102 THE EQUIPMENT OF THE FARM. 



adoption, yet it is essential to have a certain number of 

 boxes for the accommodation of breeding mares or sick 

 animals. They should not be less than 9 feet square. 

 The mangers are 2J feet wide at the top, decreasing to 

 1 foot 6 inches at the bottom. Fireclay manger bricks may 

 be used for the fronts. Manger bottoms and backs are 

 then lined with 9-inch common brick quarries, set in 

 cement. The best managers no longer regard hay racks as- 

 essential in a cart-horse stable ; and the general adoption 

 of machinery has, undoubtedly, rendered the use of chaffed 

 and prepared food more economical, both as regards cost 

 and efficiency. It is essential to have a constant water 

 supply always available ; but this can be provided at an 

 open trough in the yard. 



In some districts the practice still lingers of having a, 

 loft or tallet over the stable a more unhealthy system can 

 scarcely be conceived. The sticklers for it urge their 

 claim principally on the plea of its value as a store- 

 room. When subjected to the test of practical experience 

 it proves a miserable failure, as either corn or hay soon 

 becomes tainted and fusty when stored over a stable fully 

 inhabited. The health, nay, even the very existence, of 

 our domesticated animals, is dependent to a very large 

 extent upon the purity of the air they breathe. The 

 more artificial conditions under which they are placed 

 render it essential that the natural requirements of the 

 animal should be carefully studied and maintained ; hence 

 perfect ventilation, and a free circulation of air, are essential 

 to the health of all animals. 



The standings should be paved with materials of a 

 durable character ; these will vary with the locality. In 

 some districts stone of a good quality may be obtained at a 



