368 
The Improved Construction of Stables. 
at each end of the stable. Each shaft or inlet should be pro- 
vided with a louver or " spreader " within the stable, to prevent 
occasional down-draughts. As many air-bricks as possible should 
be introduced at the ends, close to the ceiling. 
To supply air to the horses while lying down, a hollow iron- 
shaft may be carried all the way across the stable, from outside 
to outside, under the cribs, so as to fit into the angle made by 
the transverse wall and the floor. In this shaft holes will be 
made at the corner of each stall. This arrangement will be 
available when horses stand in double rows, heel to heel ; it may 
be adjusted also to other plans. 
When it is in contemplation to provide stable accommodation 
for cart-horses in stalls amounting to 100 square feet superficial 
and 1600 cubic feet for each horse, the question arises — whether a 
single step further would not . serviceably provide each horse 
with a box ? With judicious management and a moderate 
supply of straw, the utmost comfort of the horse may thus be 
combined with the best economy of manure. 
When I last visited Mr. Lawes's farm at Rothamsted, the cart- 
stabling struck me as almost perfect, though obtained by the 
conversion of a wide, old, boarded cart-lodge into horse-boxes in 
a homely style, and at very moderate expense. 
These boxes, 10 in number, form a double row, with a raised 
walk 4 feet 6 inches wide down the centre. A shed at one end 
acts as a store for hay and straw, and likewise holds the chief 
part of the harness ; the rest is suspended in the stalls. Stout 
iron rods are used for the sides of the boxes ; the wooden pillars, 
which form two corners of each box and range along the central 
path on either hand, afford a great stay and support to the old 
defective roof; each horse has his own rough door opening 
to the outside, so that he never disturbs his neighbours. The 
building is detached from the yards, so that one objection con- 
nected with stables opening inwards on farm-premises does not 
here arise ; viz., the horses when they go in and out for work or 
water do not disturb any other stock in the yard. There is 
louver boarding over each door, and when the horses are at work 
the doors are set open and the building is thoroughly aired. 
The litter on the top was clean, the air sweet, without a trace of 
ammoniacal gases ; yet, when Mr. Lawes called for a fork and 
stirred the bedding from beneath, a moist mass appeared reeking 
with the richest vapours. 
I have seen of late spacious costly halls for stabling cart-nags, 
where neither the ventilation, the standing, nor the appliances for 
making and removing manure were half as satisfactory as those 
of Mr. Lawes. 
