FODDER
.—The winter provender for HORSES and CATTLE is so called, and consists of barley and oat straw, peas haum, the short rakings of the barn floor after threshing the corn, and previous to cleaning it; all which, with good shelter in the most severe and dreary part of the season, constitute no ill accommodation; particularly those FARMYARDS in the country that are well managed, from whence HORSES, after a winter's run, frequently come up FIRM in FLESH, and not very foul in condition. On the contrary, those who are advocates for the STRAW-YARDS within ten or fifteen miles of the Metropolis, had better cut the throats of their HORSES than make the experiment: they barely exist in a state of wretched starvation, are brought up in the months of April and May objects of dreadful emaciation, and commonly occasion more expence to generate flesh, and render them fit for use, than they are afterwards worth. An insufficiency of sweet, good, and healthy FODDER, or even a profusion of stinking oats, or musty hay, will inevitably impoverish the blood, and lay the foundation of SURFEIT, MANGE, FARCY, and other disorders.