102 HUNTING 



supply a good serviceable article at the price we have 

 quoted. Having already said that simplex munditiis 

 should be the motto of a stable, whatever the size 

 may be, it is perhaps needless for us to say that all 

 ornamental gear should be avoided. A stable is not a 

 lady's boudoir, and any superfluous ornament is un- 

 sportsmanlike. Such superfluous ornament is only seen 

 in the stables of an elderly lucky Throgmorton Street 

 speculator. A sportsman detests such superfluities. 



We must advise the novice to see that his brushes 

 have screwed, not glued, backs. Glued backs soon come 

 off, and then the brushes become useless. We have 

 quoted the cheapest price for sponges, because ex- 

 perience has taught us that the expensive sponges 

 last no longer than the cheap ones. 



Where gas is available it should be used for lighting 

 the stable. Where it is not available, "hurricane" 

 lamps, which burn oil — but not paraffin — should be 

 used. Tallow candles are uncleanly and unsightly; 

 besides grooms are apt to take the candles out of their 

 sockets, thereby creating a dangerous risk of fire. 



In regard to this danger of fire, we cannot write 

 too strongly. In every stable smoking should be 

 strictly prohibited. Not only the grooms, but the 

 master and his guests should never smoke in the 

 stable. Let our readers consider for one moment the 

 amount of inflammable matter which necessarily exists 

 in a stable — the straw beds, the fodder, and the wood- 

 work; let them also remember that horses will not 

 leave fire, and that it is an impossibility to make 

 unharnessed horses leave a burning stable ; then we 

 feel sure that they will agree with us that every 



