156 THE HORSE. 



IN CHOOSING THE SITUATION, therefore, a spot should be looked 

 out which will be high enough to allow of perfect drainage at all 

 seasons of the year. No periodically overflowing brook should 

 ever be allowed to discharge its contents into the foundations, for 

 even if the floor of the stable itself is kept above the water, yet 

 the soil underneath will be saturated, and acting like a sponge, 

 will allow the damp to creep up the walls incessantly. Sometimes, 

 in order to keep the stables well out of sight, a hollow is chosen, 

 and the floor is then excavated below the level of the surrounding 

 surface. The consequence is, that even in a summer-storm, the 

 rain-fall of the surrounding land finds its way either into the 

 stable, or around it; and the effect is equally injurious in either. 

 Concrete under the floor, and courses of slate at the bottom of the 

 walls, will do something to meet the evil; but it is better to avoid 

 it altogether by choosing a site at least two or three feet out of 

 the way of all flood- water, and with a good fall into a sewer or 

 adjacent running stream. 



As TO THE ASPECT, there is some difference of opinion whether 

 it should be northerly or southerly, all being adverse to a direc- 

 tion either due east or west; the former being too cold, and the 

 latter too hot. As far as I know, all writers on the subject have 

 preferred a southerly aspect, until the recent appearance of Mr. 

 Miles' " General Remarks on Stables," in which valuable work an 

 opinion is expressed that "the prevailing desire to have the front 

 of the stable due south is a mistake." The reasons for coming to 

 this conclusion are grounded upon the fact, which is undeniable, 

 that a more even temperature can be maintained if the situation 

 is sufficiently sheltered from the stroke of the wind. No doubt, 

 a southerly aspect allows the sun to enter with great power in the 

 summer; but my experience does not lead me to believe that flies 

 are less likely to get in through a door or window open to the 

 north, than through similar openings looking south. Mr. Miles 

 even objects to the heat of a winter's sun, which, he says, in the 

 middle of the day makes the stable almost as hot as in the sum- 

 mer ; the heat being often suddenly succeeded by a degree of cold 

 approaching the freezing point. Here, again, I certainly cannot 

 follow him, and I should hail with pleasure any beams of the sun 

 which show themselves between November and March, either in 

 the stable or kennel. Animal life is always benefited by the direct 

 rays of the sun, although, when the heat produced by them is in- 

 tense, the mischief done is so great as to counteract the advantage. 

 Still, in the winters of this country, such a thing is not, in my 

 opinion, to be dreamt of, as a properly ventilated stable becoming 

 too hot, and I look upon Mr. Miles' conclusions as being consider- 

 ably strained when he is arguing in favor of a northerly aspect. 

 I do not mean to assert that, on the whole, he is wrong, but that 



