blade of grass not being more than about an inch long. The best grass is what is known as “dhoob.” It is a short grass, with long roots and suckers, which is dug up out of the ground with a short iron hoe or trowel, called a “kurpa,” which is used with a scraping motion of the hand, the process being called “cheeling.” A considerable quantity of earth is taken up with it, which ought to be knocked off against the hoe; but as the grass is sold by weight, and the usual quantity a private “grass-cutter” is supposed to bring in daily is 20 seers (40 lbs. weight), it is not to his advantage to clean it. If horses eat dirty grass for any length of time, the sand and dirt, besides damaging the teeth, is likely to accumulate in the intestines and give rise to what is known as sand colic. When the “grass-cutter” brings in his bundle of grass that he has collected, which he generally does at midday, it should be spread out and cleaned; sticks and thorns should be picked out, as they are likely to lodge in the horse’s throat and choke him, and it should be well beaten with a stick to get rid of the sand and dirt. A good plan is to fasten a net between the wooden framework of a “charpoy,” or native bedstead, lay the grass on it, and beat it there with a stick, and it is surprising what a quantity of rubbish will fall through. An old lawn tennis net, if the meshes are not too big, answers well for this purpose. Grass-cutters are fond of wetting the grass to make it weigh. If it is brought in fresh, and damped with clean water beyond the actual loss in weight, I do not know that it does much harm; but it is exceedingly likely that the water has been obtained from some stagnant dirty puddle, and the bundle has been left standing for some time so that fermentation has set in, giving it an unpleasant smell. It is therefore best to have the bundles at once opened out and spread in the sun to dry as soon as they are brought in, and not allow the “grass-cutters” to take them away to their own houses. In parts of the foot hills of the Himalayas (“hurriarie,” or “hurrialie”) grass is obtained. It is not found in the plains, or in the very high mountains where it is cold. It is a long grass, running to about three feet high, and is cut with a curved sickle. When young and green it is a capital fodder grass; but when the seed is shed, and it gets dry, it is unfit for any other purpose than bedding, as the stalks get very hard and brittle, and so dry that there is little or no nourishment in it. It should not then be allowed into the stable for any other purpose than bedding; but being much easier to collect than “dhoob” grass, the “grass-cutters” will bring it as long as they are allowed to, even when it resembles nothing more than a bundle of sticks. I have frequently heard owners of horses in the hills complain of their animals getting thin and out of condition, the cause of which on inquiry was simply due to the bad dry hurrialie grass that was brought for them to eat.

Churrie.

This is the dried stalk of one of the shorgum tribe of plants, which is also known as the Chinese sugar-cane. It is a summer crop cut in the autumn. It grows to five or six feet high, and is cut and stored by the natives as a fodder for the cattle. It would to the new-comer appear to be a most unsuitable article of food, but is full of saccharine matter, tasting quite sweet when chewed in the mouth, so much so that in parts a rough sugar is extracted from it, but to look at is like a bundle of dried reeds. Animals of all sorts are very fond of it, and I have frequently fed my horses on it for days together in out-of-the-way places where no grass was to be obtained. It is not used as a regular horse fodder, but it does well for it on a pinch.

Bhoosa.

In the East all grain is threshed out by the primitive process of putting it in a circle and driving bullocks round on it, and in this process the grain is trodden out of the ear, the straw being split and broken up by the animals’ feet into small fragments from one-eighth to two or three inches in length, which is called “bhoosa.” This is the staple food of the working cattle, and is also used for horses. It is a most important item of the crop, and in the rural economy of an Indian village almost as much is thought of it as the grain itself. Wheat and barley straw makes what is called “white bhoosa,” and gram and the various pulses “missa bhoosa.” Both these can be used as horse food; in fact, on the Afghan frontier they get nothing else, and many natives feed their animals entirely on it, never giving them grass; but although they will eat it, and for a time keep condition, it is not to be recommended. If it has to be used, and it is possible to obtain any grass, they should be mixed together. A small quantity of “bhoosa” mixed in the feed will make a greedy feeder masticate it. “White bhoosa” looks like badly chopped straw-chaff. “Missa bhoosa” is of a dark colour, the particles not being straight-like sticks, but bent about, and frequently there are a quantity of the leaves of the plant mixed with it. Care should be taken that both sorts are not mouldy, which is very apt to be the case, as the native farmers store it in large quantities during the winter, and when the new crop comes on, if there is any of last year’s left, it is what they try and sell. Being stacked in the open, it is exceedingly likely to get damaged by the rain. “Bhoosa” should have a clean, fresh smell like sweet straw, not be discoloured or have any patches of mould about it, and be free from impurities such as sticks, thorns, or pieces of mud or stones.

Bamboo Leaves (bāns).

In Eastern Bengal, Assam, and parts of Burma, the green leaves and young shoots of the bamboo are used for forage. During the Chin-Lushai Expedition in 1889-90, the animals with the force got nothing else for nearly eight months. I had three ponies of my own that were worked moderately hard the whole time, and they remained in good condition. The transport mules, which were worked very hard indeed in a very trying climate, did not fall away nearly as much as I expected. The young shoots and leaves are cut with a sort of a billhook, called a “dah,” and care must be taken that only the young green leaves and soft tender shoots are given, the old leaves and the edges of the dry stumps of the bamboo cutting like a razor. I have seen some bad wounds on the lips, tongue, and angles of the mouth from this cause. It is best to make the “syces” and “grass-cutters” pluck the leaves off the branches altogether, and not leave them about the stable, for fear of wounding the horses. This they will readily do, as they use the débris for fuel. I have seen some bad cuts and injuries in both men and animals from the edges of the split bamboo, which are very sharp—so much so that the savage tribes on the eastern frontier use a properly split piece of bamboo for a knife in skinning animals; and the sap of the green bamboo appears to have a peculiarly irritating or poisonous action, a wound caused by it festering and suppurating in both man and beast, whereas one inflicted with a dry bamboo will heal up healthy. Horses require a larger amount of bamboo leaves than grass. If an animal is getting 20 lbs. of green “dhoob” grass daily, he will require 30 lbs. of bamboo leaves to keep him in condition. Although at first horses may refuse them, they take to them kindly after a little while.

Oat Hay Forage.

In the South African colonies grass hay is almost unknown. The oat is cut when