138 MODERN FAHmEIl. 



marshy land. The damp, cold air, arising from 

 moist, low situations, is extremely prejudicial to the 

 health of all animals, particularly horses, and, as we 

 shall see hereafter, to sheep. It renders them sub- 

 ject to colds, rheumatism, and not unfrequently to 

 fever. Stables built in these situations are therefore 

 always dangerous ; and more particularly so, when 

 the animals return to them after having been heated 

 by violent exercise or labovn\ 



Stables should be roomy in proportion to the 

 number of horses that it is proposed they should 

 contain. Perhaps no stable should be made to hold - 

 more than five or six horses, as many inconveniences 

 arise from keeping too many of these animals in the 

 same apartment. Not only is the air thereby much 

 more vitiated, but the rest and sleep, so necessary to 

 repair the fatigues of the day, are thus prevented or 

 disturbed. Some horses' will not sleep, or even lie 

 down, if not perfectly at their ease ; and hence, in 

 large stables, that are made to contain a dozen or 

 more horses, as is often the case in livery stables and 

 such as are attached to large inns, the frequent en- 

 trance of grooms, ostlers, and other persons with 

 lights, into the stable, and even the restless noise of 

 some of the horses, who are more watchful, or have 

 been less fatigued than others, must be a great dis- 

 turbance to these latter. Where necessity requires 

 a long range of stables, it is better to have them 

 divided, by thick partition wails, into separate apart- 

 ments, each made to contain not more than six. 

 horses. The additional expense of this would be 

 trifling, compared to the greater ease and comfort of 

 the animal. 



It is usual in large stables, for the sake of keeping 

 more horses conveniently under the same roof, to 

 make them double-headed, as it is termed ; that is, 

 to have a ranoe of stalls along; each wall, with a 

 space between, for persons to pass to and fro. . 

 Stables of this kind are very improper; the space- 



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