558 Reading-Course for Farmers. 



subject of the winter housing of cattle may, therefore, be frequently 

 traced to difference in practice or management. When cows calve in the 

 fall, they may be kept confined during the winter with comparatively little 

 danger, while animals that are bred to calve in the spring would be better 

 oft" with greater freedom of movement. 



The consensus of opinion among men whu keep animals especially 

 for breeding purposes, is 'n favor of the largest practical freedom of 

 movement ; while among those who keep cattle merely for milk or for 

 fattening think this of less importance. 



In the case of cattle, the great plague in Northern United States is 

 tuberculosis. While this disease is the result of a specific germ, confine- 

 ment in buildings is a prime factor in its spread. Cattle reared entirely 

 out of doors rarely contract this disease. It has frequently been noticed 

 that when an animal having the disease is brought into a herd the animals 

 standing on each side are the next to contract the disease. These facts 

 suggest that in addition to the elimination of all diseased animals, care 

 should be taken to secure, as far as may be, pure air and plenty of stm- 

 light, the least possible place for the lodgment of germs, and means of 

 ready disinfection. 



In the case of swine, hog cholera is the plague, which, in many parts 

 of the United States, makes the single or duplicate hog pen, which can be 

 moved to new ground wdien necessary, the best arrangement for housing 

 swine. Isolation of the well from the sick hogs, placing the w^ell ones on 

 fresh ground, is the best known means of combatting the disease, although 

 even this is frequently, perhaps usually, unsuccessful. 



\\'hen permanent hog pens are constructed they should be made of 

 brick or concrete walls and partitions, and with concrete or cement floors 

 and troughs, so that they may be thoroughly disinfected when necessary. 

 Such a hog pen is shown in Farmers' Reading-Course Bulletin Xo. zT). 



IX. To secure economy in feeding and watering 



One of the reasons for tying animals, and especially horses and milch 

 cows, is to provide varying amounts of feed for the needs of the dift'erent 

 individuals. In the case of cattle, individual compartments are not neces- 

 sary in order to secure this result in a practical manner, although it may be 

 necessary for experimental purposes. The continuous trough in which 

 hay, silage, roots and grain may be fed answers every, purpose for cows 

 tied by stanchions or similar methods. This trough may be woo 1 or 

 cement. The writer has found the i)lan shown in l-ig. 32^) to work well 

 for dairy cows. This i^lan practically does away with one foot in the 



