348 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



readily adapted to the requirements of winter ; they should 

 be easy of access for removal of manure, while the flooring 

 of hard bricks laid in cement is preferred by him to asphalt, 

 which is slippery, though he recognises its cleanliness and 

 healthiness. Wooden floors he condemns on sanitary 

 grounds. 



Howard lays great stress on the absence of feeding 

 troughs to the pens. Each pen of pigs is brought out into 

 the yards D G for feeding purposes ; in this way regular 

 .feeding is ensured, and the animals thrive better. 



Iron fittings for piggeries may be seen in Fig. 141. 



Sheep Shelters. 



It will be convenient here to consider the form of 

 shelter adopted for sheep during inclement weather. Under 

 ordinary circumstances no regular shelter is provided in 

 farms for sheep, they are left on the land, it being 

 considered that their natural fleece is sufficient protec- 

 tion. 



To an extent this may be right, rain cannot penetrate 

 the wool owing to its greasy nature, and cold certainly 

 cannot seriously affect unshorn sheep, but it is a question 

 which has often been under consideration whether sheep 

 would not be better for some permanent shelter, not only 

 for the comfort of the animal, but to prevent injury done 

 to the fleece by exposure, and disease of the feet due to 

 wet weather. 



Scott* describes buildings for fattening sheep, consist- 

 ing of a sheep floor on either side of a centre feeding 

 passage. The sheep floor is laid with concrete, but dug 

 out from half to one foot below the ordinary ground 

 level, the bedding employed being straw, sawdust, or dry 

 earth. 



This floor, it will be observed, is on the same principle as 

 the floor of the fattening boxes for cattle, viz., living on 

 their own excreta. In this light it cannot be countenanced, 



* ' Farm Buildings ': Professor J. Scott. 



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