552 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 



ings ; some have been well and usefully conceived, while 

 others have been erected with more than necessary accommo- 

 dation and elegance. In the latter respect none was, per- 

 haps, more absurdly so, than that one erected by a joint-stock 

 company at Edinburgh, about twenty-live years ago, which 

 was ironically designated " The Cow-Palace/' The specu- 

 lation did not succeed, and this building stood long, a monu- 

 ment of extravagance and folly, not being easily convertible 

 into any other purpose. 



Perhaps the most useful and economical construction for 

 a cow-house is one with a central wall, which should be 

 about fourteen feet high, with a roof resting on it, sloping 

 downwards to an outer wall of seven feet in height. The 

 total width on each side should be about twelve feet. Each 

 stall should be four feet two inches in width. At the 

 heels of the cattle must be placed gangways about three feet 

 and a half broad. The cattle should lie on wooden plat- 

 forms, perforated with small round holes at their outer ends, 

 for the passage of the urine. Urine runs should be con- 

 ducted from the ends of the stalls, towards the outer wall of 

 the cow-house, where there ought to be a receptacle for the 

 dung being collected during the day, which should be thrown 

 out every morning through apertures in the walkabout two 

 feet square, at proper intervals, for the purpose. There 

 should be a dung-pit, constructed of stone, or brickwork, 

 for the reception of the urine, as well as the dung and 

 litter, as the ammonia contained in the urine is the most 

 valuable part of the manure. At about five feet apart 

 should be a series of windows, covered with flap-boards, for 

 giving light and air, when required. There should be a 

 door at each end of the building, for admitting of a free 

 current of air, as occasion requires. 



Some feeders prefer a circular building, on the score of 

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