STABLES 83 



difficulty is that the space outside the stable door is the most convenient 

 spot for the attendants to heap the manure temporarily, or until enough 

 has accumulated to justify the use of a cart or wagon for its removal. 



In London the regulations concerning receptacles for dung are now 

 somewhat stringent. The capacity of the receptacle must not exceed 

 2 cubic yards, unless " the whole of the contents . . . are removed not less 

 frequently than every forty-eight hours"; the bottom must not be below 

 the level of the ground; one of the sides must be readily removable to 

 facilitate cleansing ; and the receptacle must be so constructed as to prevent 

 rain or water from entering it, and the escape of the contents, or any soak- 

 age therefrom, into the ground or into the wall of any building, and it 

 must also be freely ventilated into the external air. If the dung is removed 

 from the premises not less frequently than every forty-eight hours, a metal 

 cage may be used as a receptacle, but the ground beneath it must be ade- 

 quately paved to prevent soakage into the ground, and if the cage is placed 

 near a building, the wall of the building must be cemented " to such an 

 extent as will prevent any soakage from the dung . . . into the wall ". 



Calculations have been made of the amount of solid and liquid excreta 

 voided by different animals in a given time, and the results have proved 

 useful, not only in physiology but also in practical farming. 



The late Professor Varnell, in the course of his observations at the Royal 

 Veterinary College, found that a horse discharged from the body 49 Ibs. of 

 dung and 29 Ibs. of urine in twenty-four hours. Col. Fred. Smith, from 

 his own investigations, practically confirms Professor Varnell's estimate. 

 He also records that a cow voids about 160 Ibs. of dung and 18 Ibs. of 

 urine in twenty-four hours. 



In different animals the consistency of the solid excreta varies very 

 much in proportion to the amount of water it contains. Fortunately the 

 dung of the horse in health is fairly dry, and may often be lifted from 

 clean straw with the stable-fork or shovel, leaving hardly a trace behind it. 

 Some horses, however animals of an excitable temperament, void a 

 quantity of soft dung from time to time, and in some the habit of evacuat- 

 ing watery dung in small quantities at frequent intervals is maintained 

 in spite of treatment. Such animals can hardly be considered healthy, 

 although no other symptoms of derangement may be observed. 



In the matter of the mechanics of stable drainage simplicity is all-im- 

 portant. The main object to be kept in view is the single one of perfect 

 efficiency ; so long as that is attained, the means employed are of secondary 

 consequence. 



Some differences in the system of drainage employed for stables in 

 towns, as compared with those in the country, is not only permissible, but 



