286 CHYMISTRY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE. 



fected than those of men, since no calculation is made as to 

 the extent of ground, or quantity of air that should be allow- 

 ed them, to admit of their breathing freely, and to prevent 

 their suffering from too great an accumulation of heat. Up- 

 on most of our farms they are crowded into badly aired caves, 

 where their excrements are allowed to remain and rot 

 throughout the year, forming a damp and hot atmosphere ; 

 and from these infected dens they are not brought out, es- 

 pecially during the winter, excepting to drink. Is it then 

 astonishing that the mortality amongst the animals of our 

 farms should be so great ? 



Woolly animals do not fear the cold, and the shelter of a 

 shed is sufficient for them in winter : in countries as cold as 

 France and more damp, they are folded in pens nearly 

 through the year. 



As cattle constitute the principal riches of a farm, their 

 dwellings should be carefully attended to : the numerous dis- 

 eases which they suffer from, and especially those that are 

 contagious, and which not unfrequently destroy the whole 

 live stock of a farm, most commonly arise from a neglect of 

 the cleanliness necessary to health, in the stables and sheep- 

 folds. The emanations arising on all sides from the bodies ot 

 the animals, mix with the putrid exhalations arising from the 

 decomposing contents of their habitations, and the air is 

 thus loaded with the elements of many maladies : this state 

 of the atmosphere may be prevented by the use of the very 

 simple and efficacious methods employed for rendering pris- 

 ons and hospitals healthful abodes ; the principal of these 

 are as follows. 



That the habitations of animals may be healthful, it is 

 necessary that they be spacious enough not only to allow of 

 free respiration, but to permit the inhabitants to assume all 

 the positions natural to them. It is likewise necessary that 

 they should be well ventilated ; this may be done by means 

 of windows or doors placed upon opposite sides so as to form 

 a thorough draught of air through ; in this way respirable 

 air will be constantly brought in, and the pernicious exhala- 

 tions as constantly carried off. 



It is likewise of great importance that the floors of these 

 dwellings should be paved, and that a slight slope should be 

 given to them, by which all liquid matters may be carried 

 off and conveyed into a reservoir : the pavement should be 

 raised a little above the level of the ground upon the outside 

 of the buildings. 



