the wheel-cats those on slides must at first view appear awkward, but there are many parts among the bogs and mountains so wholly destitute of practicable roads, that a carriage upon wheels would have no chance, and cannot be so usefully applied as the common slide*. These primitive vehicles without wheels are still also in use in many of the mountainous parts of Wales, and in remote districts of the Scottish Highlands, where they may be seen carrying peats among the mosses to the nearest point to which they can approach; though, in some places, they have added a pair of low wheels mounted on one end, the sliding part being shod with thick wooden slippers, and the shaft suspended on the horse's back. It has a long body, and carries a tolerably heavy load, considering where it can be used with convenience; though, when they are employed in carrying up manure from the yard to a distant field, the process of tillage is necessarily very tedious. In harvest, however, it is not uncommon to see half a dozen of these carrying from the same field, one party loading the cars in succession; a boy mounted on each horse drives the empty car full speed to the field, another party at the stack-yard receives the loads as they arrive in regular order, and a stranger will hardly credit the celerity with which a large quantity may be carried in a short space of time by this simple method. There is besides a long and narrow cart of the following dimensions, which is much in use in the provinces, where the bye-roads do not admit of a sufficient length of axletree: they are small and heavy; the wheels in height 4 feet 6 inches; in the buck or boss in length 5 feet 10 inches; the breadth 2 feet 10 inches; and the depth 1 foot 3 inches: the track of the wheels is 4 feet 3 inches in the clear. It carries only about 16 bushels, and is drawn by a pair of oxen, or by two horses abreast. For carrying hay, straw, faggots, &c., a kind of car, with a beam, is used, in shape like the cart, but larger, open at each end, and not boarded, and the same pair of wheels do for both, being shifted as occasion may require. It is called gamboe, or long-body, and gurry-butt, in Devonshire, consisting only of the ground frame of a cart, with four poles, one at each corner, and a small railing on each side, opposite the wheels. A shaft is attached to it for single horses, or a pole for oxen if in yokes. The state of the cross-roads throughout Wales not generally admitting of a greater length of axletree, this gave rise to the formation of conical wheels, *Tyrone Survey, p. 49. with bent axletrees, affording a wider space between the top and the bottom of a pair of wheels, so as to admit carriages of wider dimensions to the body upon the same length of axletree. Most of the waggons and carts in modern use have also curved surboards over the wheels, similar to those in several English counties; and the large carts are frequently furnished with double bodies, one with ripples for harvest-work, and the other boarded for coal, lime, or other close loads *. The general custom also prevails here, and also in Devonshire and the south-west parts of England, of conveying burdens on the backs of horses, either on pack-saddles, or in a sort of half-round wooden box, called a dung-pot, which is very commonly used for carrying out manure in mountainous districts. For carrying corn in the sheaf they likewise employ a willow pannier, which is shaped like a W; the middle rising about 15 inches above the horse's back, and the ends standing 4 or 5 feet apart. There is indeed much resemblance in many practices between those counties and the southern parts of Ireland: the carriage of loads on horses' backs bears sufficient internal evidence of its origin, as it must have preceded the making of regular roads, the adoption of which is still rendered difficult in many retired parts of the country t. These implements can, however, be only regarded as the rude expedients of barbarous ages, which, although rendered necessary through the want of roads, yet have no longer that plea to sanction their continuance in almost any part of the United Kingdom. They are, indeed, fast falling into disuse; and as other obstacles to improvement are removed, they will, no doubt, ere long, be only remembered among the antiquated habits of our forefathers. STABLE MANAGEMENT. Notwithstanding that the cost of horses forms a prominent item in the farmer's outlay, there is frequently no part of his live-stock, nor any branch of his business, either so ill understood or so much neglected as stable management. Let any one look into the low-roofed, narrow, dark, and unstalled building in which teams are often huddled together in some of the old homesteads, and the fumes arising from stagnant urine lying upon the uneven pavement, as well as from accumulated heaps of fermenting litter, and he must be convinced that it is a place as noxious to health as the cobwebbed rafters, the unwhitewashed walls, and the confusion of the harness and utensils, show it to be devoid of neatness and order. Let him examine the horses, and he will find that, although perhaps sleek from good feeding, their coats are foul and their heels greasy. Instead of exhibiting the sprightly appearance indicated by animals that have been