166 THE HORSE OWMEr's 



sembling hartshorn : and can he be surprised at the in- 

 flammation of the eyes, and the chronic cough, and the 

 disease of the kings, by which the animal who has been 

 all night shut up in this wretched atmosphere, is often at- 

 tacked ; or if the. glanders and farcy should occasionally 

 break out in such stables ? It has been ascertained by 

 chemical experiment that the urine of the horse contains 

 in it an exceedingly" large quantity of hartshorn ; and not 

 only so, but that, influenced by the heat of a crowded sta- 

 ble, and possibly by other decompositions that are going 

 forward at the same time, this ammoniacal vapor begins 

 to be rapidly given out, almost immediately after the 

 urine is voided. When disease begins to appear among 

 the inhabitants of these ill-ventilated places, is it wonder- 

 ful that it should rapidly spread among them, and that 

 the plague-sj)ot should be, as it were, placed on the door 

 of such a stable ? When distemper appears in spring or 

 autumn, it is in very many cases to be traced to such a 

 pest-house. It is peculiarly fatal there. The horses be- 

 longing to a small establishment, rationally treated, have 

 it comparatively seldom, or have it lightly ; but among 

 the inmates of a crowded stable it is sure to display itself, 

 and there it is most fatal. The experience of every vet- 

 erinary surgeon, and of every large proprietor of horses, 

 will corroborate this statement. Every stable should 

 possess within itself a certain degree of ventilation. The 

 cost of this would be trifling, and its saving in the preser- 

 vation of valuable animals may be immense. The aper- 

 tures need not be large, and the whole may be so contrived 

 that no direct current of air ahall fall on the horse. A 

 gentleman's stable should never be without a thermome- 

 ter. The temperature should seldom exceed 70 degrees 



