CHAP. I.] MISTAKES IN PRACTICE. 213 



other affairs of life, the best will be found in the 

 medium course ; for the noxious stable air having 

 irritated and so predisposed the lungs to receive amiss 

 the blighting influence of the cold air, it follows that 

 either extreme of stimulating, or bracing overmuch, 

 must do harm one way or the other. A full and 

 free inquiry into the best means of employing this 

 main auxiliary in the restoration of health in in- 

 flammatory disorders, would be well worth the 

 labour of any veterinarian competent to the task ; 

 but at present we will merely observe here, that 

 since it is to this want of ventilation in stables, and 

 crowding many horses together, that we owe all 

 pulmonary complaints and most fevers, the subject 

 is worthy consideration as a preventive as well as a 

 remedy *. 



Formerly, the general practice was to clothe the 

 animal almost to suffocation, and to close up every 

 aperture by which air might enter the stable ; the 

 consequence of which mistaken notion was a severe 

 attack of the lungs, that usually proved fatal wherever 

 these addenda to stable management could be em- 

 ployed in supposed 'perfection. Not so however, the 

 poor man's or the dealer's horses under inflammation 

 of the lungs, or the more dreaded " epidemic distem- 

 per;" his stables being more or less pervious, and 

 his horse clothing without the nap, it was no un- 

 common thing to find these had recovered, whilst 

 the more pampered and more valuable animals fell 



* In the Groom's Orach, this part of our subject underwent 

 long discussion under the heads of " Stable, Air, Gas." 



