158 THE HORSE. 
either for the walls or the roof, and the wood being also the produce of 
his own land. The labour, therefore, is the only part which costs money, 
and that is not paid for at a very high rate, where wages rarely exceed 
nine shillings a week. When gorse is used, it is adopted in the following 
way :—The door-posts and uprights are first fixed, and should be either 
of oak—which is best—or of good sound Memel fir; they should be about 
six inches by four, and should be fixed six feet apart, with three feet 
sunk in the ground, After thus fixing the framework, and putting on the 
wall-plate and rafters, the whole internal surface is made good by nailing 
split poles of larch, or other timber, closely together across the uprights, 
taking especial care to round off the ends when they appear at the door- 
posts. Thus the whole of the interior is tolerably smooth, and no accident 
can happen from the foal getting his leg into any crevice between the 
poles, if care is taken to nail them securely, and to leave no space between 
them. When this internal framework is finished, the gorse is applied 
outside, as follows: It is first cut into small branches, leaving a foot-stalk 
to each, about twelve or fifteen inches in length: these branches are 
arranged in layers between the uprights, the stalks pointing upwards and 
inwards, and the prickly ends downwards and outwards. When, by a> 
succession of layers of these brushy stalks, a height of eighteen inches has 
been raised, a stout and tough pole, about the size of an ordinary broom- 
stick, and six feet long, is laid upon the middle of the gorse, and so as to’ 
confine it against the split poles and between the uprights. The workmen 
kneel upon this pole, and by its means compress the gorse into the 
smallest possible compass, and while thus pressed down, and against the 
internal framework, it is confined to the latter by five or six loops of 
strong copper wire. When this is properly done, the gorse is so firmly 
confined, and withal so closely packed, that neither wind nor rain can 
penetrate, nor can all the mischief-loving powers of the foal withdraw a 
single stalk. After fixing the first layer, a second is built up in the same 
way, and when neatly done the exterior is as level as a brick wall; but if 
there are any very prominent branches they may be sheared off with the 
common shears, or taken off with the ordinary hedging bill-hook. When 
it is desired to make the exterior look very smooth, a hay-trusser’s knife 
is used; but the natural ends, though not so level, are a much better 
defence, and last longer than the cut gorse. In the interior the stalks 
sometimes project, and if so they must be smoothly trimmed off. The 
roof should be covered in with some material, which is cool in summer 
and warm in winter, and for this purpose, therefore, nothing is so bad as 
slate, or so good as thatch. Objections are sometimes made to the latter 
material that it harbours vermin, but if the mares are well fed, I must 
doubt their ever becoming lousy, unless these parasites are introduced by 
some animal from without. In any case, tiles are preferable to slates, and 
on the average they are also cheaper. Pantiles are not easily made proof 
against the wind, but plane-tiles, when properly pointed, are quite air-tight, 
and are far warmer in cold weather than slates, while they are also cooler in 
summer. The door should be at least four feet or four feet six inches 
wide, and seven feet to seven feet six inches high, with all the angles to 
the sides and top of the frame rounded off to prevent accident from 
striking the hip or head. The door, of oak or elm, should be cut in half 
across the middle, so as to allow the lower half to be shut, while the 
upper, being open, admits a free supply of air. A small window should 
be inserted in the wall, for light and ventilation when the door is closed. 
When straw is abundant it is usual to leave the floor in its natural state, 
