eir place,
preparing them in the same manner. Horses soon learn to eat and relish
them.

Salt (_nimmuk_).

Salt is required by all animals in a certain quantity in their food to
keep them in health. There are three different varieties sold in the
native shops. Rock salt ("putter ke nimmuk"); ordinary salt, which is
merely the rock salt crushed and powdered; and black salt ("kali nimmuk").
On the coast sea salt can also be obtained, but it is not to be found far
inland. The common custom in India is to give powdered salt in the food,
the usual daily allowance being about an ounce. I prefer to leave a lump
of rock salt in the manger for the horse to lick when he likes. Some
owners have a lump of it hung by a string to the wall, but I do not think
this is advisable, as I have known more than one horse turn a wind-sucker
from getting into the habit of licking and playing with it.

Tonics.

It is a common supposition, deeply rooted in the minds of horsemen, that,
when a horse loses condition, he at once requires a tonic; and an immense
number of these and "condition powders" are advertised. There is no better
paying speculation in the world than the sale of these articles, as the
majority of them consist of a few cheap and simple ingredients, that are
retailed to the public at a hundred per cent. their original cost; and the
best that can be said about these nostrums is that some of them are
innocent and do no harm, while they serve to amuse the owner. The action
of a tonic is to stimulate the appetite, and if the horse is feeding well
they are certainly useless, if not actually harmful. If the horse feeds,
and continues to fall off in condition, the chances are that there is
something wrong in the stable management, which should be carefully
inquired into. If this only occurs once with one animal, the inference is
that medical advice is required, but if several are in the same state, or
it is a matter of constant occurrence, then in most cases a change of
"syce" is required, and it will be usually found better and cheaper than
having recourse to any of these various advertised "cure-alls."

Horses not Feeding.

Horses refuse their food from a variety of causes. It is usually the first
symptom noticed in the majority of attacks of illness, and I cannot too
strongly urge that in such cases the sooner professional advice is
obtained the better, there being nothing in which the old proverb, "a
stitch in time saves