STABLES 181 



generally either constructed of, or lined with, galvanised iron. It should 

 be divided into several compartments, in which the different grains can 

 be stored. 



Should it be desired to dispense with a harness-room, the width of 

 the stable should be sufficient to allow of the harness being hung on pegs 

 or brackets attached to the wall at the rear of the stalls. It should be 

 pointed out, however, that harness kept in the stable itself deteriorates 

 faster than if it were kept in a separate room, on account of the 

 deleterious action of the stable gases, the chief offender being ammonia 

 gas which rises from the manure deposited on the floor. In order to 

 exclude these gases as far as possible from the harness-room, any partition 

 separating that room from the stable should be carried right up to the 

 ceiling, or to the roof if there be no ceiling. 



Lofts over Stables. — In Great Britain it is common practice to store 

 forage, chiefly hay, in a loft above the stable. This practice has been 

 condemned as interfering with the ventilation of the stable. If, however, 

 air-shafts be provided extending from the stable ceiling, through the loft, 

 to slatted or louvred cupolas on the ridge of the roof ; and if the ceiling 

 of the stable be made high, and sufficient apertures be left in the walls 

 just below it, no valid objections can be made to lofts on the score of 

 their interfering with the ventilation of the stable. One air-shaft about 

 20 inches square should be provided for every two horses. Air-shafts are 

 usually constructed of wood, and should be zinc-lined ; they should open 

 above the passage-way, not above the horses. A board should be fixed 

 about 6 inches below the lower end of each shaft to break up any down- 

 cast draught which might occur. 



If a loft be provided it should be entirely shut off from the stable 

 proper, so as to prevent the forage in the loft from being reached and 

 contaminated by the gases from the stable. 



A method of feeding, which is sometimes practised when a loft is 

 provided, is to have a hay-rack on the wall of each stall above the horse's 

 head, the hay being supplied to the rack through a hole — in the floor 

 of the loft — just above the rack. This method is objectionable, and three 

 reasons why it should not be adopted are appended. 



1. The gases from the stable gain access to the loft, through the 



holes (above the hay-racks) in the floor of the loft. 



2. The horse feeds in an unnatural position. If we were stabling 



giraffes, which are accustomed to graze overhead on the foliage 



