STABLING. 



their eyes and nostrils with hay-seeds and dust. Naturally 

 when an animal knows that it is feeding-time, and sees the 

 opening of the trap, its head is uplifted to catch the first 

 morsel, and, as a consequence, its sensitive organs suffer at 

 once. Moreover, there have been times when the fork, 

 carried in the hand of a careless stableman, has slipped 

 from him through the opening, and inflicted serious injury 

 upon the occupant of the stall below. 



When the hayloft is over the stable the floor of it should 

 be of brick or concrete ; if of wood, there will always be a 

 difficulty about excluding vermin, which are the pests of 

 every ill-managed stable. 



The outer yard should be partially roofed, but where this 

 is not the case there ought to be an adjacent room with a 

 paved or asphalted floor, for purposes of clipping, singeing, 

 &c., none of which operations ought ever to be performed 

 in a stable or box. 



For night lighting I approve of gas, when available ; 

 and if in the country, of lamps fixed with staples. Pro- 

 vision should be made for an abundant supply of water, 

 arranged according to the source from whence it is most 

 readily derivable ; and to the ordinary stable apparatus, 

 a long water-hose, together with a number of fire buckets, 

 ought to be added. 



The rack, manger, and drinking-trough should be level to 

 the horses' knees — the bottoms of them to reach almost to 

 the level of the ground. This arrangement enables animals 

 to eat and drink as nature intended that they should. The 

 manger, which should be lined with zinc, ought to be fitted 



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