Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/400

 376 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. should have small sliding shutters to regulate the ventilation. In summer, this is best effected by having the windows filled in with hinged lutt'er-boards ; or by having glass windows, with outside luffer-blinds. In the latter case, the quantity of air admitted, both in summer and winter, may be very accurately regulated by the degree to which the glass windows are opened. It was formerly supposed that darkness was favourable to good condition in liorses ; but this has been found to be a mistake, and light is now freely admitted, as well as fresh air. The floors of that part of stables in which the horses stand should be level ; because, when raised towards the horse's head, they are found to put the back sinews on the stretch, and thus to fatigue the animal when he ought to be at rest. The urine may be carried off by a drain under each compartment, covered by a grating ; and this grating where the horse stands loose, should extend from the centre of the compartment in four directions, like a right-angled cross. When the horse stands in a stall, in addition to the gutter behind, there ought to be a branch from it carried up the middle of each stall, a third part of its depth ; and this, also, ought to be covered with a close grating of cast iron, or, as it generally is on the Continent, of oak pierced with holes. These cover gratings ought to fit into the tops of the gutters, so as to lie close and level with the adjoining floor, without requiring to be fixed, in order to admit of their being lifted out occasionally, for the purpose of cleaning out the gutter. This gutter should communicate with a covered liquid manure tank by a di-ain ; or, if it communicates with an open tank, there ought to be a stink-trap in the drain immediately without the stable door, to prevent the entrance of a current of air through the grating, which air being necessarily saturated with the volatile alkali of the urine, would contaminate the atmosphere of the stable. The great advantage of this drain and grating is, that the evaporation of urine in the stable is in a great measure prevented by it ; and not only its atmosphere rendered much more healthy, both for men and horses, but the whole of the ammonia of the urine is transferred safe to the manure tank, where it forms one of the most valuable portions of the manure. To get rid of this ammonia in the stable, all droppings from the horse should be removed immediately, if practicable ; and, at all events, the litter which has been stained by the urine or the dung ought to be removed to the dung-pit, or to the outside of the stable, at least twice a day. It is the practice with some farmers to clean out their stables only once or twice a week ; but the exhalations produced by such an accumulation of matter cause many diseases in the feet and legs ; and the floor, by the unequal accumulation, being rendered uneven for the horse to stand on, he is strained and fatigued when in the stable, instead of being rested. The litter kept in a stable should be only such as is dry and sweet ; and that taken out should be immediately put into the dung-pit, to prevent evaporation. The eminent veterinary surgeon Blaine observes, in an excellent article on the horse, in our Encyclo- pedia of Agriculture (2d edit. § 6706.), that horses should not stand on litter during the day ; because, though it is thought to save their shoes, and even their feet, by preventing the uneven surface of the floor from hurting them, he aflirms that it " holds the urine, injures the feet, and is very apt to encourage swelling at the heels." As stables are commonly constructed and managed, it is by no means desirable to have a hay-loft over them ; unless this is floored in such a way as to prevent the dust and dirt from the hay from descending upon the horses, and the ammoniacal ga:i ho^n^ ascending into the hay. Upright racks are preferred to racks which slope forwards, because the horse in drawing out the hay is less liable to get dust and hay-seeds in his eyes ; but, if the best and most economical system of horse feeding were adopted, viz. cutting all the hay and fodder, and giving it to them well mixed with corn and pollard in their mangers ; and if these mangers were watertight, and the hay and fodder, previously to cutting, sprinkled with a solution of salt and water, no racks whatever would be necessary. When the horse is tied up, the halter should be contrived to run in a groove in the manger post, or in a tube behind it, to prevent it from becoming entangled with his feet. Stalls should always be wide, and for single horses of full size not narrower than six feet, and at least eight feet deep. Stalls for two horses ought not to be less than ten feet wide and eight feet deep, unless the horses are under the middle size. These are the fundamental principles and rules on which all stables ought to be formed, when the health of the horse, and the prolongation of the working period of his existence, are the objects in view. We shall now show their application. 751. The Stables for farm buildings ought to be at least sixteen feet wide from wal' to wall. The walls ought to be nine feet high ; there ought to be no ceiling or floor over ; and the width allowed for each horse should be at loist five feet, whether they are separated by partitions or not. In stables without partitions, or with partitions of not more than three or four feet from the head wall, four feet six inches may suffice ; but it has been observed that, when horses are crowded together, they do not lie down near so frequently as when they have ample space ; and it has been further remarked that horses tied U]i in stalls do not lie down near so frequently as horses which are shut up