STABLE. 



by the soil, and will emit a nauseous 

 and unwholesome exlialalion. The 

 floor should be slightly raised at the 

 front of the stalls, but the slope should 

 not exceed three inches, and that 

 should be provided for by raising the 

 litter behind them, or they will stand 

 in an uneasy position. The doors 

 would be more conveniently placed 

 at one end of the stable than in the 

 side, as the dung will be more easily 

 removed, and a free passage may be 

 allowed to the urine by a gentle slant 

 in the gutter of the pavement at their 

 feet, which may then be convenient- 

 ly carried ofl"by a drain. 



" Some very intelligent farmers 

 keep their teams entirely in open 

 yards, or hammcis, surrounded with 

 well littered sheds for them to run 

 under at pleasure ; and experience 

 has proved that, in this manner, their 

 health may be maintained as well, if 

 not better than in stables. Such a 

 yard does for the whole year — for 

 summer soiling and winter feeding — 

 but it is attended with the inconve- 

 nience of exposing them to accidents 

 when many are thus together ; nei- 

 ther can their food be so equally di- 

 vided, nor can they be kept equally 

 clean. 



" Carters think it no harm to pilfer 

 corn to pamper their teams ; they 

 have no idea of any better mode of 

 feeding than to cram them to the ut- 

 most, and, if allowed the free use of 

 hay, they will not only waste it, but, 

 out of mistaken kindness, do the ani- 

 mals serious injury by overloadmg 

 their stomachs. On every consid- 

 eration, therefore, of health and econ- 

 omy, they should be allowanced. 

 The chaff, as well as the corn, should 

 be weighed or measured, and if hay 

 be given in the racks, it should be 

 bound, and given out in trusses : the 

 expense of binding will be more than 

 repaid by the saving in consumption. 

 Marshall has justly observed, in his 

 Minutes of Agriculture, that, by stint- 

 ing the quantity, the men become 

 more careful ; they look upon it as 

 something, and know that if they lav- 

 ish to-day they will want to-morrow ; 

 thus the servant learns frugality, 

 748 



! while his cattle have their food reg- 

 ' ularly : he will give them a little at 

 \ a time, and see that they eat it up 

 j clean. There is a sympathy between 

 j the human and the brute creation, 

 i arising from acquaintance, which is 

 1 more easily observed than communi- 

 cated. There are carters who would 

 ' sooner starve themselves than their 

 I horses, and among stock-feeders in 

 I general it is obvious to common ob- 

 servation ; though this kindness does 

 not extend equally to the bestowal 

 of their labour, and, from habit, as 

 well as idleness, they are very gen- 

 eralJy neglectful of the essential du- 

 ties of cleanliness. Much of this 

 must, however, be attributed to their 

 masters, who too commonly treat 

 them as men not to be trusted, and 

 : suspicion naturally begets deceit. 

 There is, consequently, but little sym- 

 pathy existing between them ; but 

 when servants are used with kind- 

 ness, they often return it with inter- 

 est, and devote themselves with sin- 

 cerity to the service of their em- 

 ployer. 



" Condition is a word of large 

 meaning in the stable of a gentleman ; 

 in that of a farmer, whose horses 

 should be kept more for work than 

 for show, it should be understood to 

 mean a sufficiency of wholesome 

 food, evidenced by a healthy, mellow, 

 clean-skinned hide, without much 

 fat, a lively eye, and a general ap- 

 pearance of health. Common work- 

 ing horses require but little groom- 

 ing ; yet their coats should be kept 

 clear of scurf, and their feet should 

 be well attended to. The rough hair 

 which encumbers their fetlocks is 

 useful in some countries as a protec- 

 tion against flints, but a much less 

 quantity would serve that purpose, 

 and when allowed to remain clog- 

 ged with dirt, it engenders grease. 

 Through a very unwise economy of 

 some masters, the shoes, too, are 

 seldom removed until they are either 

 completely worn or broken, by which 

 much injury is done to the hoof; 

 their shoulders are galled by want of 

 timely attention to the state of the 

 collars, and time is continually lost 



