STABLE APPENDAGES. 61 



disease does come, they would afford a quiet place for the 

 sick, where they could not infect the sound. In some sta 

 bles the loose boxes and the stalls are all under one roof. 

 The loose box may be at one end of the stable. When there 

 are four stalls, one of the travises may be made to remove, 

 so that two of the stalls can be thrown into one. This plan 

 answers very well, and it is almost the only plan by which a 

 loose box can be obtained where ground is valuable. It does 

 well enough for a lame or tired horse, or for one whose work 

 in summer or in winter, demands a month or more of repose. 

 It is also a very good loose box for a sick horse whose sick- 

 ness has no tendency to spread. But besides this, there 

 ought to be another, quite unconnected with the stable. To 

 that, glanders or influenza may be confined ; and having an 

 entrance of its own, it serves for dressing a horse that comes 

 in after stable hours, without disturbing the others. 



Some horses are fond of company. They are restless, 

 and do not thrive in solitude. The isolated loose box is not 

 for them, unless the safety of others demand absolute separa- 

 tion. When lame, fatigued, or laid up for rest, their box may 

 be in the stable. 



The Hay-Chamber, in towns, and indeed in most parts of 

 the country, is placed above the stable. All the authors who 

 have written on these matters, think that the hay should be 

 kept somewhere else. They say that the horse's breath 

 mingles with the hay and spoils it ; that dust and seeds fall 

 through the chinks and openings, and soil the horse or in- 

 jure his eyes. This is quite true. But it is possible, and 

 very easy to have the hay-loft over the stable, without any 

 danger to the ha»y or annoyance to the horse. It is only 

 necessary to make the roof of the stable air-tight. It may be 

 lathed and plastered ; but it harbors vermin, and that is a 

 strong objection to ceiling. The boards, however, forming 

 the floor of the loft, may be so closely jointed as to be im- 

 pervious, and a coat of paint or pitch will prevent the moist 

 air from acting on the wood. The openings for putting down 

 hay, and the trap-door for entering the loft, may be abolished, 

 or furnished with close-fitting covers. Upon these conditions 

 the loft may remain where it usually is. In large towns, 

 ground is so valuable that it is hardly possible to have the 

 hay-chamber in any other place, and indeed no better place 

 is required. The hay can be kept dry and clean. The stable 

 effluvia can not reach it, if there be no communication : when 

 the loft can be entered from the outside, there is no need 



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