VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 113 



of lumber. In old buildings paper of good quality can be used 

 on the inside without covering with boards. Its cheapness and 

 easy use render the exposure of our cattle to the weather utterly 

 inexcusable. Ceiling on the inside, leaving a dead air space, 

 is desirable and, in exposed locations, perhaps necessary. It 

 can be done with high priced and ornamental lumber if the 

 pocket book warrants the outlay. If not two thicknesses of the 

 cheapest half inch lumber with paper between is just as warm, 

 probably warmer. Wooden shutters for windows, to be closed 

 in cold nights, are desirable as the experience of our poultry 

 friends has amply taught. Glass is a source of warmth in the 

 sunlight but in the night time serves only to rapidly radiate 

 warmth without in the least purifying the air. The shutters 

 therefore are a clear saving. 



Ties open up a wide field which can only be touched upon. 

 The old fashioned rigid stanchions have held many good and 

 profitable cows through many a long season and is probable that 

 the cows could not have suffered much or such good work would 

 not have been done. Still we believe there are better ties. 

 Which is the best no one knows. Every agricultural paper is 

 full of cuts and descriptions both in the ads. and the reading 

 matter. Three general classes are offered. The patent stall in 

 which the cow stands entirely free ; swinging stanchions of one 

 device and another ; and tying by a rope from head or neck. 

 Investigate all methods and adopt the one best adapted to your 

 needs. Combine and improve and pay out nothing for patent 

 rights. I have no hesitation however in urging that whatever 

 tie you use, each cow be separated from her neighbour by a 

 partition. The single item of saving in cows teats being step- 

 ped on by neighbours more than pays the extra expense. It re- 

 quires a little more room but not more than the cow should have 

 for reasons of health. 



Cleanliness must also be mentioned as one of the necessities, 

 both on account of the health and comfort of the cow and the 

 quality of the product. The gutter should be not less than 

 eighteen inches wide and eight inches deep and cleaned at 

 least once a day. The width of the platform is important. It 

 must be adapted to the length of the cow. If too short it is 

 liable to injure the cow, especially when well along in pregnancy. 

 If too long cleaniness is impossible. Where the stall is used 

 this can be arranged by having the manger wall next to the cow 

 movable. If this is not desired make the platform longer at 

 one end of the stable than the other and arrange cows according 

 to size. Walk behind the gutter should be not less than three 

 feet and better four or five feet wide. Nothing tends more to 

 render the care of a herd of cows a nuisance than the absence 

 or narrowing of this space. Without it no one can take comfort 



