932 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



The air of stables must be pure. Any ventilating system which admits 

 an abundance of pure air and allows the escape of foul air is a proper one. 

 There is no one system suited to all stable designs. Muslin stretched across 

 window openings, instead of glazed sash, makes a desirable covering. It 

 at th^ same time allows the passage of air through its meshes and subdues 

 the light from without. 



Animals must be kept well groomed. It is an old adage that "groom- 

 ing is half the feed." The skin of animals becomes dirty with dust from 

 without and from the dried sweat and skin emanations from within the 

 body. Unless accumulations are removed through grooming, the natural 

 function of the skin is impaired and debility results. Dirty coats of animals 

 afford desirable breeding places for vermin. 



Proper light, pure air, suitable mangers and floors, together with 

 cleanliness of stables and bodies, all tend toward the comfort of animals, 

 and the less perfect these are, the more likely is it that the animals will be 

 affected with .abnormal sight, unhealthy skin, disordered respiration and 

 impaired digestion, with all their consequent ills. It is necessary, therefore, 

 to study carefully the comfort of animals, to insure good condition or 

 physical fitness of their bodies. 



Exercise. — Regularity of exercise in the open air is necessary for the 

 health of all classes of animals. Animals closely confined in stables, even 

 though well fed and watered, properly groomed and otherwise well cared 

 for, will become soft, their body tissues more or less watery. They become 

 less resistant to disease and less vigorous in every way. 



The proper assimilation of food and bodily comfort is dependent upon 

 proper exercise. The appearance of animals is deceptive in this respect. 

 If a lot of young animals with similar treatment is divided and one part is 

 allowed a paddock for exercise and the other part confined to stalls, the 

 latter will usually appear to better advantage. They will be well rounded, 

 smooth and apparently in prime condition, compared with the other lot, 

 which is rough, rugged and more or less angular. As they mature, however, 

 the lot which has been allowed to exercise in the open will continue a steady 

 development to maturity, while the stalled lot will undergo a period of 

 arrested development and fail totally in becoming large, robust, resistant 

 animals. It is in the young and developing animals particularly that 

 opportunity for exercise in the open should be given. 



Failure to provide this has resulted, among other things, in the 

 unnecessary susceptibility of horses to heaves, or cattle to tuberculosis, 

 and of hogs to thumps, etc. 



General Management. — Intelligent management of animals, there- 

 fore, may be said to consist of the following essentials: 



1. An abundant supply of pure air at all times. 



2. Proper food and water, regularly and judiciously provided. 



3. Good grooming for all animals when stabled. 



4. Proper exercise in the outside air. 



