STOCK. 167 



to do much more than live ? Or, if not in even so poor a 

 shelter as this, to be turned out into the snow to stand for 

 hours, vainly endeavoring to increase its animal warmth? 

 Under such conditions the food, insteatl of making milk, is 

 used up in making animal heat. 



Observe how often the cows are covered upon the posterior 

 parts of the body with loads of excrement, increased by daily 

 additions . Many farmers make their cattle , for weeks together, 

 stand upon the accumulating manure, with a mere sprinkling 

 of straw until the poor creatures are hock-deep in the filth, 

 or, if frozen by the cold, with the hinder parts so elevated 

 that all comfort is impossible ; and here in such stalls reeking 

 with the excrements, together with the impurities of the air 

 vitiated by their own breaths, cows are expected to be healthy 

 and furnish large supplies of milk. 



It is horrible to contemplate the filthy, as well as unhealthy 

 and execrable condition in which some farmers stall their cat- 

 tle. It is absolutely inhuman to subject these dumb animals 

 to such treatment. Stock, which in cold weather is confined 

 so much in the barn, should have a clean and even place or 

 floor on which to stand and lie down, out of the manure, and 

 plentifully covered with straw, so as to protect them from the 

 dirt and add to their warmth. No manure should be allowed 

 to accumulate on their bodies ; they should be carded and 

 rubbed down, and the skin kept as free as possible from dust 

 and dirt. The health of the animals depends largely upon 

 the condition of the skin, and this should be daily attended 

 to, that it may be kept in a wholesome condition, so that the 

 insensible perspiration be not impeded and the elFete matter 

 which finds its exit from the body through this process not be 

 prevented. The manner in which cattle are confined in the 

 stall is of great importance. Enough freedom should be 

 allowed to permit of their lying down at ease, without being 

 crowded too closely and being interfered with by their neigh- 

 bors. They should have space enough to change their posi- 

 tion, and relieve the tedium and discomfort of remaining too 

 long confined to it. 



That old English word "comfort," so expressive and mean- 

 ing so much, should be the motto written on the door of every 

 stable in which dumb animals are confined, and its meaning 