comfortably bedded, their heavy eyes and sluggish appearance distinctly mark the state of the stable they have quitted. But though this description is strictly applicable to many stables, it must yet be admitted that those on most farms of magnitude wear a very different appearance. A stable for farm-horses need not be trigged out like one for hunters; but it should be roomy, clean, and well ventilated, and everything belonging to it should be kept in its proper place. Neither is it necessary that it should be completely stalled: team-cattle are generally quiet-if vicious, they should be got rid of. A pair of horses, worked together, will stand and feed together quite as conveniently as in separate stalls, if allowed sufficient room, and two in one stall are more convenient to the carter. Horses gather their feet under them; and 5 feet, or 4 feet if the cattle be not * Surveys of South Wales, vol. i. p. 205-209; North Wales, p. 121. + Surveys of Cork, p. 249; and of Devon, p. 125. large, is sufficient width for the fore-quarter. A division between each pair is, however, desirable; but a strong post and rail will be sufficient, without close boarding, provided a partition be made about 4 feet long, and extending from thence upwards at least the full depth of the manger, so as to inclose both that and the rack. Horses, however, sometimes acquire a habit of not lying down at all in the stable, if they be not very conveniently lodged; and as this cannot but prove highly prejudicial to their health, they should, in such cases, be accommodated with roomy single stalls, or else turned out under a loose shed. Double stables, in which horses stand heel to heel, are objectionable; and hay is better when cut fresh daily from the stack, as well as more economically used, than when kept in lofts. Corner racks are preferable to those which extend along the front; and if bars be nailed across the manger, at about a foot distance from each other, they will prevent the horses from throwing out their food, which they are apt to do in search of the corn, when it is mixed with chaff, as well as when they have filled themselves. Every kind of food should also be administered in small quantities at a time: when manger-meat is given, and even when racked up for the night, the provender should be served out sparingly. A cart-horse, fed on dry food, will require from two to three hours to consume his morning feed; the men should therefore be early in the stable, and all food should be punctually given at stated hours. Regularity should also be observed in the hours of their work. A farm-horse can well support ten hours' labour in the day, provided he be not hurried, and the time be divided into two equal periods, with a rest of at least two or three hours between. In the short days of winter, when that cannot be allowed, the time may be prolonged to six or even seven hours, but ought never to extend beyond eight, with a short bait. Care is also requisite in watering horses in the stable; and it should never be given either immediately before or after their corn, unless they first eat some hay. On the road they may be watered moderately, and then put gently into motion, instead of allowing them to stand at an alehouse door while the carter refreshes himself. Some persons imagine that hard spring-water is the most wholesome for cattle, but horses invariably prefer it soft. Farm-stables are merely intended to protect the cattle from the weather, for, being much exposed to changes of the temperature, they should never be kept hot; and, as fresh air is an essential element of health, the windows should be merely latticed, like those in granaries, and two or three wooden funnels, according to the size of the stable, should be inserted from the ceiling through the roof, thus forming so many chimneys for the escape of foul vapour. The floors of all stables should be paved with either clinkers or table-stones, laid close and even, and well bedded under the foundation, as otherwise a portion of the urine will be absorbed by the soil, and will emit a nauseous and unwholesome exhalation. The floor should be slightly raised at the front of the stalls; but the slope should not exceed 3 inches, and that should be provided for by raising the litter behind them, or they will stand in an uneasy position. The doors would be more conveniently placed at one end of the stable than in the side, as the dung will be more easily removed, and a free passage may be allowed to the urine by a gentle slant in the gutter of the pavement at their feet, which may then be conveniently carried off by a drain. Some very intelligent farmers keep their teams entirely in open yards, or hammels, surrounded with well-littered sheds for them to run under at pleasure; and experience has proved that, in this manner, their health may be maintained as well, if not better, than in stables. In the eastern district of Suffolk, horses are seldom permitted to remain in the stable at night, but are turned out when fed in the evening, by which treatment they become hardy, and are neither subject to swelled legs, nor to colds and inflammation. Such a yard does for the whole year-for summer soiling and winter feeding-but it is attended with the inconvenience of exposing them to accidents