STABLES AND OTHER SHELTER. 225 



should stand in a single row, when but few are kept. The heads 

 of the animals should be toward the wall, so that the ventilators may 

 admit air directly to them, and as near the top as possible. If more 

 horses are kept than a single row will accommodate, in a barn of the size 

 wished, they may stand in a double row, with sufficient space behind each 

 row that t ley canoot kick each other. Thirty-four feet in width will be 

 ample. 



m. Where to Keep Harness. 

 For farm or draft horses, che harness may hang in the stable on pegs 

 seven feet high, at the rear of each horse. But carriage harness, or other 

 fine gear, should be hung in the harness room, out of the way of dust 

 and the effluvia of the stable. The harness room is, indeed, the proper place 

 for all harness, but few persons will take the trouble to carry it there, 

 and it is, on the whole, economy to hang it as we have stated, especially 

 when there is abundant light admitted to the stable of draft horses from 

 proper windows, and the ventilation is perfect. 



IV. Temperature and Ventilation. 



The proper temperature for the stable is fifty degrees, ranging to sixty- 

 five in summer, but never below forty in winter. The reason is obvi- 

 ous. The horse is especially sensitive to cold, and when the temperature 

 is less than fifty degrees, the system becomes chilled. This may be obvi- 

 ated by clothing; and, here again, is one of the most important matters 

 in stable management, both on the score of economy and of comfor';, 

 though it is one too generally neglected. The proper heat of the body 

 must be kept up in some way. It is cheaper to do so by means of cloth- 

 ing, than by extra feeding. So, in summer, a thin sheet keeps the body 

 cool, and is especially useful in protecting the animal, measurably, 

 from flies. 



Ventilation, again, is all-important, since by this means not only is' the 

 proper supply of fresh air constantly admitted, and without undue drafts, 

 but it is also an important means of regulating the temperature, espe- 

 cially in winter. If the stable be made with hollow walls, the ventilation 

 may come up through these. In any ease, however, the air s-hould be 

 admitted as high up as possible. 



A simple means of admitting air is by the use of sliding panels, which 

 may be moved easily up and down, if hung with sash-weights, as in the 

 case of windows. If the windows themselves are the ventilators, the 

 same rule will apply. 



Not the least important, in this connection, are the pipes for conveying 

 the impure air up through the building and out at the roof. The main 

 ventilating trunk should be not less than four feet square, beginning at 



