Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/402

 378 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA AKCHITECTUIIE. 771 772 in the harness-room. There should be one or more lanterns, suspended by cords and pulleys from the roof over the passage, for putting lighted candles in, while feeding or cleaning tlie horses during winter. The racks, when placed on the floor, should occupy two thirds of the width of the stall or horse-room, and the manger ought to occupy the other third, its top being on a level with tiiat of the rack ; or the rack may occupy one angle, and the manger the other. The loft being condemned in farm stables, a place must be provided for holding food and litter ; the most convenient is one or two divisions in every stable opposite its door, into which the food, whether green clover or tares in summer, or hay or roots in winter, can be readily carried from without, and easily distributed within. Being near the door, the food will be better ventilated than it could be in any other part of the stable, and it will occupy the least valuable part with reference to the horses ; it being well known that in farm stables the horse which stands opposite to the door is more liable to take cold than any otlier. The corn bin or chest may also be kept in one of these divisions, and, in that case, should be so large as to have separate compartments for corn and beans, and for cut straw or hay, or bruised ftirze to mix with the corn or pulse. Stable doorways ought to be made four feet wide, and seven feet high ; and the door ought to have no projecting latches or handles, because these are apt to hurt the horse, or become entangled with the harness. Racks and mangers are very frequently made of cast iron, and they are found much more durable and economical than wood, without any inconvenience being experienced from them. Fig. 770 is a cast-iron rack, two feet four inches long, one foot wide in the centre, and one foot four inches high. The bars are one inch and a half by five eighths of an inch in thickness, and two inches and a half apart ; the whole weighs thirty pounds, and costs by retail 8s. 6d. Below it is seen a cast-iron manger, three feet long, one foot three inclies wide, outside measure, at top, and eight inches deep. It weighs two quarters tliirtcen pounds, and costs 10s. 6d. Fig. 771 is a wrought-iron angle rack. The chord of the arc on each side is two feet eight inches ; the surrounding frame is one inch and a half by a quarter of an inch j