6 THROUGH STABLE AND SADDLE-ROOM. 



which must be absolutely perfect ; and bear in 

 mind that unless a drain is perfect it is no dram 

 at all ; the word is then a misnomer. 



The simpler the system the better. An open 

 ditch is better than an elaborately covered subway. 



Let the drains from each stall or box run direct 

 into one common gutter, which traverses the stable 

 from one end to the other, and the further this 

 gutter is extended beyond the stable in its open 

 form before it is received into any underground 

 drain the better. As far as stable drainage is con- 

 cerned nothing further is necessary. 



The flooring- of each stall or box should be of 

 some material which will not easily break, and for 

 this purpose there is nothing better than the 

 hard blue bricks which are made for the pur- 

 pose, and which are scored with lines at regular 

 intervals each way, to allow of the passage of fluid ; 

 these are each one in itself a small drain, and when 

 the stall is brushed down the broom completely 

 cleans each one out ; but the flooring of the stable 

 generally should be on a concrete base, by which 

 means the level is preserved in each stall. At the 

 same time it is absolutely essential that the bricks 

 should be well and evenly laid and joined with 

 cement, and placed so that the lines cut in the 

 bricks correspond with each other. 



