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or several times in the day, tlie sight would be irre- 

 parably injured, or possibly blindness would ensue. 

 Can we wonder, then, that the horse, taken from a 

 dark stable into a glow of light, feeling probably, as 

 we should do under similar circumstances, and una- 

 ble for a considerable time to see anything around 

 him distinctly, should become a starter ; or that the 

 frequently repeated violent effect of sudden light 

 should induce inflammation of the eye, so intense as 

 to terminate in blindness ? There is, indeed, no 

 doubt, that horses, kept in dark stables, are frequently 

 notorious starters, and that abominable habit has been 

 traced to this course. If plenty of light is admitted, 

 the walls of the stable, and especially that portion of 

 them which is before the horse's head, must not be 

 of too glaring a color. The color of the stable should 

 depend on the quantity of light. Where much can 

 be admitted, the walls should be of a gray hue ; when 

 darkness would otherwise prevail, frequent white- 

 washing may, in some degree, dissipate the gloom. 

 For another reason, it will be evident that the stable 

 should not possess too glaring a light — it is the rest- 

 ing place of the horse. The work of the farmer's 

 horse, indeed, is confined principally to the day. The 

 hour of exertion having passed, the animal returns 

 to his stable to feed, and to repose, and the latter is 

 as necessary as the former, in order to prepare him 

 for renewed work. Something approaching to the 

 dimness of twilight is requisite to induce the ani- 

 mal to compose himself to sleep. This half-light 



