152 . ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



of tlie animal are studied and met. That these needs are not gener- 

 ally recognized, is clear to one who considers the manner in which 

 the majority of herds are cared for and housed. When it is sug- 

 gested that certain improvements should be made, a common remark 

 is that farmers cannot afford to improve their barns and premises 

 with milk, selling for the low price that it does. While this is no 

 doubt true, in large measure, it is not the principal reason for fail- 

 ure to provide more sanitary stables, because new stables are 

 built every now and then and the better arrangements that could be 

 introduced without increased cost are frequently neglected. Hence 

 it is clear that there is not at this time the general recognition of 

 certain needs of the animal that must prevail before important ad- 

 vance can be expected. Without going into this subject to a greater 

 length than is permitted in this paper, I can scarcely do more than 

 enumerate the chief factors in this problem. 



First — Light. If w-e judge the appreciation of the value of light 

 as a health preserver and health giver by the amount of it that is 

 admitted to the average stable, we must come to the conclusion that 

 it is generally regarded as injurious rather than beneficial. Even 

 in new stables the glass area is restricted to exceedingly meagre pro- 

 portions. Who is comfortable in a gloomy, darkened house? We 

 all know the depression caused by such surroundings and also the 

 enlivening and cheering effects of light. Light has a direct effect 

 on metabolism, on the resistance of the tissues to disease producing 

 organisms and influences and on bodily vigor. Light is a disinfect- 

 ant. Every one has noticed that fungi and other lower members of 

 the vegetable kingdom grow in dark places and that they are killed 

 by sun light. To cultivate bacteria in the laboratory it is necessary 

 to keep the tubes containing them in the dark. If exposed to the 

 sun the creatures die. There is an important lesson in this observa- 

 tion, and a powerful argument for light in the stable. 



Moreover, it has been shown by direct experiments made at the 

 laboratory of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board that like ani- 

 mals kept, fed and exposed to disease in the same wa;y^, except as 

 regards light, will live considerably longer when kept in a light 

 place than when kept in the dark. 



We have learned that light is necessary in the house, and we 

 should learn that the stable should be flooded with life-giving, heal- 

 ing sunshine to a larger extent even than the house. 



Second — Air. Air is food. The great need of the system for air 

 is shown by the promptness with which an animal will die when de- 

 prived of it. Contaminated air is even worse than contaminated 

 forage. Every one has experienced the evil, depressing effects of 

 breathing the vitiated air of a crowded and poorly ventilated hall. 

 If the conditions producing such depression are continued long 



