the Goat- house. 119 



and hay -racks being here placed cor tier- wise. Between 

 the two sets of loose boxes is the milking-bench, raised 

 2ft. from the ground, and with the sliding ''guillo- 

 tine" arrangement for fastening the necks of the goats 

 when being milked. This is described and illustrated in 

 the chapter on Milking ; but I should hen observe that 

 when I first adopted the apparatus many ye,'<rs ago I kept 

 only two goats, and it was then part of the arrangement 

 of the manger to which the animals were fastened. I 

 have since found it better to make a separate compartment 

 for this, and instead of using it with the goats standing 

 on the ground, to fix it on a bench, and to make each 

 goat mount the bench alternately to be milked; this is 

 easily done, and it saves much inconvenience and labour 

 to the operator. The space c* is for the milker to sit, 

 and on his right hand, and abutting against the adjoining 

 loose box, one or two shelves should be placed to receive 

 the vessels used 'in the operation, they being then within 

 easy reach ; e, e, are the windows ; /, the door, this 

 being, like the passage it leads into, 2jft. wide, 

 sufficient for wheeling a barrow when cleaning out 

 the stable. Enough space is provided between these and 

 the walls for the barrow to pass when the goats are in. 

 The feeding gangway is made 2ft. wide, to enable the 

 attendant to walk between the stalls at the goats' heads 

 when feeding and watering them. I should here remark 

 that under this arrangement it is necessary for the pieces 

 of quartering or thick rails used for supporting the hay- 

 racks to be fixed upright instead of obliquely, as shown 

 at g, Figs. 13 and 14, in order to allow more room for 

 a person to pass down the feeding gangway ; g, in the 

 plan, shows the ladder leading to the loft when the 

 structure is on a more pretentious scale. A loft is always 

 an advantage in a stable, for besides the convenience it 

 affords for storing hay and roots, cutting chaff, &c., the 



