Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-11-26
farmer's Department.
Accommodation for Horses.


Now that the Winter is approaching, we
have TO speak in behalf of that noblest,
and most abused of our domestic animals, the
horse. That sign, which used to hang out up
on country taverns of the old school, " Accom-
modaton for man and beast" was usually
great fraud upon the public at least in the
latter part of its promise. The accommo Ia
tion for the horse was generally narrow stall
in mn overstocked stable, with hard plank
floor, and mere apology for bed of straw.
Here, after long days work upon the road,
old Dobbin was expected to refresh his weary
limbs. The thing was impractcable in that
atmosphere, foul with the breath of twenty
other tired horses, and with the effluvia of am
monia coming up from the saturated floors :;
and upon those hard planks, where the weight
of the horse made firm pressure upon the
verried muscles, as he lay down to Sleep
There was no chance for that relaxation of the
muscles, which is as necessary to the BRUTE as
to man.
At home, the horse is little better eff ex
cept that the stable was not so full of horses,
and he had better atmosphere to breathe
There was the same hard bed, and the same
pungent smell from the filthy floors. Not one
morse Ill u
in the Winter. In the Summer when turned
ont to pasture they resume their natural hab
its in some measure, and regain their health
which is often lost in their Winter confnc
ment. The benefit Of the Summer pasture,
which is universally conceded by ali who have
any acquaintance with this treatment. is not
owing to the change Of food, than to the
change Of atmosphere and bed. The horse,
in his native condition, hreaths the pure air OF
the prairies, and has under his ho0f continual
ly the soft turf. When he lies down, it is up
on bed of grass which yields 10 the pressure
of his body, and putS every muscle at ease.
Now, we believe, that all the conditions of
the pasture, can be supplied to the horse in his
stable, and that he can he kept in the highest
health and spirits in the barn, the year around.
We speak now of horses npOn the farm, where
green fodder is accessible for a part of the
year In the city, though their condition
might be ameliorated. it can not be entirely
remedied. Nature gives Us the needtul hints,
if We will but heed her voice.
The horse can have as pure wholesome air
in the barn, as he has upon the prairie, with
out any exposure to the keen winds and storms
that assail him in his natural state. Barns
are generally constructed, without attention
being paid to ventilation. The walls are near
" tight land not unfrequently the supply of hay
is stored in the mows over the stables, so that
all the foul o1ors escaping from the lungs and
bowels of the horse are absorbed by the hay,
until it becomes unfit for food. He is COM
PEELED to breathe over, many times this fonl
dir, and finds no relief except when he is taken
out of the stable Is it any wonder, that hor-
ses become diseased under this treatment and
die prematurely.
A barn should he constructed with ventila-
tors, of size corresponding to the number of
animals it is designed to accommodate, so that
the air will be changed as fast as it is breath
ed. This can he done SD that the animals will
not be exposed to currents, or suffer from any
undue degree Of cold.
Again: we can prepare he'd in the stable
quite as comfortable, as any horse find; in his
grassy pastures. The best bedding We have
ever found for horse, is coat of dry peat,
muck or sodS, covered with straw 1t should
be foot thick, and the drier the better
This makes q soft warm bed, and while it ac-
commodities the horse in the best manner, it
furnishes in the course of year an enormous
quantity of mannre. The straw, and the solid
fgces are removed every morning. and all the
liquid is Immediately absorbed. The stall
should be at least six feet wide, and about a
half a cord Of muck will make a good bed
This will last nearly two weeks before it be-
comes so saturated as TO emit the smell of am
moria. A horse stable should always be as
sweet as q parlor, and it is a constant waste
for man ever to have it otherwise OF course
it requires more labor to furnish horse with
these accommodations but we know from our
own practice Of several years, that the labor
is abundanty paid for, not only in the health
Of the horse but in the manure made by this
process. We are confident that no farmer,
who adopts this plan ana learns its advantages,
will ever abandon it.
We have lately seen stables constructed
with deep cemented pits under the horse, in
stead Of plank floor The pits were four or
FIVE feet deep, and would hold perhaps two
cords of muck or loam They were filed with
loan to the ordinary level OF the floor, and the
horses stood directly upon the loan, having a
bedding of straw of course, at night. The
advantages Of the pits are, that they save ex-
pense of flooring, and the muck does not need
removing SO often. Such stables Of course,
have to be upon the ground floor of the barn,
and can not be had in all eases
The bed OF muck well covered with straw,
and the ventilation, are the things Of chief i'm
portance, and these are within reach Of nearly
all farmers. Attention to these things would
add greatly to the power Of their horses, and
to their own pecuniary advantage.
KEEPING POTAToEs IN WINTER--Potatoes