when many are thus together; neither can their food be so equally divided, nor can they be kept equally cleant. Carters have the character of being proverbially thieves-not in the most nefarious sense-but they think it no harm to pilfer corn to pamper their teams: they have no idea of any better mode of feeding than to cram them to the utmost, and, if allowed the free use of hay, they will not only waste it, but, out of mistaken kindness, do the animals serious injury by overloading their stomachs. On every consideration, therefore, of health and economy, they should be allowanced. The chaff, as well as the corn, should be weighed, or measured, and if hay be given in the racks, it should be bound, and given out in trusses: the expense of binding will be more than repaid by the saving in consumption. Marshall has justly observed in his Minutes of Agriculture, that, by stinting the quantity, the men become more careful; they look upon it as something, and know that, if they lavish to-day, they will want to-morrow; thus the servant learns frugality, while his cattle have their food regularly: he will give them a little at a time, and see that they eat it up clean. There is a sympathy between the human and the brute creation, arising from acquaintance, which is more easily observed than communicated. There are carters who would sooner starve themselves than their horses, and among stock-feeders in general, it is obvious to common observation; though this kindness does not extend equally to the bestowal of their labour, and, from habit, as well as idleness, they are very generally neglectful of the essential duties of cleanliness. Much of this must, however, be attributed to their masters, who too commonly treat them as men not to be trusted, and suspicion naturally begets deceit. There is, consequently, but little sympathy existing between them; but when servants are used with kindness, they often return it with interest, and devote themselves with sincerity to the service of their employer. Condition is a word of large meaning in the stable of a gentleman; in that of a farmer, whose horses should be kept more for work than for show, it should be understood to mean a sufficiency of wholesome food, evidenced by a healthy, mellow, clean-skinned hide, without much fat,-a lively eye, and a general appearance of health. Common working horses require but little grooming; yet their coats should be kept clear of scurf, and their feet should be well attended to. The rough hair which encumbers their fetlocks is useful in some countries as a protection against flints, but a much less quantity would serve that purpose, and when allowed to remain clogged with dirt, it engenders grease. Through a very unwise economy of some masters, the shoes, too, are seldom removed until they are either completely worn or broken, by which much injury is done to the hoof; their shoulders are galled by want of timely attention to the state of the collars; and time is continually lost by the breaking and patching of the harness. In all these cases prevention is better than cure; and, besides the established *Suffolk Report, p. 219; Oxfordshire do., p. 283. See also the plans of Cattle-sheds in the following chapter. regulation of removing the dung and 'setting the stable fair' every morning, as well as seeing that each horse be thoroughly dry and clean, his feet washed, and occasionally oiled and stopped, before making up for the night,'-it would be a good rule to have a regular inspection of the cattle, harness, and implements, once every week, even were a portion of the Saturday evening's usual work devoted to that purpose. SHOEING. Although the better class of veterinary surgeons are now men of considerable education, possessing science of inestimable service to the animals placed under their care, it is yet to be regretted that the common run of farriers are men of a very different description, who, though usually employed in common cases, yet should never be entrusted in one that incurs danger. They, however, are generally handy workmen, and possessed of knowledge and observation sufficient to shoe a horse with propriety, though it is often an operation which requires considerable delicacy, and, in the commonest case, should never be confided to a man who is not perfectly master of his business. Though usually executed, through the general docility of the animals, without any extraordinary difficulty, yet there is no one who has not witnessed repeated instances of accidents to both men and horses, through the violence or the imperfect performance of the operation, through the unsteadiness of the latter; and it even sometimes becomes necessary to cast them, in order to avoid danger, from the want of a proper machine for the purpose of security. This difficulty may, however, be avoided by the adoption of the Flemish forge, which is in general use throughout the Low Countries, and consists of strong posts and rails, by which the horses are confined in a very simple apparatus, which may be easily erected, and which we partly copy from one of the plates in the work of Count Lasteyrie on agricultural implements *. *Collection de Machines employées dans l'Economie Rurale, par le Comte de Lastey rie, tome ii. Animaux, planche 11, fig. 2 and 3. |