CHAPTER XV 



ABOUT STABLES. 



However expensive a barn may b^ it can never be suitable 

 loi horses if bad odors prevail, as is the case in verv' many 

 stables, nor where dampness holds sway. Horses are placed 

 with their faces to high stone walls very often, with no board 

 lining and air space between to carry off the moist air. 

 These walls are wet in summer by condensing the humidity 



^'M/'- 



GENERAL WASHINGTON'S STABLE AT MOUNT VERNON. 



in the warm air, and bristle with frost in winter from the same 

 cause. Avoid them, and keep horses out of basement stables 

 if possible. Indigestion, influenza and rheumatism are di- 

 rectly traceable to such environments. Proper construction, 

 ventilation and absorbents make a stable that is sweet for 

 horses and safe for men. 



Wherever possible let the stable face the south, and put 

 the stalls on the sunny side of the building. A well known 

 reformer once said: '' Light is one of the best preventives 

 of crime," so also sunlight is one of the best preventives 

 of sickness. No animal can do well living in the dark. 

 Darkness or only dim light injures, and is the cause of much 



