70 VETERINARY HYGIENE 



the loose-box a gully trap was placed in the centre of the floor, 

 which was graded from all the sides of the box to the gully. The 

 main stable drain was trapped outside the stable before joining up 

 with the sewer pipe, or passing to the manure pit or liquid manure 

 tank, as the case might be. There are two chief objections to under- 

 ground drains for animal buildings. With whatever kind of trap is 

 used in the stable a certain amount of solid always finds its way into 

 the drain. The amount of fluid that enters the traps and pipes is 

 very small and consists almost exclusively of urine. It is not difficult 

 to understand that both traps and pipes become receptacles rather 

 than carriers of urine and manure which decompose with the libera- 

 tion into the stable of objectionable gases. The smell that arises 

 from these traps when they are cleaned out, which, as a rule, is only 

 done when they become blocked, is nauseating. Stables are not, 

 as a rule, frequently washed out but when they are underground 

 drains get choked. When peat moss is used for bedding it is neces- 

 sary to close up all such drains and traps to prevent the urine-sodden 

 moss from getting into the pipes. Wherever underground drains 

 are installed, and they are to be found in many old stables to-day, 

 foul smells and a great deal of trouble invariably follow. 



With surface drainage there is nothing but a shallow open 

 channel running down the length of the stable, to pass, still as an 

 open channel, through the wall to empty into a trap out in the open 

 air. The advantages of this system over the old one are at once 

 apparent. There are no traps to get blocked, there is no formation 

 of sewer gas to poison the air, and there is a great economy in 

 construction. In order to keep the floor of a stable clean, all that 

 is required after the animals have gone out in the morning is to 

 make up the beds and flush the stall centres and urine channel with 

 a few buckets of water and brush down. It is sometimes suggested 

 that the channel after it has passed through the wall should continue 

 as an open channel for a dozen feet or so before discharging into 

 the trapped drain. This is quite unnecessary, because if the drain 

 is properly constructed and the trap kept flushed with water there 

 can be no objection to having it immediately outside the building. 

 Where there are several loose-boxes in a row, that is " outside " 

 boxes, it is a mistake to provide each with its own trap and junction 

 pipe ; a dozen boxes and a dozen traps means that not one of the 

 dozen will be kept flushed and clean, but with one trap at the centre 

 of the row and a surface channel connecting the other boxes to it 

 there will be more likelihood of it being properly attended to. The 

 form of trap advocated for this purpose is shown in figure 27. 

 This is a self-cleansing trap and only requires flushing with water. 



