| OCR Text |
Show Biscuit for Horses [Line unreadable] is at present under trial in the French army. The Minister of War, anxious to reduce the bulk of provisions to be carried during a campaign, has ordered that a new kind of biscuit should be used as food for the horses. On the conclusion of the present maneuvers, the experiments will be rightly tested. Two squadrons of Cavalry and a battery of artillery will at once be put under the new system. The circular of the Minister directs all the details, and orders that a commission, composed of four officers and a veterinary surgeon, should see that the instructions are completely carried out and report on their progress and results. The selected horses are to be weighed and measured across the shoulders before the experiment commences, and two other squadrons of cavalry and a battery of artillery are to be selected, composed, as nearly as can be, of animals of the same weight and size. The latter are to be placed under the war allowance of fodder, and both at once to be subjected to the estimated average fatigues of a campaign. During twelve days the experiment will be followed out, while the officers charged with its conduct will constantly report on its results. The horses are to be supplied with the new food on the first day of the campaign, without any transition or preparation for the change. The biscuits are to be broken up, but not to be moistened, and the horses are to be watered before the meal. |
