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STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



This is a very important part of my subject, even 

 as it regards the farmer, although there are compara- 

 tively few glaring errors in the treatment of the agri- 

 cultural horse ; but it comes more especially home 

 to the gentleman, who is too often and too implicitly 

 under the guidance of an idle, ignorant and design- 

 ing groom. I will arrange the important points of 

 general management under the following heads : 



Air. 



The breathing of pure air is necessary to the ex- 

 istence and health of man and beast. It is compar- 

 atively lately that this has been admitted even in the 

 management of our best stables. They have been 

 close, hot, and foul, instead of airy, cool and whole- 

 some. The stable should be as large, compared with 

 the number of horses that it is destined to contain, 

 as circumstances will allow. A stable for six horses 

 should not be less than thirty feet in length, and 

 thirty feet wide. If there is no loft above, the inside 

 of the roof should always be plastered, in order to 

 prevent direct currents of air and occasional drop- 

 pings from broken tiles. The heated and foul air 

 should escape, and cool, pure air be admitted, by 

 elevation of the central tiles ; or by large tubes car- 

 ried through the roof, with caps a little above them, 



