]^94 BOARD OF AURIUULTURE. 



thvouah a floor to the cows and the manure wheeled through another 

 door from the cows ; by some such an arrangement as this the hay 

 and grain will not be contaminated by the manure or b}' tlie cow's 

 breatli and other odors, nor, in turn, will the cows be covered with 

 the dust of the hay and grain barn, nor will they have the fumes of 

 tons of rotting and heating manure forever rising up under their 

 nostrils and constantly contaminating their food and their milk. 



The cow's flank and udders should be as clean or cleaner than a 

 horse's flank — why not? If the cow is tied by a stanchion or b}' a 

 properly adjusted chain, and is placed upon a platform which drops 

 six or eight inches behind her heels, she will keep herself clean in 

 ninet3'-nine cases out of each hundred. As it is, the reverse is 

 almost literally true, ninety-nine cows are very dirt}^ for one that is 

 clean, and yet it is not much more difficult to keep a cow clean than 

 it is to keep a horse clean, and how vastly more important it is! 

 When I see people riding out with sleek, well-groomed horses and 

 reflect upon the nastv condition of the cows whence comes the milk 

 they and their children drink, I am tempted to compare them with 

 people who wear lace collars and velvet coats but who seldom take a 

 bath ! "We all know people of this kind and are careful to avoid 

 theili. 



I find the Robbins' Cattle Tie, of chain, or chain and leather, 

 and the Barnard Stanchion, of wood or iron ( combined with 

 the above mentioned short platform ) , the onl}' methods b}' which 

 cows can be economically and thoroughly kept clean and com- 

 fortable. These methods of fastening are much easier for the 

 cow than the old-fashioned rigid stanchion ; the}' permit her to get 

 up and down without injury to the shoulders or knees, or strain upon 

 any part of the bod}' ; they permit her to lick or scratch herself and 

 to lie with the head naturall}' In' the side as in the j'ard or open 

 pasture, 3'et they keep her absolutely from going forward into the 

 manger, from dunging on the platform where her flank or udder will 

 rest, and the}' prevent her from standing with her hind feet in the 

 gutter or on the lower level. They are well made, strong, safe and 

 not expensive, and the most desirable in the market. At least these 

 are the conclusions which I have arrived at after watching the work- 

 ings of, and trying a dozen or twenty difTerent methods, and after 

 more than a year's trial of the two kinds commended above. Try 

 one of them with the platform dropping eight inches, half an inch 

 behind the cow's heels. 



