In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 11 



not altogether pleasant, my object being to benefit both 

 man and horse, being always proud to praise, yet not 

 afraid to blame. I shall continue from time to time to 

 praise or blame, according as the subject I treat deserves. 

 Having endeavoured to show a few faults of the 

 stable, I will try and show what a stable should be to 

 be healthy. The three most essential things required 

 for the comfort of the horse are a dry, well-made and 

 drained floor, large windows, and free ventilation. The 

 floor of the stable should be paved with hard brick, laid 

 upon a bed of concrete six inches thick. The brick 

 should be laid dry, and afterwards soaked with clean 

 water, then grouted with Portland cement ; this will 

 effectually prevent damp rising, and also prevent the 

 urine from soaking through. The gutters, down the 

 centre of the stall, should be shallow and running 

 towards the fore feet, and the grate should be sunk half-an- 

 inch lower than the bricks to allow for wear. Many 

 floors are laid with the bricks level with the grate, and 

 in a short time the bricks wear away, leaving a hollow 

 alongside the grate where the urine will stand, and, the 

 bricks getting saturated, become comparatively so many 

 lumps of ammonia, poisoning the air with its fumes. 

 The drains ot all stables should be large, and of glazed 

 tiles, and should have a fall of at least one inch in 40, to 

 prevent accumulation of the small particles and the 

 choking of the drains. The drains should run into a 

 cesspool, so that the liquid manure may be saved if 

 wanted for the garden ; and what gardener will not 

 want liquid manure if he can get it handy ? The 

 windows should be large, extending from near the roof 



