HORSE BABXS. 211 



any length, if unloading doors are provided within fifty feet of each 

 other. This roof is a very strong one, as it cannot sag, and if properly 

 braced and bolted to the plates, cannot spread. A three-quarter-inch 

 iron bolt should be put through each rafter and the plate on which it 

 rests, and a rod of the same size put through the top beam and rafter 

 as shown to serve as a brace; a brace may be used as well, but the 

 rod should lie close up to the brace and the nut at each end should 

 be screwed up tight. 



The smaller shed is made of posts set in the ground, twenty feet 

 apart one way, and sixteen feet apart the other, making bents twenty 

 feet wide, placed sixteen feet apart. Two cross girts may be bolted 

 to the posts, which is stronger than framing them in, and two long 

 braces should be bolted in to stiffen the building. Roof braces are 

 spiked to each third or fourth pairs of rafters to keep these from 

 spreading. This shed needs only a single board roof, laid closely, and 

 a narrow batten to cover each joint, as the steep pitch sheds rain 

 Tery easily. 



HORSE BARNS. 



Stables are used for common farm horses, but, where horses are 

 bred, barns specially arranged for them are necessary. The use and 

 Talue of farm horses are often greatly reduced by a want of proper 

 arrangements for stabling them. Any kind of a place to crowd the 

 poor beasts in is too often thought good enough, and the air in some 

 stables is so bad from filthy floors that the harness is often rotted by 

 it. A horse's lungs and eyes cannot fail to suffer in such an atmos- 

 phere, when tanned leather and carriage varnish are spoiled. No 

 doubt a good deal of disease among horses is due to this cause. 

 Another common fault is bad light. A horse sees on one side only 

 with each eye, and a side light from a window strains the eyes 

 unequally. The light should come into a stable directly in front of 

 the horse, and it should not be too bright. If the window cannot be 

 on the north side, it should be covered with lime-wash to mellow the 

 light; but the stable should never be wholly dark. A stable should 

 be airy and well ventilated, but not drafty; a draft upon a horse yet 

 warm with work will surely injure him, and, if it does nothing worse, 

 it will stiffen him for a few days. A few such mistakes will ruin any 

 animal. 



The feeding arrangements for a horse stable should be as follows: 

 A hay rack above the head is objectionable, as the dust from it is apt 

 to be breathed and cause disease of the lungs. A deep manger from 



