THE TWO VOICES.
(To THE EDITOR OF :THE " SPECTATOR:1 SIR,—Last week I noted with satisfaction the fulfilment of your desire for a Royal Proclamation about food economy. I, how- ever, read with some misgiving the charge not to give horses "oats or other grain" except under special licence from the Food Controller, which would only be issued with a view to maintain- ing the breed of horses; for I know that farmhorses need corn now more than ever, when the land is hard, the hay extra dry, and the grass not come. -And yet this prohibition seemed the more absolute because of the mention of a licence to be issued in one particular case only. What then was my surprise on Sunday morning to find in a paper a circular from the Local Government Board recommending that a mixture of "321b. per day composed as to one-half of grain" be provided for their heavy dray- and cart-horses by the Local Authorities: True, maize is recommended for use in preference to oats, but this must be included in the "other grain," the use of which is forbidden in the Proclamation. I read the Royal message with the greatest emphasis I could to a, for us, large congregation, but I felt that it had already been discredited by the other voice, that had spoken with seemingly equal authority.—I am, Sir, &c., The Rectory, East AlIington, Derain J. 1. Mottoes.
[It is a. great mistake to suppose that horses, even horses doing very hard work, will die if they have to live on hay and grass. They cannot go as fast as 'before—i.e., when fed on corn—hut they can live and work without injury. The present writer Spent two hours last Monday on the 'back of a pony -which had not tasted oats or other grain since the end of February. The mare in question showed plenty of life.—En. Spectator.]
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