2 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA 



means of keeping the body cool during hot weather, and 

 that it is checked in proportion to the amount of moisture 

 in the air. Thus, in the hot, damp climate of Singapore, 

 for example, the human skin remains in a more or less 

 moist condition, with frequently a drop of perspiration 

 hanging from the end of the nose. But during the far 

 hotter weather of the dry Punjab, the skin is usually as 

 free from moisture as the proverbial bone. On the other 

 hand, this evaporation is stimulated by the surrounding 

 air being in movement, as we all feel when under the 

 punkah. Experience tells us that the higher the ground 

 on which a stable stands, the freer, as a rule, will be the 

 circulation of the air in its vicinity. It is interesting to 

 note that the hotter air is, the greater is its power of 

 absorbing moisture. We have also to guard against the 

 dangerous effects of the direct rays of the sun, which are 

 best opposed by the interposition of a bad conductor of heat. 

 In the plains, stables should, as a rule, be built on high 

 ground, devoid of objects in their immediate vicinity 

 which might impede cooling breezes. Their direction 

 should run at right angles to the prevailing winds, so as 

 to obtain free circulation of air through the building ; for, 

 in India, our efforts should be directed in providing against 

 the baneful effects of heat, rather than against those of 

 cold, which can nearly always be obviated by warm 

 clothing. In all hot countries, experience proves that the 

 chief requisites for good stables are airy and dry positions, 

 thick roofs overhead, lofty and spacious stalls, and perfect 

 circulation of air. As long as men or animals are pro- 

 tected from the direct rays of the sun, while the air blows 

 freely through the habitation, whatever it may be, there 



