422 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FARM HORSE. 
of horses is a deviation from nature ; it is, therefore, incumbent on 
those who have the care or management of horses to have their 
stables well aired and cleaned. When epizootic disease visits any 
locality, stables that are unclean or ill ventilated are generally the 
first to suffer. There are no facts wanting to prove that even glan¬ 
ders or farcy may be induced by living in a polluted atmosphere. 
How important, then, it is for stables to be kept clean, and have 
a due admission of air properly regulated. The majority of farm 
stables are so ill constructed that the wind rushes in from every quar¬ 
ter through crevices; though so much evil will not follow this as 
follows the blocking up and keeping out every draught of air. In 
farm stables the smell of ammonia is not so pungent, neither does 
it accumulate to the same extent as in better establishments; for 
as fast as it is generated it escapes through the hay-loft. In them 
the greatest neglect consists in not daily removing the dung and 
saturated litter. In ceiled stables, no matter how high, the am¬ 
monia will be reflected, if no tubes or funnels ascend through the 
hayloft out through the roof of the building. In all stables where 
the hayloft is over, the ceiling ought to be securely plastered, to 
prevent the ammonia or any foul exhalations being imbibed by 
the food. In the construction of stables, and where space is no 
object, the loft should never be over the stable. No stables or 
boxes smell so sweet as those over which there is no other cover¬ 
ing than a well slated roof, or a ceiling well perforated with small 
apertures throughout. The purity of the air in the boxes of Mr. 
Wreyford’s racing establishment I have frequently remarked, over 
which there is nothing but the roof, with a small funnel. Ceiled 
stables, even with funnels, do not allow the ammonia such freedom 
of escape as roofs over with perforated ceilings : it will still be re¬ 
flected in part from the angles. Through a well-slated roof, pro¬ 
perly laid on, no fear of draught or dropping upon the horses need 
be apprehended: it will be sufficient to completely allow all noxious 
vapours to escape without the admission of the least moisture. In 
the ventilation of stables, it is not a rush of air that is required 
through them, but a constant or continued change of pure air. 
The renewal of air is absolutely required for all inhabited dwell¬ 
ings, either of man or other animals; even perfect ventilation will 
not succeed if it is not accompanied by the removal of the excre¬ 
tions as soon as they are passed by the animals. Windows should 
be contrived so as to admit light and air for ventilation without a 
a current. Tubes or funnels, which are for the escape of foul air, 
should be, at least, from eighteen to twenty inches at the bottom, 
and ascend so as to narrow to about five or six inches. The num¬ 
ber required in a stable must, of course, depend on the size and 
number of horses kept. In the paving of stables, they should be 
