258 MILITARY COMMISSION TO EUROPE. 



covered with sheet zinc. For each sling there are two sling holts and rings, attached to planks 

 spiked to the joists. 



To each halter ring two halter ropes, of adjacent horses, are attached. The flooring of the 

 stalls is of inch hoards, resting flat on the deck ; long elects in front and rear, as shown in the 

 figures, and cross elects, parallel to the length of the stall, under each side board, are nailed to 

 the floor ; this flooring cannot be taken up while the horses are on board. 



The stale passes oiit through the scuppers as best it can. The hatches are always kept open. 



It will be seen tliat the arrangement of the stalls is such that a single horse cannot he re- 

 moved from the middle of a row without first removing all the others between him and one end, 

 or else sawing off the breast board ; this and the arrangement of the flooring are objectionable. 



It will be seen hereafter that these defects are obviated in the English system, which will be 

 described in its proper place, and which may safely be taken as a model. 



When horses are carried on the spar deck they are placed in moveable box stalls. 



The men sleep about the decks, as they best can, in their overcoats ; blankets are sometimes 

 given them, especially if they are sick. Neither bunks nor hammocks are provided. The 

 rations of the men on board ship are as follows : 



Breakfast, 6| ounces of bread, ^\- pint of brandy or rum, f^ ounce of cofi"ee, /^ ounce of sugar. 



Dinner, 6^ ounces of bread, j% pint of wine, either 8J ounces of salt beef, or 7iV oxmces of 

 pork, 2jV ounces of potatoes, peas, or beans, or 1 ounce of rice, or 4^^ ounces of cheese. 



Supper, 6^ ounces of bread, -/.y pint of wine, ij^s ounces of Chollet vegetables, or 2 ounces 

 of rice. 



VETERINARY SCHOOLS. 



Of these there are three : one at Alfort, near Paris, one at Lyons, one at Toulouse — all under 

 the minister of agriculture, commerce, and j^ublic works. At Alfort there are 40 pupils, sent 

 by the war department, who supply about 40 veterinaries per annum for the army ; as this 

 number is insufficient, the graduates from civil life frequently receive appointments. 



These institutions are all conducted on the same principles ; that at Alfort, however, is the 

 most extensive, and probably the best ; a description of that at Lyons will give a sufiiciently 

 accurate idea of the general nature of all. 



At this there are 150 pupils, admitted between the ages of 17 and 25, and paying $80 

 per annum. 



They are required to pass a preliminary examination, at which they must show that they can 

 forge a shoe in two heats, that they understand the French grammar, and can write, know 

 arithmetic and the elements of geometry, and have a general knowledge of the geography of 

 Europe, as well as a special acquaintance with that of France. 



The pupils are divided into 4 classes, the course being of foiu- years. For the two junior 

 classes the course is purely theoretical, and they are required to study 8 hours a day ; in the 

 two senior clas.ses it is partly practical, their presence in the study rooms being required but 

 4 hours per day. 



The members of the two senior classes have, each, one or more sick horses assigned to their 

 care, to which they administer the requisite medical treatment, under the supervision and 

 according to the prescriptions of the professors. There is a clinique, or dispensary, whither 

 sick horses are brought every day, the professors i^rescribing and making remarks upon the 

 cases ; each pupil has a book in which he records the prescri^jtions, remarks, and whole history 

 of the cases ; he retains this book when he leaves the school. 



