DIMENSIONS OP STABLES. 45 



serious disorders incurred from the same influence, is notorious. 

 The gases given off in the act of expiration through the lungs 

 and skin, as well as those generated in the decomposition of 

 urine, fseces, etc., in the stable, are poisonous when breathed, 

 and are irritating to the air- passages and eyes ; while the 

 food is also tainted with them, and is, consequently, less 

 liked by the horses. 



Horses kept in the foul air of imperfectly constructed 

 stables, or in over-crowded dwellings, are never so strong or 

 healthy-looking as those inhabiting roomy and airy places ; 

 they require more food to perform a given amount of work, 

 are easier fatigued, and their circulation is weak. Conse- 

 quently, they suffer from swelled legs, are often affected with a 

 chronic cough, and are particularly liable to colds ; and if a con- 

 tagious disease, as glanders, for instance, appears among them, 

 it spreads rapidly, and is most difficult to eradicate. And 

 when influenza visits such stables, it always manifests itself in 

 a more severe and fatal form, attacking a larger number of 

 their inmates. This was well demonstrated some thirty years 

 ago, during an outbreak of influenza at Boston, U.S.A., when 

 the disease assumed a rather serious form. At the instigation 

 of a medical authority Professor Bowditch every stable in the 

 city was inspected and reported upon, being classified as " ex- 

 cellent/' " imperfect/' or " wholly unfit," in respect to ven- 

 tilation, cleanliness, dryness, warmth, and light. It was found 

 that in the first-class fewer horses were attacked, and the 

 disease was milder, and more rapidly recovered from ; in the 

 second class more were affected, and recovery was longer ; while 

 in the third class every horse was seized with the fever, the 

 symptoms of which were most aggravated, and the rate of 

 mortality was very high. So that, in summing up, it was 

 found that in respect to the numbers attacked, the three classes 

 stood to one another as 1, 3, 5. 



The horse is a large animal, comparatively, with very 



