CLEANSING FROM POLE TO POLE. 89 



no current of cold wind can come up the drains ; 

 nor will the urine from the horses be lost, which 

 is a consideration, whether a man has land or sells 

 the manure. Water thrown on foul litter will 

 make it weigh, we know, but it will not enhance 

 its value as manure ; the liquid from the drain 

 will. Short drains are frequently made coming 

 from cesspools under the horse ; that is, from the 

 middle of the stall into the long under-ground 

 one behind him (where there is one) : this is a 

 very bad plan : in the first place, it is impossible 

 to clean the short drains thoroughly, being only 

 able to get at one end of them; and the other 

 objection is, it forms an angle, in fact, sharp cor- 

 ner, in turning into the longer one, which is cer- 

 tain to cause frequent stoppage, from filth getting 

 collected. Now, the long drain under the horse 

 being open at both ends, it can be thoroughly 

 cleansed in a few minutes by a very long pole or 

 two, or even three in succession, if required, being 

 tied to each other till the requisite length is ob- 

 tained, and with a kind of coarse mop at the end 

 all filth can be got away, the drain, in fact, 

 washed. 



The pavement of the stall should also be fre- 

 quently washed to sweeten it, taking the oppor- 

 tunity of a horse being out a sufficient number of 

 hours to let it dry thoroughly. This is not often 

 attended to, and greatly contributes to the offen- 



