STABLE FITTINGS. 203 
entirely avoided by making the shaft of wood, as 1 have already men- 
tioned. Loose boxes must be ventilated separately, if they are not open 
to the ‘stable; but if they are, the same shaft will take off their foul 
air as is used for the stalls, provided there are not more than four or five 
horses in the same space. A shaft about six inches in diameter is amply 
large enough for one box; and this, with the ventilating window or the 
separate ventilator I have described, will keep any box in a healthy con 
dition, if iis drainage is properly attended to. ‘There is a very common 
notion that no ascending shaft will remove the carbonic-acid gas, which is 
one of the results of respiration, because its specific gravity is so great that 
it lies close to the floor. This, however, is a fallacy in practice, though 
perfectly correct in theory, because all gases have a tendency to mix 
rapidly together; and hence, although the weight of pure carbonic-acid 
gas 1s so great that it may be poured from one glass into another, yet, as 
it is given gradually off by the lungs, it does not remain separate, but 
mixes with the bulk of air in the stable, and is carried off with it. Fox 
this reason, there is not the slightest necessity to admit the fresh air near 
the bottom of the stable. as is sometimes contended for. If itis attempted, 
nothing can prevent a draught falling upon the bodies of the horses when 
they are lying down, and they inevitably catch cold. If the upper 
regions are kept pure, the whole air soon mixes; and thus, when the 
openings are fixed near the ceiling, as I have described, all the good 
which is wanted from them is obtained without any risk of draught. 
STABLE FITTINGS. 
UNDER THIS HEAD may be included 
all the internal additions which are made 
to the walls in the shape of partitions 
between the stalls, mangers, racks, &c. 
It will therefore be necessary to consider 
each of these subjects separately. 
THERE ARE TWO MODES OF SEPARATING 
stalls from each other; that most com- 
monly adopted in private stables being 
the travis, whilst in cavalry and cab 
stables the hanging bail is used for the 
sake of economy of money and space. 
The latter being considerably cheaper 
than the former, I shall describe it first. 
All that is necessary is a strong pole of 
ash, oak, or elm, which is fixed about 
three feet from the ground between the 
horses, one end being attached to the 
manger by a strong iron hook and eye, 
and the other being either suspended 
from the ceiling by a chain or attached 
to a post, reaching from the ground to 
the ceiling in such a way that, if the 
horse gets fixed under or over it, he 
can readily be relieved by striking 
upwards the ring (a) which liberates the 
hook (6), and allows the bail (c) to fall to the ground. A better plan is to 
use a plank of elm instead of a pole for the bail, and the difference of cost 
