HABITATIONS 283 



The grooves in these bricks fulfil another object, they 

 direct the urine towards the drain and for this purpose 

 they are useful. 



Cubes of granite square cut and set in cement make a 

 very good floor for industrial and military stables, they are 

 as slippery as bricks but very durable. 



Cement floors laid on concrete and grooved for the pur- 

 pose of urine, drainage, and foot-hold, are sometimes used. 

 They appear to be less durable than bricks or granite, and 

 are of course slippery. 



Asphalt laid on concrete fulfils all the conditions of a 

 water-tight floor, but is slippery and never used for stables 

 if it can be avoided. 



It is usual to give a slope to the stable floor for the 

 purpose of drainage. The slope to a stall, like many minor 

 matters capable of being grasped by the layman, has been 

 a fruitful source of discussion. If it is recognised that the 

 object of a slope is simply to carry off water, and that 

 any departure from a horizontal surface for the horse to 

 stand on is an evil, then common sense dictates that the 

 slope should be the least possible in any direction ; as the 

 least slope in any direction determines a fall, nothing more 

 is required. If the stall is an inch lower behind the horse 

 than it is in front, that settles the question of which way 

 the urine will run and more than that is not needed ; the 

 slope of the gutter behind must do the rest. 



Slopes have been made excessive, the horse's hind 

 quarters being much lower than its fore ; this is unneces- 

 sary and uncomfortable, though in spite of what has been 

 written and said we do not think anyone has seen harm 

 arise from it. 



Sometimes the slope given to a stall is not only from 

 front to rear but from side to side, while in the case of a 

 box a slope is sometimes given from all four sides towards 

 the centre when underground drains are used. 



Where bricks with grooves are used as a flooring for stall 

 or box, it would be a very simple matter to place the 

 horse on a perfectly horizontal surface by graduating the 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



