In Scotland, most of the hay used for horses is composed of ryegrass, or ryegrass and clover. The natural hay, which is not very much used here, contains several plants. Much of the hay in Scotland is bad. A good deal is grown on poor land, and this is soft, dwarfish, and destitute of nutriment. But hay in general is not well made. In the south it is cured with more skill, and preserved with more care. The best we have in the west of Scotland is procured from Stirlingshire, and is composed of ryegrass and a little clover.

In England clover-hay stands in high repute for hard-working draught horses. In the market it brings 20 per cent more man meadow or ryegrass hay. Hard upland meadow hay is preferred for hunters and racers, because, I suppose, they are apt to eat too much of the clover. In Scotland, ryegrass, or a mixture of ryegrass and clover, is considered the best for all horses. Here we have almost no good meadow hay, and most of that made from the natural grasses is hardly worth preserving.

Good Hay

Good Hay is about a year old, long and large, hard, tough; its coior inclining to green, rather than to white; it has a sweet taste and pleasant smell; the seed is abundant; infused in hot water, it produces a rich dark-colored tea. The less dust it has about it the better; but, from the soil, and the way in which hay is made here, it is seldom free from dust. In damp weather hay absorbs much moisture, and weighs a a good deal the heavier. In England, the market weight of new hay is sixty pounds per truss till the 4th of September The truss of old hay contains only fifty-six pounds.

* Bracy Clark's Pharmacopoeia Equina, † Blaine's Outlines of Vet. Med.

New Hay

New Hay is purgative and debilitating. It seems to be difficult of digestion. [American hay is drier and better cured than English, and we believe that it contains more saccharine matter; these observations, therefore can hardly apply to it.] The horse is fond of it, and will eat a large quantity, much of which passes through him little altered by the digestive process, and probably retaining a good deal of its nutriment. On the other hand, hay which is very old is dry, tasteless, and brittle. The horse rejects much and eats little. Old hay is much recommended; but by old I suppose is meant not new. In the south, perhaps, stacked hay does not so soon degenerate as in the north, where it is certainly old enough in one year.

Heated Hay

Heated Hay, sometimes termed mowburnt, is that which has undergone too much fermentation. In curing hay it is thrown in a heap to sweat, that is, till a slight degree of fermentation takes place, which is arrested by exposing the hay to the air. This, it appears, is necessary for its preservation in the stack. But sometimes the process is carried too far, or, more frequently, it is re-excited, after the hay is stored past. Hay that has been thus injured is not all alike. Some of it acquires a very sweet sugary taste; and this portion is eaten; some of it is changed in color to a dark brown, and has its texture altered; it is short, brittle as rotten wood, and has a disagreeable taste; this portion seems to be rejected; another portion of the same stack is mouldy, stinking, quite rotten, and no horse will eat this. All kinds of hay, however good originally, may suffer this injury. When the damage has been slight, most horses will eat certain portions of the hay very greedily; they seem to be fond of it for the first week, but subsequently it is rejected in disgust. Upon the whole, I believe it is the most unprofitable fodder that horses can receive.

When very bad it is dear, though obtained in a gift, for it often does much mischief, particularly to horses of fast-work. Much is wasted, and that which is eaten does little good. It is almost as poisonous as it is nutritious. Slow draught-horses may not, indeed, be greatly injured by it. But good wheat-straw may be better. To fast, hard-working horses, such as those employed in mails, it is a strong diuretic; and its diuretic power does not diminish by use. Hay forms an important part of the horse's food, particularly of those horses that receive no roots nor boiled meat.

Bad Hay

Bad Hay will change the horse's appearance and condition in. two days, when he has an unlimited quantity of corn. By bad hay I mean that which is unwholesome. It may be poor, having little nutriment, but sweet and digestible, without being pernicious. But good straw is better than unwholesome hay for all kinds of horses. The kidneys are excited to extraordinary activity. The urine, which, in this disease, is always perfectly transparent, is discharged very frequently and in copious profusion. The horse soon becomes hidebound, emaciated, and feeble. His thirst is excessive. He never refuses water, and he drinks it as if he would never give over. The disease does not. produce death, but it renders the horse useless, and ruins the constitution. Should he catch cold, or take the influenza, which prevailed so much in Glasgow during the winter of 1836, glanders is seldom far off.* This worthless hay is always sold at a lower rate, and much of it enters the coaching-stables, but I am perfectly sure that it would be cheaper to pay the highest price for the best. One ton of good hay will, unless the men be excessively careless, go as far as two tons of that which is bad.

To slow-work horses, mowburnt hay may be given with less detriment, but it is less unprofitable when consumed by cattle.

Musty Hay

Musty Hay is known by its bad color, its unpleasant smell, and bitter taste. It is soft and coated with fungi. Like all other hay, its smell is most distinct when slightly damped by breathing upon it. Old hay is often musty, without having been heated. None but a hungry horse will eat it, and when eaten in considerable quantity it is said to be "bad for the wind." In truth, it is bad for every part of the body. In some places they sprinkle this musty hay with a solution of salt, which induces the horse to eat it; but even thus it answers better for bedding than for feeding, and to that purpose the horse applies the most of it.

Weather-Beaten Hay

Weather-Beaten Hay is that which has lain in the sward exposed to the rain and the sun. It is musty, full of dust, sapless, bleached, or blackened, and destitute of seed. Such, also, is the state of that which has stood too long uncut. All hay should be cut a few days before the seed is quite ripe. After it has lost most of its seed, and its juices, little is left to afford nutriment.

* The influenza I mean, was not at all similar to a disease which went under the same name at the same time in England. We had almost none of the English influenza till the last week of May. 1837, In the month of June it was very prevalent.