8 Domestic ANIMALS. 
so 
or; and it is no small recommendation to find that this breed 
has, for several years past, carried away the principal prizes at 
the annual shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 
Gray is a very good color, and generally denotes a considerable 
admixture of Eastern blood.” 
V._STABLES, 
We condense from Stewart’s admirable “Stable Book” the 
larger portion of the following useful hints and suggestions in 
reference to stables and their management. 
1. Stables as they Are.—Stable architects have not much to 
boast of. When left to themselves they seem to think of little 
beyond shelter and confinement. If the weather be kept out 
and the horse be kept in, the stable is sufficient. If light and 
air be demanded, the doorway will admit them, and other 
apertures are superfluous, 
The majority of stables have been built with little regard to 
the comfort and health of the horse. Most of them are too 
small, too dark, too close, or too open; and some are mere 
dungeons, destitute of every convenience. 
2. Situation of Stables.—When any choice exists, a situation 
should be chosen which admits of draining, shelter from the 
coldest winds, and facility of access. Damp places are especially 
to be avoided. It is in damp stables that we expect to find 
horses with bad eyes, coughs, greasy heels, swelled legs, mange, 
and a long, dry, staring coat, which no grooming can cure. 
Take every precaution, then, against dampness in your stables. 
3. Size of Stables—They are seldom too large in proportion 
to the number of stalls; but are often made to hold too many 
horses. Horses require pure air as well as human beings; and 
the process of breathing has the same effect in their case as in 
‘ours—changing it to that poisonous substance, carbonic acid 
gas. With twenty or thirty horses in a single apartment no 
ordinary ventilation is sufficient to keep the air pure. Large 
stables, too, are liable to frequent and great alterations of tem- 
perature. When several horses are out, those which remain 
