or pea straw, costing for the three months..... 510 O Ditto in the spring quarter 710 O 500 Total yearly cost..... 25 10 0 2 bushels of pollard, 2 pecks of split beans, and 1 cwt. of hay, costing.. Ditto in the summer quarter 2 bushels of bran, 1 peck of split beans, clover, vetches, or tares, costing.. Sometimes cut straw, steamed potatoes, and the meal of oats and beans are given, as being the most economical kind of food. The horses are fed three times a day, each time receiving fifteen pounds of food, thus In the morning, at 6 o'clock, 4 lbs. of oat and bran meal, 11 lbs. of chaff. At noon, 3 lbs. of oat and bean meal, 12 lbs. of chaff. At night, 2 lbs. of oat and bean meal, 2 lbs. of chaff, and 11 lbs. of steamed potatoes. In Scotland these horses are kept out of doors, or soiled in-doors till October, when they are put upon hard food, receiving 1 cwt. of hay and a bushel and a half of corn weekly till December, when the hay is replaced by straw, and the oats are reduced one-half. In February, 14 cwt. of hay and a bushel and a half of oats are again given, and this is continued till June, when they are fed on grass with a small allowance of corn. BEDDING. The BED is generally composed of wheat straw, of which that thrashed by hand is by far the most durable, lasting nearly twice as long, if prop. erly kept clean, as the same quality thrashed by machine. Barley straw is eaten by most horses almost as readily as hay, and, therefore, it is kept as fodder for farm horses and cattle. It is excellent for cutting into chaff, especially when there is much clover grown with it. Besides wheat straw, sand, saw-dust, tan, forest leaves and bean straw are used either where economy is studied, or for some particular reason. I shall, therefore, have something to say about each of these materials. WHEAT STRAW is by far the most general material for the horse's bed, and in private stables it may be considered as the only one used. It should be selected for its length, and the size and stoutness of its stalks, taking care that it is quite dry, but not so much so as to be brittle. It is tied up in trusses, or "boltings," as they are called in the Midland districts, which weigh about 36 pounds each. Two of these ought to serve for a week, after the bed is once made, which will require from two to three trusses, according to the size of the stall or loose-box. Unless the straw is properly. shaken up and smoothly laid, the horse is not made comfortable, but lies with uneven lumps under him, which he cannot scratch into shape like a dog. Hence, the good groom takes great trouble with his horses' beds, and having first laid the old litter smoothly all over the stall, as far as the back drain, he spreads on the surface with his fork either the cleanest part of the former night's bed, or a fresh truss, according to circumstances. The straw should be raised against travis or wall on each side, so that the horse in lying down has his back protected by it, the sharp spinous processes of the vertebra being uncovered by anything but skin, and causing considerable pain when pressed against the hard wood or iron. The straw is also turned under at the lower end, so as to present a neat appearance to the eye, as well as to afford comfort to the horse. In the morning the wet and dirty parts are forked out, and the remainder turned back and pressed tightly under the manger, or it is put into some other convenient place where it can be dried, which latter plan is an excellent one in point of economy and comfort. When the litter is thus disposed of the whole surface of the floor is carefully swept, the dirt being shoveled back into the gang-way, and finally removed from the stable. A little clean straw is then thinly spread over the stall, and left with a level edge behind the heels of the horse, where natty grooms put a border of plaited straw. During the day the droppings are collected in a basket, and removed as soon as they are perceived by the groom, by which the litter is kept clean, and the hind feet of the horse are prevented from contracting foul thrushes, which many are apt to do if they are allowed to be constantly crammed full of moist droppings, as they often are by careless grooms. On the average of seasons country straw may be bought for about £2 per ton, in which there are about sixty trusses, each therefore costing 8d., and on the calculation of two trusses per week, the horse's bed will cost 1s. 4d., for that period, without estimating the value of the manure, which varies greatly. In the neighborhood of very large towns, where the supply of manure is greater than the demand, it is almost a drug, and will scarcely pay for the labor of removal, but in agricultural districts it is worth 5s. per ton, and then an arrangement is often made by the farmer to supply straw on condition of receiving back the manure made with it. It may, gener ally, be calculated that an allowance of one-third or one-fourth of the cost the straw may be made for manure, and the litter may then be estimated as costing 1s. per week. Sand is said to answer very well as bedding, and to have the great advantage of keeping the feet cool. I have never seen it used, but I am told, on excellent authority, that, excepting in very cold weather, it is a very valuable substitute for straw. The fine dry sand of the sea-shore is that which is usually employed for the purpose, but inland sand would do just as well if collected and stored in a dry condition. It requires a well drained floor, the chief objection being that it clogs the openings to the. drains; but if the iron gutters are used which I have described, they may be readily swept out, and there being none permanently covered, there is no difficulty whatever. Indeed, if the sand is changed as soon as it becomes saturated with moisture, which it ought always to be, the drains are not wanted at all; but occasionally it will happen that the urine falls in or near the gutter, and then it is an advantage to have them in working order. The sand is laid about six inches deep, and every day the soiled parts are removed, and fresh sand, in proportion, spread over all, so that a very neat surface is maintained. The cost in sandy districts is very trifling, but of course elsewhere the plan would be prohibited by the charge for carriage. When sand is thus used, the feet must be stopped with cowdung more frequently than in the case of straw, or they soon become hard and brittle. SAWDUST is seldom employed as litter, its cost being quite as great as and often more than straw. It is only in or near saw mills, where there is an unusually large supply of sawdust on the premises, that it can be used advantageously. During the summer months it answers well enough if laid down as I have described under the head of sand, but like that material is too cold for use in our winters. It has the disadvantage, as compared with sand, that it soon heats when wetted with urine, and ammonia is then given off profusely, so that great care must be exercised to change it as soon as it becomes soiled. REFUSE TAN is very commonly introduced as a bedding for horses while being summered, in the belief that it is much cooler to the feet than straw. It has all the disadvantage of sawdust, without the advantages of sand, and if the latter can readily be obtained, it should by all means be substi tuted for it. I have often seen a box in which tan had been left for week's without change, the groom expecting that it would retain the urine of the horse without decomposition, although his nose ought to have convinced him to the contrary. It is a capital material if it is kept dry, but every one who has seen the heat which is given out by it in a hot-house will 1 |