YENTILATION OF STABLE. 17 



covered with large-sized flags, three and a half inches thick, and 

 having a roughened surface. It is best to bed flags in lime, 

 and what in Yorkshire are called scraplings. Ashes are not so 

 good : they imbibe and retain moisture ; and they also favour 

 the propagation of black beetles, and other insects of a dis- 

 agreeable kind. Where it is desirable to give a more complete 

 finish to the interior of a stable, a plinth, eight or ten inches 

 deep, may be put down along the bottom of the wall; this 

 plinth should be made of Eoman cement, it being cheaper than 

 wood, and far more durable. The window backs may also be 

 lined with boards, and a cornice run along the top of the ceiling. 

 In short, where expense is not regarded, the taste of the owner 

 may direct itself in a thousand ways to adorn and, beautify the 

 interior. 



y. — YENTiLATio^f or Stable. — In treating upon the 

 ventilation of the Stable, it is taken for granted that every 

 thinking person must be perfectly aware of the necessity for a 

 regular and copious supply of pure air, for the maintenance 

 of the health not only of ourselves, but of the lower animals 

 also. This, although admitted as a fact, and not unfrequently 

 theorized upon, is yet very far from being adopted in practice 

 to the extent which might be anticipated. People continue to 

 build dwelling houses for themselves, and stables for their 

 horses, as though totally unconscious that those destined to live 

 within them will require such a very necessary element as 

 air. The capacity of the lungs of the horse is enormous. He 

 requires a large amount of pure air to thoroughly purify the 

 blood. Bad ventilation is the cause of innumerable diseases ; 

 and where it does not directly cause disease, if a diseased 

 animal be subjected for any length of time to its deleterious 

 influence, matters become worse, and serious aggravations of 



B 



