BEDDING-DOWN. 



277 



the direction of the straws of the layer next to them, so as to 

 form a honeycombed structure. Such minute attention to 

 detail could not be carried out in practice. Besides, all use- 

 ful purposes can be fulfilled by putting, to begin with, half 

 the quantity of the straw evenly over the floor with the 

 direction of the straws running across that of the box or stall, 

 and the other half longitudinally over the lower layer ; or vice 



Fig. 34. Ends of straw bedding twisted-in, with stable fork laid across them. 



versa. The groom should spread each layer as evenly as 

 possible, and should go through and work up the whole of 

 the bedding with a stable fork, so as to render the litter as 

 elastic and porous as possible. The straw should be banked 

 up, supposing that the supply is ample, on the side of each 

 partition, and the ends twisted-in at the entrance. The 

 simplest way of twisting-in is to lay the handle of a stable 

 fork across the ends of the straw at the entrance (Fig. 34), 



