COACH-HOUSES. 433 



not sufficient in itself. When once a valuable article 

 like this is acquired, it should be taken care of. Very 

 many persons are unable to do this, not from the want 

 of inclination, but because they do not possess the 

 requisite knowledge. In the first place, carriages suffer 

 greatly when kept in a damp coach-house. There 

 should be ample ventilation ; and if the soil upon 

 which the building is erected is naturally moist, a 

 slow-combustion stove should be kept burning during 

 the wettest of the winter months, care being taken 

 that the coach does not stand too close to the stove, 

 otherwise the varnish will crack, the panels will be 

 seriously injured, and the entire carriage will suffer. 

 But a damp coach-house will soon destroy carriages if 

 left standing long within it. It is also a mistake to 

 leave any door of communication open between the 

 stable and coach-house, as the air from the stable, 

 being highly charged with the fumes of ammonia, 

 attacks the varnished surfaces, and, by cracking the 

 varnish, ruins the appearance of the carriage. But 

 the worst thing of all about a damp coach-house 

 is the fear that the carriage-poles may be allowed to 

 rest upon the ground ; where this is the case the 

 moisture ascends, and poles of the very finest ash 

 timber, as Mr. Hooper remarks, "very soon lose their 

 hard and elastic qualities." After lying on damp 

 ground it requires but little force to break them, and 

 consequently no reliance can be placed upon a pole 

 that has been subjected to such pernicious treatment. 

 Carriage-poles should, if possible, be placed in racks 

 at the side of the coach-house. For this purpose I 

 have in my stable properly constructed racks ; the 

 hooks are covered with leather, and the poles and 

 shafts rest thereon. 



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