.—Stables are the receptacles for horses in general, and are of very different descriptions; not only in respect to the various sorts of horses for which they are intended, but the improved mode of construction, and the numerous conveniencies they are now made to contain. As horses were never in such high estimation, or of such intrinsic worth, as at the present moment, so never was so much money expended upon their preservation. There can be no doubt, but the health and condition of valuable horses, may depend much upon the situation and structure of the stable; and although every person will appropriate the size of the stable, and the number of stalls, to their own wants, yet there are certain judicious rules, and desirable conveniencies, which should admit of no deviation. Whether a stable consists of two stalls, four, or six, it may be rendered equally uniform, and confidently replete with every thing that can possibly be required.
It is an established opinion, that a building of BRICK (lined or not lined with deal) is preferable to STONE for the purpose; the former being dry, and always in the same state: the latter is influenced, or acted upon, by the changes of weather; and in a hazy atmosphere, generally damp; and in constant (or continued) rains, the walls are frequently streaming with water. This, however, depends much upon the aspect to which they are erected; a circumstance not always sufficiently attended to, till it is found too late to repent. Stables are paved with bricks, clinkers, flints, pebbles, or stone, as may best correspond with the conveniences of the country in which they are erected, and where, perhaps, some of those articles are difficult to obtain. Stalls should never be less than six feet wide; nor the stable less than nine feet high: eight feet in the clear should be allowed from the heels of the horse to the wall behind him; and iron hay-racks are preferable to wood, as the latter (wherever spirited horses stand) are always in want of repair. No stables can be called good, unless they have proper rooms annexed for the reception of SADDLES, BRIDLES, HORSE CLOTHS, and every article necessary to the proper support of such an establishment; each of those become more perishable amidst the nocturnal steam of the horses than by daily use.
Experience has demonstrated the advantages of general cleanliness, temperate air, (according to the season,) and regular exercise: to the want of these, in part, or all, may be attributed the ills at INNS and LIVERY STABLES, as well as the fashionable increase of Veterinarians. Upon entering the stables of these public receptacles, (particularly if the door has been a few minutes closed,) the olfactory sensations are instantly assailed by such a profusion of volatile effluvia, as to extract moisture from the eyes, in opposition to every endeavour made to restrain it. Here stand rows of poor patient animals, absolutely fumigated with the perspirative transpiration of their own bodies, broiling with heat, and panting with thirst, in a degree beyond the temperature of a common hot-house, in the severity of the winter season. Each horse is observed to stand upon a load of litter (clean at top, and rotten underneath) very little inferior to a common cucumber-bed in heigth, with all the advantages of equal warmth from the dung below!
In this unexaggerated state stand hundreds within the environs of the Metropolis; their owners the complete dupes of ignorance, indiscretion, and imposition; the animals themselves in a constant state of languid perspiration, and bodily debility: deprived the comforts of pure air, and regular exercise, they become dull, sluggish, and stupid, as if conscious of, and depressed with, their almost perpetual imprisonment. All this erroneous mode of treatment instantly affects the eye of experimental observation. The carcase seems an incongruous accumulation, evidently full, and unnaturally overloaded, for want of gentle motion, and general friction; the legs become swelled, stiff, and tumefied; and, sooner or later, terminates in cracks, scratches, grease, or some more vexatious disorder. The hoofs, by being constantly fixed in a certain degree of heat, begin to contrast, and get narrow at the heels, holding forth the pleasing promise of hoof-bound lameness. The eyes, from a constant watry discharge, give proof of habitual weakness; the lassitude of the body, the heat of the mouth, the general gloom, and every corresponding circumstance, seems to display a frame the reverse of those whose health is preserved, and condition promoted, by a system of discipline opposite in practice, and different in effect. See Groom.
STAG, or RED DEER.
