The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-10-31

of foul smells.
BADL1-LIGHTED STABLES.
The horse, although it looks
straight forward much more than
most animals, yet does not do so
nearly as much as man, and there
fore requires in its habitatlon an
arrangement of light quite differ
ent from that IN its owners dwell
ing. Give the horse light from
only one side, and it Will direct
only one Of It's eyes towards 1t, but
the other eye will be IN the shade;
this inequality weakens both eyes.
Put it IN such a position that 1t
looks into the dark, which Is GER
tainlv unnatural, and when taken
out OF the stable the abrupt change
from darkness to light will harm
it. To place it straight against
the light, gives the latter a blind
ing effect which is also injurious to
the eyes. The horse stable should
therefore always receive its light
from above, either through sky
lights or through windows placed
near the ceiling IN the wall to
which the animals head is turned
as he stands in the stall. More
over, the stable should be always
bright, as bright indeed as daylight,
for the horse is not a night or twi-
light animal, and Is IN no need OF
an artificial darkness, like fatten-
ing stock.
THE Use OF BLINkERS.
The fourth and the principal
cause of the evil is to be found IN
the use of the blinkers. The eyes
of the hor.e, as it is well known,
lie at an acute angle with the nose-
bone. They look, therefore,
straight out sideways, but COM
mand a fan larger view than those
of men. To prevent the animals
from being startled by objects sud-
denly seen, blinkers are used, square
shades which compel the eye to
look only straight ahead. But the
horses eye is not constructed for
this purpose and is therefore per.
petually strained. The inventor
of hlinkers had certainly the hui
man eye in mind when he hit upon
his device. A shade always at
taehed to the human eyes would be
| almost harmless, and well fitted to
| put all objects on the sides Of the
road quickly out of sight. 1t is
| quite different, however, with the
| eve of a horse. Yet the blinkers
| forcibly compel him to direct his
| eye-ball towards the front, thus
straining the superior oblique mus
Gle. Moreover, imagine the tor
ture and the irritation of having a
board, day after close before your
eyes! 1t it astonishing, then. that
the horse gets dimsighted, sick or
completely blind: And all this
evil is brought about by a device
of no evil IS brought about by a
device of no earthly use. For the
h,ilkers actually tend to brighten a
horse and thus increase the evil of
timidity they were designed to di-
minish or prevent.
THE WHIP.
The fifth and last cause Of the
blindness of horses is the whip.
How often does the fine end Of the
whip, even in playful whirls, strike
the horses eve and burst therein a
blood-vessel or produce an inflama.
ton, and consequently the loss OF
sight. Even drivers who treat
their horses well often do this un-
willingly, while only wishing tc
keep their animals lively and tc
cheer them up with an occasional
touch. But far oftcner does the
evil occur at the hands of rough
brutes who substitute lashes fol
oats, and in doing so, are not con.
tent to confine their blows to the
back and sides, but deSignedly lash
the neck and head, as to hurt the
poor beast as much as possible
Rural NeW Yorker.