318 STABLES AS THEY SHOULD BE. 



"horses. The space may appear somewhat limited for the supply of six 

 horses; but enough for present use can be housed, and grooms are not 

 rendered careful by the contemplation of anything like a superabundance. 

 It is the filthy custom, now prevalent, to keep the food of a cleanly ani- 

 mal in a loft immediately above the stalls in which the horses are con- 

 fined. Thus the store-house is commonly located in the situation which 

 is the most directly exposed to the volatile or the heated emanations of 

 the stable. Nor is this the only source of contamination. The groom's 

 living and sleeping apartment opens by a door, which is not generally 

 shut, and immediately leads to the equine pantry. 



The author dare not further pursue this topic. The fancy of the 

 reader, guided by the above facts, can readily picture everything that 

 could be written about the fitness of provender thus housed, for pro- 

 moting the health of a creature remarkable for the niceness of its habits, 

 the acuteness of its senses, and the delicacy of its tastes. It may be 

 forced to consume, and may, at length, morbidly "grow fond of that it 

 feeds upon;" but such food cannot otherwise than undermine the health 

 which sustenance should promote. 



On the opposite side to the harness-room is another compartment, 

 which is used as a tool-house. There are various items employed about 

 a stable which commonly litter the space inhabited by the horses, — such 

 as brooms, mops, forks, pails, combs, brushes, leathers, bandages, etc. 

 Everything occasionally used, or daily employed, either on the animals 

 or for the vehicles, is deposited in the tool-house. For such articles 

 as come under the denomination of lumber, and are not of any present 

 or probable utility, another place is provided, which will be shortly 

 alluded to. 



By thus allotting a store for everything, and encouraging habits of 

 regularity, a considerable sum is saved, while the comfort of the grooms 

 is provided for by every article being, at all times, to be readily found. 

 By ordering all appliances to be carried back when no longer in use, 

 nothing is left about the stable to litter the place, or be damaged by the 

 animals. 



Stable implements, in the hands of an irate groom, have proved ter- 

 rible weapons of offense. A horse has been stabbed with a fork ; a blow 

 given with the edge of a pail has inflicted a fearful gash. The forma- 

 tion of the cranium in most existing stable attendants should suggest 

 the prudence of not allowing temptation to be too convenient to such 

 individuals when they become excited. 



Having inspected the northern extremity, the reader will now be kind 

 enough to move, in imagination, to the front of the erection. Before 

 this can be seen, the sides and northern end of the ambulatory, or cor- 



