Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/831

 BEAU IDEAL OF AN ENGLISH VILLA. 807 the coach-houses and the liarncss and saddle rooins ; the latter in the two angles. The side joining the harness-room should be occupied by the coach-horse stables, divided by a sort of open vestibule, in which a gig might be put out of the rain, or a horse rubbed down in wet weather ; over this open vestibule would be a loft for hay or straw, or the granary for the horse corn. Joining to the saddle-room, the riding-horse stable would occupy another side, arranged like the coach-horse stable opposite. The remain- ing side would contain stabling and harness-room for visiters' horses, and loose boxes for hunters. In the centre of this side might be a passage through to the dung-yard, and in this passage the wheelbarrows would stand under cover. 1716. A Riding-house is a luxury seldom required by persons of moderate income ; but, if it were necessary, it might be built out at right angles to the side of the stable- yard last mentioned, and be approaclied by the thorough passage above described. As the roof of the riding-house would probably appear above those of the stables, it should be ornamented with a lantern or cupola, for the sake of effect at a distance. 1717. The Stahle-yard should at least have a broad pavement round the four sides, sloping fi-om the walls to a drain ; that before the coach-house wider than the rest, to w;ish carriages upon, or there might be a square pavement for this purpose near the pump, which I would place in the centre with a large lamp over it to light the yard, the ground having a gentle slope from the pump to the edge of the pavement before the stables. If the extent of the yard would admit of it, there might be a ring of fine loose gravel between the pavement and the pump, of sufficient width to exercise sick horses upon, or other horses in cold dirty weather ; but the park would generally afford a dry sheltered situation for this puqiose. 1718. The Coach-houses should be airy and spacious, the floors dry; in low damp situations, the floor might be of stout boards. They should also be light, that the coachman may be able to rub over the carriages in damp weather without opening the doors. A closet in one of them would be convenient to receive the brushes, leathers, sponges, &c., used for cleaning carriages ; the jacks for washing the wheels would stand in the passage before mentioned, with the wheelbarrows. If the harness and saddle rooms joined the coach-houses, as they ought to do, a stove in the party wall would serve to air both ; and, if the carriages were moved every day in moist weather, each would stand near the stove in its turn, and all would be constantly fit for use. If a carriage be allowed to get damp, it is soon spoiled, and is also dangerous to ride in. The coach-houses should, of course, be ceiled, and the walls plastered and coloured, or whitewashed, and be kept particularly clean and free from dust and cobwebs. There should be blinds to the windows, and, where the doors front the south or west, it would also be necessary to have blinds to the doors, to protect the carriages from the heat of the sun when the doors are open, which they always should be in dry warm weather. 1719. The Harness and Saddle Rooms, in large stables, should always be distinct apart- ments. They should be light airy rooms adjoining the stables, but, if possible, not opening into them, as the moist heat of the stable would be injurious to the saddles and harness. The harness-room should in all cases have a stove to keep it dry. The ceiling and walls should be neatly plastered and whitewashed, or coloured. Round the room, at a sufficient height from the floo)-, should be a row of large and small pegs, on which to hang harness, bridles, &c. ; and some saddle-trees to support the saddles. From the row of pegs to the floor, the wall should be boarded, or covered with canvass painted, to keep the harness from touching the wall. A small closet, in which would be kept the brushes, leathers, &c., used in cleaning harness, would stand in one corner of the room, and a movable horse, to clean saddles upon, would occupy another corner. In the centre of the room a table v,-ith lock-up drawers would be useful, to which might be added a few strong chairs, as the stable-men sometimes sit in the harness-room in cold weather, when they happen to be unemployed. The saddle-room should be exactly like the harness-room, except that it should have more trees to support saddles, and the pegs should be such as are required to hang bridles upon, 8rc. Both rooms should be clean, and free from cobwebs and dust. 1720. The Sfahles should be lofty, airy and spacious, well lighted, and furnished with proper ventilators to keep up a circulation of air. There should be a wide open space behind the horses. Other arrangements are described in § 750. I believe the plan of supplying the racks with hay, through a hole in the floor of the loft above, is now gene- rally discarded, as being prejudicial to the health of the horses. A sort of closet ad- joining the stable, into which the hay is thrown down from the loft, and where it would be properly shaken before it was put into the racks, would be very convenient. To avoid having the corn bin in the stable, the corn is often kept in a bin in the loft above, from which it is let down into the stable by a wooden pipe with a small trap spout at the l)ottom, from which the corn may be let out at pleasure, and measured as let out, by liaving two traps or stoppers in the trunk, with such a space between them as will con-