putting on flesh, and as a diet for convalescents; but care must be exercised in its use, as it contains a great deal of oil, and in cases of sickness with liver complications, which are common in a hot climate, especially in English and Australian horses, it is to be avoided. It has to be boiled to a jelly before use, or, better still, soak it in cold water for some hours until soft, and then boil it. In the hot weather, however, I prefer to use either the “mote” or “mung” to linseed.

Linseed Cake (rhal or khal).

Linseed cake can be obtained in nearly every large town, and is the residue left after the oil is expressed; but as this process is imperfectly performed, a good deal of oil is left—much more than in the steam-pressed English cake. It is sold by the “seer” (2 lbs. weight), but in irregular lumps, not moulded into cakes as in Europe. Care must be taken in buying it, as it is very likely to be musty, and adulterated with mustard or rape seed. Both these can be easily detected by the taste or smell, leaving a pungent odour and a sharp burning taste behind. The best plan is to crush a small quantity of the cake and drop it into some boiling water, when the sharp smell and taste characteristic of the mustard and rape oil will be given off. A small quantity of linseed cake in the food will fatten horses tremendously, but makes them soft in condition. It is one of the articles used by native dealers to fatten horses for sale, and at this they are most expert. When crushed it can be mixed with the food, or boiled to make linseed tea for sick horses; and for this latter purpose I prefer it to linseed, as there is less oil in it, the smell of which sometimes nauseates an animal and causes him to refuse it.

Black Gram (cooltee).

In the Madras Presidency and Southern India black gram is used, the Bengal white gram not being grown there. This has to be boiled before use. Military horses are fed on it, but it is said that it makes them soft. I have, however, no personal experience of black gram.

Preparation of Food.

In India it is the custom to damp the food before it is given. It should not be saturated so as to turn it into a sloppy paste, but just damped sufficiently to make the particles stick together. Grooms (syces) generally deal out each feed into a bucket dry from the corn-bin, and then damp it; but a better plan is to weigh out the whole of the amount required for all the horses, and put it into a wide-mouthed earthen bowl called a “naund,” that can be purchased for a few pence, or a box, such as an old wine case, and damp the whole amount together, then portioning it out for each animal. The reason of this is that, if the grain is damped in the buckets, they are at once taken away, and, the probabilities are, never cleaned; but if they have to be brought forward for each feed to be put into them, and the owner takes the trouble now and again to inspect them, “syces,” who are creatures of habit, get into the way of cleaning them before they bring them forward. The box, or naund, in which the grain is damped being stationary, can be looked at any time. It is necessary to be very careful about this, as the particles of food left very quickly ferment in a hot climate, and get sour, and quickly taint all the rest. As a rule, about ten minutes is long enough to damp grain; and this should be done as soon before feeding as possible, otherwise, if left long standing, it will get sour. If a horse refuses his feed, it should be at once thrown away, and on no account be kept till the next meal, by which time it is pretty certain to have fermented.

Horses refusing Food.

Some horses are delicate feeders naturally, and take a long time in eating, or refuse their food altogether. In the case of a delicate or slow feeder, the food should be given in small quantities and often, rather than in the usual somewhat rather large feeds three times a day; and the horse should be fed by himself. This is easily done in India, as nearly all stables are loose boxes; but if the animal is picketed out with others that are likely to teaze him, he should be taken away and fed out of a bucket in the “compound” (garden or enclosure round the house). “Syces,” like all natives of India, have no idea of the value of time; and if he has his “hooka” (pipe), and a friend to talk to about the price of food-stuffs, rates of wages, and other such-like interesting bazaar topics, he is perfectly content to sit holding the bucket before the horse all day long, if necessary. If the animal refuses his food altogether, then it should be taken away, for if left standing in front of him he breathes on it, and if it remains any considerable time it becomes sour and fermented, and he gets disgusted with it; whereas, if taken away and nothing more given till next feeding-time, the appetite often returns, and the food is consumed with a relish; especially in the warm weather, if he is first led out and exercised, or picketed out under a tree. On no account should the feed that has been refused be kept over till the next feeding-time; a fresh one should be prepared, as in a hot climate wet grain ferments and turns sour in a very short space of time.

Times of Feeding.

The stomach of the horse is very small in proportion to the size of his body, and he requires to be fed often, and in small quantities. In England hunters are fed four, or even five, times a day. In India it is the usual custom to feed three times, and perhaps it is often enough. In all military stations a gun is fired at noon, and the midday feed is given at that hour; but the morning and evening one varies with the season of the year. I usually give only half a feed in the evening about five o’clock, and the remainder the last thing at night, about eight or nine, according to the season of the year; but, unless carefully watched, “syces” will not do this, as it is the custom only to feed three times daily, and “dastour” (custom) is a thing it is impossible to make a native break through.

Bolting Food.

Some horses have a trick of bolting their food without masticating it properly, especially if another is being fed in their company. It is a good plan to feed such horses apart from any others, which can easily be done in an Indian stable, as they are all loose boxes, or, if picketed out in the open, by moving him a short distance away from the others. A small quantity of chaff, grass, straw, or what is known as “bhoosa,” which is wheat straw that is crushed and broken into small pieces in the process of treading out the grain by bullocks, mixed in with the feed, will usually make them masticate it properly.

Spilling Food on Ground.

Horses have also a trick sometimes of throwing their food out of the bucket or manger, and spilling a quantity on the ground. Not only is a large amount wasted, but when the animal has finished what is left, and tries at his leisure to gather up what is on the ground, he eats a large amount of earth and dirt with it, which is injurious. The best way I know to prevent this is to feed the horse on a cloth on the ground; any bit of old sacking about four feet square will answer for the purpose.

Grass.

In India hay is not often seen, and horses are fed on grass; even race-horses are trained on it. This may at first sound strange, but Indian grass is very different to English meadow grass, and chiefly consists of the roots and runners, the actual