200  On  the  Construction  of  Farm-Buildings. 
it,  adjoins,  where  roots  may  be  sliced  for  cattle  or  cut  up  for 
sheep. 
From  this  central  position  the  food,  whether  cooked  or  raw, 
and  the  cut  litter  is  distributed  on  all  sides ; for  which  purpose  a 
two-wheeled  barrow  or  truck  made  of  basket-work,  such  as  is 
seen  at  railway  stations,  is  of  great  service,  and  will  run  either  on 
the  ground  or  on  a tram-way.  The  several  classes  of  animals 
will  probably  be  fed  and  attended  to  by  different  men,  excepting 
only  when  the  boxes  require  emptying,  and  it  has  been  found  an 
excellent  plan  that  some  one  man,  as  the  swineherd  for  instance, 
should  be  charged  with  feeding  and  littering  the  horses,  and  have 
the  key  of  the  feeding-passage  in  the  stable,  and  of  the  horse- 
corn  loft  and  bin.  By  this  plan  the  horses  are  all  treated  alike, 
and  are  secure  of  a good  feed  before  going  to  work  of  a morning, 
and  also  when  they  come  home  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  at 
night,  when  they  find  their  racks  and  mangers  ready  supplied, 
and  are  able  immediately  to  fill  themselves  and  lie  down,  which 
would  not  be  the  case  if  left  to  the  care  of  tired  carters.  A 
marked  improvement  has,  in  the  writer’s  experience,  followed 
the  adoption  of  this  plan,  and  there  is  also  less  liability  to  waste 
and  peculation  in  their  corn. 
Horse  Stable  ( f ). — The  horses  are  watered  at  a trough  sup- 
plied by  a pump,  between  the  sheep-sheds  (0),  a few  feet  from 
the  stable,  and  the  harness  of  each  is  hung  in  a corner  of  his 
box,  which  is  railed  off  for  that  purpose.  The  advantage  of  this 
is,  that  the  harness  for  each  horse  is  ready  at  once ; there  is  no 
time  lost  in  looking  for  a strap  here  and  a chain  there.  This 
plan  may  be  seen  at  Earl  Bathurst’s  farm,  near  Cirencester. 
It  is  a practice  in  some  parts  of  the  country  to  use  the  stable 
only  for  feeding  the  horses,  which  are  then  turned  into  an  open 
yard,  with  a shed  at  one  side,  for  the  night.  The  idea  is  that 
they  are  thus  kept  more  healthy  than  they  would  be  in  a stable  ; 
and  probably  it  may  be  so  if  a close,  ill-ventilated,  and  filthy 
building  is  appropriated  to  them.  In  the  loose  boxes  here 
proposed,  sufficient  shelter  is  combined  with  liberty  of  motion 
and  fresh  air,  and  they  are  safe  from  injury  from  biting  or 
kicking  each  other,  whilst  each  can  stretch  himself  at  his  ease  on 
his  bed.  By  means  of  openings  in  the  roof  and  air-bricks,  a 
sweet  and  wholesome  atmosphere  is  obtained.  These  boxes,  it 
will  be  observed,  are  not  excavated  to  the  depth  of  those  for 
cattle,  as  the  horses  are  not  so  constantly  in  them  ; and  when  the 
more  heating  and  ammoniacal  nature  of  their  urine  is  taken  into 
account,  with  the  absence  of  pressure  during  several  hours  of  the 
day,  there  might  be  more  likelihood  of  fermentation  taking 
place  in  the  manure.  With  this  precaution  they  have  been 
lound  highly  advantageous  at  the  farm  of  Charles  Lawrence, 
