VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 103 



ability to resist hardship, as much as that would. And this 

 is true in a broader sense. There is a family in my neighbor- 

 hood the children of which go bare-footed until after snow 

 comes, I don't know as you could kill one of those children if 

 you were to try. 



Gov. Hoard. In families brought up in that way every 

 child dies that can die. 



Mr. Tinkham. It is a good thing. It is just what it comes 

 to, the survival of the fittest. It is true with us, physically 

 and mentally. 



Gov. Hoard. But we do not allow the cow to live in that 

 way, we shut her up. Let the cow alone and let her have her 

 range and she will take care of herself. She won't give 

 much milk, but she will look out for herself,. You shut her 

 up and if you shut her up you are in duty bound to exercise 

 sufficient judgment to give her pure air, therefore you must 

 provide her with ventilation, to let in good air and let out the 

 bad. 



Mr. Bronson. I would like to call your attention to the 

 basement stable. Some of the worst ammoniated stables I 

 have ever seen were some of the old stables where the manure 

 was outside. It looks to me as though a well ventilated base- 

 ment with the conditions our farmers have, is the best for 

 them. How do you fix the stable floors so there will be no 

 trouble? 



Gov. Hoard. If you keep your stable at fifty you will read- 

 ilv see there must be exhalation. I would construct the bottom 

 of my stable of cement, except where the cows must lie, there 

 I put plank. The cows are always well bedded but cows 

 will push that bedding away and leave bare places, so where 

 they lie I put a non-conductor. This plank runs under them 

 but just as soon as they step back they stand on cement, and 

 behind them there is a slight gutter, not over two inches deep 

 and in everything about it I try to make it absolutely imper- 

 vious, I would sprinkle land plaster night and morning in 

 there, first for the health of my cows, and second to save am- 

 monia. You go to New York and pay for ammoniacal salts, 

 say, sixteen cents a pound. Now land plaster costs me $1.60 a 

 barrel and I believe it is worth two or three times as much as 

 it costs to hold nitrogen in the manure until it is used for 

 plant food. It is sprinkled in the gutters night and morning. 

 Horse manure in the gutter behind the cows is spread as an 

 absorbant and if I have not sufficient horse manure I gather 

 about a dozen salt barrels full every year of road dust. My 

 hired men go into the roads and gather up the dust and these 

 barrels are carried into the stable and they stand there. It 

 takes a little labor but what are we here for but to swap la- 



