114 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



or pleasure in the care of his cows. Use bedding if you have 

 it, dry sawdust is almost a necessity in the gutter and on the 

 heel plank. With all precautions some cows will persist in drop- 

 ping their manure and urine nearer the manger than the gutter. 

 For such reprobates a board across the stall just clearing the 

 back as they stand naturally and twelve to fifteen inches back 

 of the shoulders will often act as a forcible remider to the cow 

 of what propriety demands. Mangers should be so constructed 

 that the food of all kinds will come easily in reach of the cattle. 

 Some have discarded the manger entirely and pronounced the 

 innovation good. It certainly makes it easy to keep the feeding 

 place clean but personally I should fear that cattle might in- 

 jure their knees in trying to secure fodder they had thrown out 

 of their reach. 



Water constantly before each cow is a mooted question. 

 Some have introduced it and discarded it, — our experiment sta- 

 tion among others. In my own stable I have iron buckets be- 

 fore each cow and while I admit the objections (chiefly cows 

 slopping in the manger and throwing food into the water) I think 

 they are outweighed by the advantages. The objection of dan- 

 ger of spreading disease, tuberculosis in particular, I do not 

 weigh at all. The only safety from this is to keep the entire herd 

 perfectly sound. Then no system of watering or feeding will 

 spread it. If a contagious case exists no precautions practicable 

 will prevent its spread. If you wish to introduce this system make 

 your own pattern, take it to the nearest foundry and get your 

 buckets cast at 2^ cts a lb. No patent valves are worth fus- 

 sing with. The man who has not sufficient ingenuity to devise 

 and arrange his own system of watering should be a dry goods 

 clerk and not a farmer. A good many water twice a day in the 

 manger, the manger being made of cement for this purpose. 

 This has the important advantage of compelling cleanliness. 

 Another method I have seen in satisfactory operation consisted 

 of a wooden trough on top of the manger with a stream of water 

 constantly running through it. This was covered and in front 

 of each cow was a section of the cover on hinges. The cows 

 quickly learned to put their noses under a projection and raise 

 this cover to drink. It fell back of its own weight. 



The floor of the stable, in my judgment, if on the ground 

 floor, may best be made of cement. It is permanent. It is 

 water tight, preventing the waste of manure. It absorbs no 

 liquids to give out bad odors. As there is no chance for drafts 

 under it, it is probably warmer. As much of the labor in putting 

 it down can be done by the farmer, his own men and team, the 

 cash expenditure will often be less than for a plank floor. 

 Directions for doing the work have so often been printed it is 

 usless to repeat them here. One caution, — don't economize in the 



