276 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



over the horses' heads should be condemned, as it is unnatural for them 

 to eat from such a height above them. Naturally all animals collect 

 their food from underneath their heads, and therefore this should be 

 attended to in both stables and cowhouses. The stalls of stables should 

 be floored with small round stones down to the guttering, making it 

 with a slight inclination from all sides to the guttering. The space 

 behind the horses that is, between the guttering and the back wall- 

 should be laid with flagstones; with such the stable can be kept more 

 clean and tidy than with cobbles behind. The flagstones should have 

 deep grooves cut across them, in order to prevent the horses from slip- 

 ping on them. 



The harness-room attached to the stable should have a fireplace or 

 stove to dry the harness when necessary, and where the men could 

 have their harness cleaned and attended to in stormy weather. 



10. The Arrangement of the Cowhouse. Under this head I include 

 the buildings used for the dairy cows as well as for stock put up to 

 fatten. The width of a cattle or cow house where there are stalls 

 should be as follows : 



Feet. 



Feeding-passage, 4 



Feeding-troughs, ....... 2 



Stall, 8 



Gutter, 1 



Space behind, 3 



18 



Thus making a total width of eighteen feet between the two walls 

 inside, being the same as that recommended for the stable. In cal- 

 culating the width of the stalls, it must be remembered that two 

 cattle-beasts are generally tied up in one stall. It is very common 

 to find cow-stalls made seven feet or seven feet six inches wide, and 

 this to hold two large animals. No double cattle-stall should, in my 

 opinion, be less than nine feet in width. This gives four feet six inches 

 to each animal, and it will be found not too much for a large animal. 

 The stall-divisions are made of wood, iron, and stone. Wooden ones are 

 the most comfortable, iron and stone being cold, although I have 

 observed some very good iron cowhouse-divisions manufactured by Mus- 

 grave & Son of Belfast. They are very neat, and can be easily kept 

 clean. The height of the divisions are made three feet, and the length 

 about six feet from the wall or passage in front. 



Cattle should always be fed from in front of the head. In figs. 105 

 and 106 are shown two methods of forming cowhouses : one is with the 



