22 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



Windows of tliis descrq^tion, as far as we know, have 

 not been much used in our stables, but can be seen on the 

 Bouthern exposure of the Philadelphia County Prison 

 (Moyamensing) ; answering, we believe, the objection to 

 exposed windows on buildings usually considered not the 

 most respectable to some neighborhoods. The windows 

 should be above the level of the head, so that when open 

 no cold draught of air will force itself against the horse in 

 a direct line. This we will more fully explain when con- 

 sidering ventilation. 



The floors of city.suibles are of various kinds of mate- 

 rial. The stable proper, its stalls, loose-boxes, &c., are usu- 

 ally covered with wood laid in various ways. This material 

 is perhaps less objectionable for such purposes than any 

 other in use, since floors laid with wood last longer and 

 need less repairing than do those laid with stone ; how- 

 ever, some persons object to wood on account of its becom- 

 ing saturated with urine and other animal fluids in a short 

 time. Concrete is another substance now used in some rare 

 instances for floors of stables, but from what we have seen 

 of it we cannot truthfully recommend it for such a purpose, 

 as it is very apt during the hot season to become full of 

 holes and very uneven on its surface ; its chief composition 

 being, we believe, gas tar mixed with sand or gravel. Cob- 

 ble and Belgian pavements are also in use for stable-floors, 

 but more frequently for the floor of the carriage-house or on 

 that part of it upon which carriages stand while being 

 washed. The floor of the carriage-house is in many estab- 



