The Stable 



we can gather from the marked improvement in 

 the health of the horses of the great omnibus 

 companies since these matters received a careful 

 and intelligent attention. My readers may take for 

 granted that when their horses do not thrive, in 

 most cases it is the fault of the stables in which 

 they live. After all, in the country, with the help 

 of the local bricklayer and the village carpenter, 

 I have seldom found much difficulty in making 

 stables light and airy. Nothing of course can do 

 away with the unmitigated evil of a drain under 

 the stable, nor would I take any house where such 

 existed, unless I was allowed to do away with it 

 altogether. I have known cases where the cess- 

 pool of the stable drains was actually under the 

 floor of the stable. No horse could be fit to go 

 that lived in such conditions. 



Another common and most faulty point in the 

 construction of modern stables is the loft for the 

 storage of forage which is placed directly over the 

 stalls and loose boxes. The one advantage of this 

 arrangement is that it saves labour. But important 

 as this is in a stable conducted on economical lines, 

 I consider the disadvantages to outbalance what- 

 ever saving there may be. 



And this brings me to a very important matter, 

 the storage of the hay and corn. A man who lives 

 in a county town, or still more in the country, will 

 find it a great economy to buy his forage some 

 time ahead, and to do this he must have somewhere 



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