232 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF FARM HORSES. 
a horse who is off his feed ; but when fed from the same manger, 
the gross feeders will take care not to leave any corn behind. 
Many horses fall off in their feeding, on hard work, from con- 
stitutional delicacy, without being at the same time in ill health ; 
but if a handful of salt be sprinkled among his oats, it is incon- 
ceivable how much it will coax his appetite. The best situation 
for the racks and mangers is on a level with each other, the 
upper part being about 3| feet from the ground. The racks, how- 
ever, should not go down to the ground, and should be only large 
enough to hold about 20 lbs. of hay. 
The best material, particularly for the mangers, is iron, which 
in the end will be found the cheapest as well as the cleanest. 
The stall should be about nine feet in length, and the lowest 
part five feet in height. Where full-sized stalls cannot be given, 
quarter stalls separating the mangers, and a few feet further back, 
may be used as substitutes. They will serve to prevent one horse 
robbing another of his food, and will also economise room, and pre- 
vent biting, but they will not secure one animal from being kicked 
by another. When these short stalls are used, there should always 
be a full-sized stall at each end of the stable, into which a vicious 
horse can be put. With regard to the flooring of cart-stables, it 
should consist either of brick or wood. The latter is the cleanest 
and makes the warmest layer, but it should consist of oak-blocks 
or very hard wood, to prevent the absorption of moisture. From 
the great abundance of timber in the north of Europe, the stalls 
are mostly planked, and, in well-built stables, the lower part of 
the boarding is slightly grooved, to carry off the urine — this both 
for horses and working oxen ; the latter of which are there never 
provided with litter. The pavement may be laid with a gentle 
declivity of about two inches from the front to the back part of 
the stall, and gratings should be placed behind for the passage of 
the urine into an underground drain, conveying it to the tank or 
manure heap. With regard to the litter, it is well to remove the 
droppings from the horses much oftener than is generally done, 
and not to allow them to tread on them. By so doing, much 
litter is saved, and cleanliness and health promoted. It is also 
an excellent plan to scatter powdered burnt gypsum on the floor 
of the stable two or three times a-week. The expense is trivial, 
and will be entirely repaid by the retention of much of the am- 
monia of the urine, whilst the floor behind the horses will appear 
as clean as a new hearth-stone. If the floor of the stable be 
bricked, it is also a very good plan to wash it out occasionally 
with water saturated with gypsum. 
Having now gone through the various branches of our subject, 
