^'FESSUM QUIES PLURIMUM JUVAT." 79 



reasons: it should be put on the beds bj day, 

 which gives the stable a clean look ; and it gets 

 sufficiently trampled upon by the time the horses 

 should be bedded up at night to become soft and 

 comfortable. A clean wholesome bed is in- 

 dispensable to man and horse ; but stiff, fresh 

 straw is by no means a comfortable one, par- 

 ticularly to fine-skinned horses, who will often in 

 such a case be waled wherever they are not pro- 

 tected by their clothing. The whole bed should 

 be at all times (after any damp straw in the middle 

 of it has been removed in the morning) so clean 

 as only to require fresh straw to keep up the 

 proper quantity, and to give a fresh look to the 

 stall during the day ; then, with ordinary horses 

 that only do moderate work, what is put under the 

 manger is brought out at night. Hunters require 

 often to lie down during the day ; consequently, 

 as they will then lie on straw but little trampled, it 

 should be got as fine as possible. I greatly prefer 

 machine-thrashed straw. It does not look so well, 

 I allow, but it is far more comfortable to the 

 horse. I recommend the strong, round, unbroken 

 straw to fishmongers : to pack a salmon in, it looks 

 clean and neat, aud I should hail its appearance if 

 bringing one from a friend as a present, but I 

 eschew it in a hunter's stable. I have had horses 

 so fond of straw, that by night or day they would 

 devour their beds ; that is, so far as they could 



