8 PUBLIC AND CLUB STABLES. 



a good servant in charge. The control of stables is to stable 

 servants what politics are to politicians very corrupting. 

 If a lady desires to maintain a stable, she will find it to her 

 advantage to place the supervision of it in the hands of some 

 relative, even though his experience in such matters is limited. 



A tyro, owing to the seeming impossibility of finding 

 proper stable accommodations, often succumbs to the persua- 

 sions of some livery-stable keeper to have the turn-out boarded 

 in a public establishment. The possessor of a good horse and 

 carriage is advised under most circumstances to avoid such a 

 disposition of the subject, for the reason that a stable of this 

 kind is conducted purely on money-making principles. 

 Provision is made with a view to handling only cheap, com- 

 mercial horses and carriages. The stalls are, as a rule, nar- 

 row, badly drained and lighted ; the carriage house dark, 

 damp and unprotected from the dust and dirt of the street ; 

 and your coachman, besides being deprived of fair means of 

 acquitting himself to the best of his ability, is thrown in con- 

 tact with a hard set of men. Then again if the proprietor is 

 unscrupulous it is more than likely that he or his subordi- 

 nates will turn your possessions to his personal account by 

 using your blankets, brushes, pails, etc. In public stables 

 there is more risk from contagious diseases, in consequence 

 of your horses being thrown in contact with a large number 

 of animals, any one of which is apt to bring the germs of an 

 epidemic into the stable. 



There is greater chance of faring better in a club stable, 

 though many of the objections cited above are to be met with 

 in stables of a semi-private character. If a person does not 

 care to maintain a separate stable, it will be found more con- 

 venient and economical in the long run to share a private one 



