COACHHOUSE. 89 



possible that in an exceptionally hot summer a 

 carriage may become too dry, to the detriment 

 of the woodwork ; and the best-seasoned wood 

 will shrink slightly. When such is the case, it is a 

 good plan to occasionally sprinkle a little water on 

 the floor of a coachhouse. An ordinary watering- 

 pot will be found useful for the purpose ; but it 

 should have a fine rose, and be sparingly used. 



The floor of a coachhouse should be of concrete. 

 No other material is equal to it. A wooden floor 

 is always a dusty floor ; bricks absorb damp ; 

 asphalt soon wears out, and either cracks or be- 

 comes sticky. 



The doors should be double, and should be per- 

 fectly balanced, and made to swing back on to a 

 self-catch, so as to avoid any slamming-to on a 

 carriage in high wind, etc. It is as well that there 

 should not be any direct communication between 

 the coachhouse and the stable, as the ammonia, 

 etc., from the stable is not calculated to do other 

 than harm. 



The saddle- room should be situated as conveni- 

 ently to the stable itself as is practicable, and there 

 should be communication between the two, so as to 

 obviate the necessity for having to carry articles of 

 saddlery or harness from the one to the other, 

 exposed to rain, etc. Where want of space will 



