No. 151.] 347 



an eighth of an inch apart, should be firmly set in a frame, so that it 

 may be taken out at pleasure, through which the moisture would 

 pass into a drain under the floor, leading into a cistern; traps must 

 be so constructed in the drains underneath, that the ammonia may not 

 rise; if it does, and there is no ventilation above for it to escape, 

 the horses will become blind after much exposure. 



5th. The stable must be airy, and to make it so, there should be 

 a window at either end, covered with copper wire cloth, which will 

 not rust and corrode, and a ventilator above to carry off as it ascends 

 the impure air, which, being lighter than the atmosphere, immediate- 

 ly rises to the ceiling, and will at once escape if an opportunity is 

 afforded it. If there is danger of too much air being admitted by 

 the windows, the bottom of the stable door may be latticed with the 

 slope turned upwards, and covered with copper wire cloth, which will 

 cause the unwholesome gases to rise immediately to the ventilator. 

 Five horses will, in a very few hours, destroy the vital principle ol 

 air in a confined, close stable. The carbonic acid gas ejected from 

 their lungs, is a deadly poisro, and totally unfit to be again received 

 by respiration. It is not only their breath that must be avoided in 

 stables, but the exhalations continuously arising from their bodies. 

 It should be generally understood that pure air is as necessary to 

 horses as to human beines. 



'&" 



6th. Stables must be kept comparatively speaking light, and of 

 equal temperature; in summer about 65*-*, and in winter from 45"^ to- 

 55^. If this rule is not observed, the horses will suffer wuth rheu- 

 matism, stiff joints, inflammation of the lungs, and numerous other 

 diseases. It should be recollected, that we have no domestic animal 

 existing in a more artificial state than the horse, or one requiring 

 more care and attention. It is very rare that a horse is found useful 

 to man after he is 14 years old, when, by observing a few rules, and 

 following them strictly, he may be made to last and labor constantly 

 until 25 years of age. 



7th. Never trust your horses to any other than an experienced 

 groom; let his duties be as follows: 



1st. At day light in the morning, to place hay in the rack, in or- 

 der that the horse may distend his stomach to the proper proportion 

 before he receives his oats. If oats are first fed, he will satisfy him- 

 self with them, and not relish the hay; the consequence will be, he 

 will present a gaunt and half fed appearance during the day, annoy= 

 ing not only the coachman, but the master. 



