THE liMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY, 34l 



of the cattle, in construction and fitting up of sucn 

 buildings and places ; while vast expense has often 

 been incurred for contrivances which have no relation 

 whatever to the economy of the animals. Among the 

 latter are what are frequently termed keelers, for hold- 

 ing water, fixed up in each stall, and to each of which 

 the water is separately conveyed by pipes or other 

 means ; they are mostly of the same size and capa- 

 ciousness as the mangers for containing the different 

 roots and other such matter, and the separate divisions 

 for meals, oil-cakes, bran, chaff, and other such like 

 substances, without their being intermixed, and are 

 put up to some proper height level with them in the 

 fore-parts of the stalls, just before the heads of the beasts, 

 for the ease and convenience of their feeding, as well as 

 to prevent the labour and trouble of letting them loose 

 and taking them to the water. But the natural habits 

 of cattle are to take their food of all sorts from 

 the surface of the ground, and their water from ponds, 

 pools, and rivers or brooks, which method is the most 

 favourable to their health, and of course to their 

 thriving and feeding or fattening. They do not 

 stand in need of any such costly accommodations or 

 contrivances, but eat their fodder and provisions more 

 keenly, and with better effect, when lai-d on the ground, 

 or from low situations, than when put in such man- 

 gers, boxes, or troughs, as the results of the most 

 careful and exact trials have fully proved. Besides, 

 there is less smell and nastiness produced in this way 

 than by such confined contrivances ; and both the 

 taste and smell of neat-cattle are extremely acute and 

 nice. It is, consequently, only necessary to have pro- 

 per shallow spaces for holding the provisions and fod- 

 tier nearly even with the surface of the ground, with 

 •iiuveable divisions, so that the whole may be readily 



