170 
STABLE MANAGEMENT. 
HACKS AND HUNTERS. 
“ All very fine!’ 5 we think we hear the farmer exclaim. 
“ Hunters, forsooth ! there was a time when we could keep 
one or two of the right sort with a clear conscience, but now 
we have enough to do to get our cake and ale.” Well, my 
good friend, don’t grumble, there are people in this world 
who cannot do that; and moreover, you can keep a horse 
that, if not what you call one of the right sort, will still carry 
you well to market, and give you a day with the hounds now 
and then, and some of you do manage one or two of the right 
sort even now; therefore you will forgive our boring you 
with a few “wise saws” on this subject; we know it is not 
strictly an agricultural matter, albeit one that most agricul- 
tural men can grow warm upon. 
In our former sketch we suggested a few rules that we 
thought would be useful relating to the construction of the 
stable for the agricultural horse, and beyond the extra neat- 
ness in the several arrangements, we don’t think anything is 
to be added for the hack or hunter’s habitation ; the animals 
themselves, however, are very differently situated, their 
work is less regular generally, they have more time in their 
stable, and the duties required are frequently arduous if not 
continuous. 
First, for the hack ; let us look at him in his stall. There 
he stands, tied up by his head to the manger rings, his body 
well clothed, and his legs half buried in litter, clean and 
neatly arranged at the edges ; the stable is rather warm, but 
the groom knows the animal’s skin will look all the better for 
that; he fondly imagines that the horse is very comfortable, 
very carefully tended ; and so he is, indeed nearly killed with 
kindness ; but there is something about him not quite con- 
tented ; he is shifting one leg and then another, now looking 
round, now having a nibble at his manger, and looking alto- 
gether as if he would uncommonly like something to do. 
We should wish to take that careful groom, hold him by the 
button, and having bribed him to listen to us without inter- 
ruption for ten minutes, go on in this wise: “Now, my 
good fellow, first untie that horse’s head, in fact, let him 
loose, make his stall into a box ; take off one of those cloths; 
open those ventilators that you have so considerately plugged 
up; throw all that litter under his manger, and let him stand 
on the cool floor till the time comes for him to rest ; straw is 
