Furze is seldom given to sheep or pigs, but I believe that it might with advantage enter into the dietary of those animals. Some of my friends who have lately tried it with pigs report favorably as to its effects. Horses partly fed upon this plant keep in good condition; it is usually given to them cut merely into lengths of half an inch or an inch, but it would be better to give it to them finely bruised. A horse during the night will eat a much larger quantity of coarsely cut furze than of the well bruised article, because he is obliged to expend a great deal of muscular power in bruising the furze, and must, consequently, use an additional quantity of the food to make up for the corresponding waste of tissue. Until quite recently, the chemistry of the furze was very little studied. The analysis of this plant made many years ago by Sprengel gave results which, in the present advanced condition of agricultural chemistry, are quite valueless. The late Professor Johnston merely determined its amount of water, organic matter, and ash. I believe I was the first to make a complete investigation into the composition of this plant according to the methods of modern chemical analysis. I made two examinations. The first was of shoots cut on the 25th April, 1860, on the lands of Mr. Walsh of Stedalt, near Balbriggan, in the county of Dublin. The shoots were, in great part, composed of that year's growth, with a small proportion of the shoots of the previous year. They were very moist, and their spines, or thorns, were rather soft. Their centesimal composition was as follows:-- Water 78·05 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming principles 2·18 Fat-forming principles (oil, starch, sugar, gum, &c.) 8·20 Woody fibre 10·17 Mineral matter (ash) 1·40 ------ 100·00 The second analysis was made of furze cut on the 15th August, 1862. The following were the results obtained:-- Water 72·00 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming principles 3·21 Oil 1·18 Other fat-forming principles (starch, gum, &c.) 8·20 Woody fibre 13·33 Mineral matter 2·08 ------ 100·00 The specimen was allowed to lie for a few days in a dry room, so that it lost a little water whilst in my possession, before it was subjected to analysis.