—The STAG and HIND are the male and female of this tribe, as the BUCK and DOE are of the fallow deer. The latter are mostly the natives of parks, and bred for domestic purposes, producing venison for the table; the former are the majestic inhabitants of those extensive and sequestered tracts called FORESTS and CHACES, where they are preserved as more peculiarly appropriated to the pleasures of the chase, in which even his Majesty, with his hunting retinue, condescends to engage. The STAG, individually surveyed, is one of the grandest and most stately figures in the animal creation; his very appearance instantly exciting attention and admiration. Naturally disposed to solitude, he never obtrudes upon the haunt of man, but revels in the remote and obscure shades of abstrusity. When caught sight of amidst the umbrageous stillness of his abode, the grandeur, lofty look, and commanding aspect, of his first survey, cannot be encountered without the most aweful and impressive sensations. With ample power to oppose, he has pliability to submit, and, after a few moments interview, deliberately retires to his protecting covert, seemingly more surprized than alarmed at the sight of the HUMAN SPECIES.
In the dignity of his deportment he stands unrivalled, and may, with allegorical propriety, be considered the hereditary MONARCH of the WOODS, as every other animal is observed to give way upon his approach. In his peaceable and undisturbed retirement, he is perfectly tranquil and inoffensive, displaying no antipathy or opposition to those who come not in hostility to him. His form is the most sublime and beautiful that can possibly be conceived; the elegance of his figure, the commanding effect of his stature, the flexibility of his frame, the elasticity of his limbs, the velocity of his motion, and the proportional immensity of his strength, in addition to the impression made upon the mind by the magnific grandeur of the antlers, branching from his brow, all seem uniformly calculated to render him an object of the most serious and pleasing attraction.
The RED DEER, formerly so plentiful to be found in different remote parts of England, the Highlands of Scotland, and the Lake of Killarney, in Ireland, are greatly reduced, and but very rarely to be found in a wild and unpreserved state in either. This must of course be attributed to the more advantageous distribution and cultivation of land, and the improved state of every country. Stags, or HINDS, were then found singly, and hunted or pursued by those who happened to find them; but now in the Forest of Windsor, and the New Forest in Hampshire, where they are bred and protected for the ROYAL CHASE, they assemble together; and upon Ascot Heath, near Swinley Lodge, (the official residence of the Master of his Majesty's Stag Hounds,) may be seen the largest herd in the King's dominions.
The colour of both STAG and HIND is a dingy red, with darker tints about the eyes and mouth: down the upper part of the neck, and over the points of the shoulders, is a shade of dark brown, bordering upon black: the countenance is commandingly expressive; the eye beautifully brilliant, even to poetic celebrity; and his senses of smelling and hearing equal to any animal of this country. When in the least alarmed, his position is the most majestic; he raises his head to the highest pitch, erects his ears, swells his neck, extends his nostrils, and snuffs the air, as if in curious and impatient investigation of the cause by which it was occasioned. Let this be what it may, he never takes to sudden flight, without first measuring, by his eye and ear, the magnitude of the danger, and proceeds accordingly. If dogs are not of the party, men, cattle, or carriages, seem to give him little or no concern; for, after turning twice or thrice, to take a repeated survey with a kind of confused admiration, he moves off very deliberately, without any alarming sensation.
The season for copulation with the deer tribe (see "Rutting Time") begins at the latter end of August and beginning of September, and terminates in the beginning or middle of October; depending, in that respect, a little upon the state of the season, and the ages of the different head of deer; those of two and three years old being backwarder, of course extending the time beyond those who are older. From the moment of conception with the hind, to the time of parturition, is nearly nine lunar months; as they produce in the last week in May, or one of the two first in June. Immediately after impregnation, she separates herself from the STAG; no intercourse takes place; even common association ceases; and nothing during the period of gestation ensues, but mutual and marked indifference. The hind is seldom or ever known to produce more than one, (which is called a CALF:) this she deposits in the most remote, sequestered, and best sheltered spot to be procured, for the purpose of secretion from its numerous enemies, amongst whom there is none more determined or malicious than the masculine occasion of its existence, even the sire himself. Mysterious as this may appear, it is an unexaggerated fact; and the dam, perfectly conscious of the stag's unnatural propensity, is more industrious to conceal the calf's retreat from him, than the aggregate of its other enemies.