AND RURAL ECONOMIST. 253 



slder how rapidly and abundantly ammonia or the volatile 

 alkali is generated in it, and how injurious that vapor is to 

 the eyes and lungs, there can be no doubt of the propriety 

 of removing it. Dr. Egan, of Dublin, has discovered, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Peall, that the urine of the horse begins to gene- 

 rate volatile alkali very soon after it is voided ; and it is well 

 observed by the same author, that if this vapor be capable of 

 painfully stimulating a sound and healthy eye, its effects upon 

 one that is inflamed, and consequently extremely irritable, 

 must be both highly painful and prejudicial to the organ. 

 In confirmation of this opinion, the author relates the follow- 

 ing experiment : A horse laboring under inflammation of the 

 eye was removed from the stable, where he kept both eyes 

 constantly shut, and placed in a cool, airy situation ; in the 

 space of half an hour he began gradually to open his eyes, 

 and in the space of two or three hours he kept them open 

 boldly. The horse was again placed in the stable, and in a 

 few minutes he began gradually to close the eyes, and after 

 an hour or two kept them constantly shut. Not satisfied, 

 however, with this experiment, though it seems pretty con- 

 clusive, the horse was again removed to the cool situation, 

 and the same effect followed as at first. If the vapors pro- 

 duced by foul litter prove so injurious to the eyes, it cannot 

 surely be less prejudicial to the lungs; and it is highly pro- 

 bable that if coughs are not produced in this way, they are 

 often aggravated and rendered incurable by those irritating 

 effluvia. Another evil to be considered is the propensity 

 observable in many horses to eat their litter. This is often 

 the case with such as have a chronic cough, or are disposed 

 to become brokenwinded, or have worms ; and in all these 

 diseases there is nothing, perhaps, more likely to increase 

 them than the animal's eating foul litter. It must be obvious 

 that horses employed in severe labor should be allowed to 

 lie down whenever they are inclined to do so ; but even then 

 all the litter may be turned out early in the morning, the 

 floor of the stall swept perfectly clean, and a bed of fresh 

 straw put in. If the foul litter be spread abroad in the open 

 air, and shaken up two or three times during the day, the 

 greater part would be again fit for litter, and, with the addi- 

 tion of a little fresh straw, would serve to replace that upon 

 which the horse has rested during the day. It has been 

 said, that horses which stand constantly on litter are apt to 

 feel the difference of the road and become tender-footed. 

 Mr. Clark observes, that the heat arising from the litter occa- 

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