e to know and study the
causes.

CAUSES OF DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS.

The causes of many of the diseases of these organs may be given under a
common head, because even a simple cold, if neglected or badly treated,
may run into the most complicated lung disease and terminate fatally. In
the spring and fall, when the animals are changing their coats, there is
a marked predisposition to contract disease, and consequently at those
periods care should be taken to prevent other exciting causes.

Badly ventilated stables are a frequent source of disease. It is a
mistake to think that country stables necessarily have purer air than
city stables. Stables on some farms are so faultily constructed that it
is almost impossible for the foul air to gain an exit. All stables
should have a sufficient supply of pure air, and be so arranged that
strong drafts can not blow directly on the animals. In ventilating a
stable, it is best to arrange to remove air from near the floor and
admit it through numerous small openings near the ceiling. The reason
for this is that the coldest and most impure air in the stable is near
the floor, while that which is warmest and purest, and therefore can
least be spared, is near the top of the room. In summer, top exits and
cross currents should be provided to remove excessive heat. Hot stables
are almost always poorly ventilated, and the hot stable is a cause of
disease on account of the extreme change of temperature that a horse is
liable to when taken out, and extreme changes of temperature are to be
avoided as certain causes of disease.

A cold, close stable is invariably damp, and is to be avoided as much as
the hot, close, and foul one. Horses changed from a cold to a warm
stable are more liable to contract cold than when changed from a warm to
a cold one. Pure air is more essential than warmth, and this fact should
be especially remembered when the stable is made close and foul to gain
the warmth. It is more economical to keep the horse warm with blankets
than to prevent the ingress of pure air in order to make the stable
warm.

Stables should be well drained and kept clean. Some farmers allow large
quantities of manure to accumulate in the stable. This is a pernicious
practice, as the decomposing organic matter evolves gases that are
predisposing or exciting causes of disease. When a horse is overheated,
it is not safe to allow him to dry by evaporation; rubbing him dry and
gradually