THE STABLE. 
299 
like the English cock pheasant. Their shape is 
something like the English pheasant, though twice 
their size. 
Slock ,—Of course one would not look for much 
stock on such a place as this. Nevertheless, Mr. 
Halsey has his fancies, and among the animals we 
most admired were some fine grade Durham cows, 
which are excellent milkers. We also noticed here 
a pure while breed of pigs, descended from an import¬ 
ation from England, made about three years since. 
These are Chinese in their forms, very fine in all their 
points—thrifty, hardy, and of good size. Mr. H. has 
had spring pigs of this breed that weighed well fatted 
at Christmas from 250 to 300 lbs. 
All the out-buildings of Mr. Halsey’s villa are neat 
and commodious. The mansion is of dark freestone, 
roomy, and of a pleasing style of architecture. We 
know few places more desirable for a residence, and 
every time we visit it we find something new to ad¬ 
mire there and in the charming country around. 
THE STABLE. 
Mangers .—In America mangers are universally 
made of wood; in Great Britain of wood, stone, and 
cast iron. To each there are objections that are con¬ 
trolling, and in reference to stone they are perhaps 
insuperable. Those of wood, though cheap, require 
constant repairs; those of iron are dear, yet last for 
ever. In addition to the expense of stone, the 
manger itself is cumbersome and unwieldy. Stone 
may then be deemed of no value, and our remarks 
will be confined to iron and wood. The cheapness 
of wood will possibly determine of what the manger 
shall be constructed, and on that account it may be 
thought useless to write of the good qualities of iron 
for mangers. In our large cities, and at gentlemen’s 
country seats, expensive stables are not unfrequently 
built, and the aim is, regardless of cost, to make 
the stable complete. In such the iron manger might 
well be used, and ultimately it would be cheaper than 
the one of wood. 
The excellences of iron mangers are their durability 
and their cleanliness. Once erected they cost nothing 
for repairs. They imbibe no moisture, and therefore 
never become musty, and if food be suffered to lie 
and must in them, they instantly become sweet when 
the musty food is removed and they are washed. 
When in use, though constantly wet, they do not 
rust; and when not in use, they are never wet, and 
so cannot rust. They do not wear away with use, 
and cannot be chewed by the horse. 
On the other hand, wooden mangers possess no 
one of these qualities. They imbibe moisture and 
retain it. They become foul frequently when in use 
even with dry food; and if boiled food be given in 
them they never are sweet. Mangers when out of 
use will "become filled with filth. If of wood, they 
become tainted with the odors of the filth, and these 
odors are retained by the porous nature of the wood. 
The food, however fresh it may be, is rendered dis¬ 
gusting when put into them, and the horse feeds reluc¬ 
tantly, or not at all. Idle horses must employ them¬ 
selves in some way, and they find a pleasure in the 
only employment left them, viz., to chew the manger. 
When once the habit of eating the manger is estab¬ 
lished, the horse may and often does become a con¬ 
firmed crib-biter, or wind-sucker. In this condition 
he is unsound, and his value seriously impaired. If 
a wooden manger is to be secured against the teeth of 
the horse, it must be well protected by iron cover¬ 
ings ; and then it is perhaps as expensive as one of 
iron, and yet not so sweet and clean. 
In short, if expense be not regarded, iron should 
always be used for mangers; and where wood is 
used, the utmost care should be taken to keep them 
clean and sweet. This is due to the horse from mere 
humanity, if not interest. If we have work from the 
horse, he should have good food from us ; and if he 
do not have it, we cannot have the work. The horse 
not only requires to have good food, but he requires 
it to be clean and served in a clean manner. If sick 
or delicate, however nice his food may be, he will not 
eat it from a disgusting manger. If well and hearty 
he will not eat so freely, and his vigor will not be so 
easily maintained. 
It is usual to make the manger of the same width 
as the stall. This, however, is not necessary, and 
should not be if the stalls be not full long. If the 
manger occupy the whole of the end of the stall, the 
length of the stall is diminished by the width of the 
manger, and if it do not go to the floor, the horse will 
get his head below it, and be injured perhaps by vio¬ 
lent blows, have poll-evil induced; or he may in 
pawing bruise his legs and lame himself. If the 
manger go to the floor, space is lost. Perhaps in no 
case should the manger fill the whole width of the 
stall. 
A Mangee.—Fig. 67. 
Our cut this week shows a manger occupying only 
one corner of the stall. This answers all the pur¬ 
poses of a large manger, and is free from its objec¬ 
tions.. Tt leaves all the stall to the horse, that he can 
use, and he cannot be injured by it. 
Mangers should be about three-and-a-half feet high. 
It has been said that mangers should be low, as na¬ 
ture designed the horse to eat from the ground. The 
natural position of the head of the horse when stand¬ 
ing is on a level with the body. It requires exertion 
and some labor to feed from the ground, none from a 
manger three or four feet high Whatever nature 
