No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 153 



enough the effect will be permanent. Bad air lessens the vitality 

 and strength of animals that have to breathe it. It reduces their 

 ability to resist disease, it irritates their respiratory tracts and it 

 interferes with nutrition. 



There is little excuse for subjecting animals to an unbalanced 

 ration of air. The supply is plentiful and universal and will be 

 within the reach of every animal unless it is deliberately excluded. 

 The fact that it is so frequently excluded shows that this cheapest 

 but most valuable of foods and of luedicines is not appreciated at 

 anything like its true value. 



It is impossible in this short paper to describe the principles and 

 practice of ventilation — that must be a separate task. 



Third — Exercise. Perhaps the subject of exercise does not strictly 

 come within the title of this paper, but it is so clearly related to 

 the other topics that it can scarcely be disregarded in this con- 

 nection. To be brief, it is well known that exercise of any part of 

 the body leads to development, and disuse leads to atrophy. With- 

 out exercise, the muscles, lungs and heart cannot be properly devel- 

 oped, the body cannot be properly nourished, there is but little abil- 

 ity to resist unfavorable conditions of life, and decay, disease and 

 death result. It may be economical for a time to keep cows without 

 exercise, but as a permanent system of herd management it is sure 

 to lead to disastrous results. We cannot expect to rear cattle 

 having well developed lungs, strong hearts and active functions if 

 they spring from ancestors that do not have these necessary quali- 

 ties. And all of these depend on a sufficient amount of bodily exer- 

 cise. It is often .said that exercise lessens milk flow so much that 

 it cannot be allowed profitably. This is an error. The cows that 

 have made the greatest milk records have been exercised. Cows 

 give more milk when exercising at pasture than when tied up in a 

 stall. It has been shown that cows of the Simmenthal breed in 

 South Germany that do the work of oxen are profitable milkers and 

 that the flow of milk is not lessened materially by the hard, muscu- 

 lar work they have to do. The most severe test is the one that is 

 long continued — the test of time. Can any advocate of the practice 

 of keeping cows without exercise point to a herd that has been kept 

 in this way for fifteen or even for ten years that is not now composed 

 of small, delicate, poorly developed and unprofitable cattle? I sub- 

 mit that a plan of herd management that destroys the quality of a 

 herd in fifteen years should be discarded. 



Fourth — Comfort. To do her best, a cow should be comfortable. 

 If the animal strains without avail to gather up the food that has 

 beep pushed beyond her reach, if she is unable to turn her head to 

 lick the place that is a source of annoyance, if the stall is too nar- 

 row or too short or the floor too uneven for comfortable repose, the 



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