FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VII 475 



The fixtures should be as simple as possible and should, preferably, 

 be constructed of iron. The patent stanchions and stalls furnish a strong 

 and simple means of keeping the cows in place. The swinging stanchions, 

 fastened at the top and bottom by several links of chain, are very com- 

 fortable for the animals. Sloping partitions reaching within a foot of the 

 drop should separate the cows. This prevents injuries to udders and 

 teats by cows stepping on each other. The stalls should be three and 

 one-half feet wide, which gives plenty of room for the average cow. 



It is very seldom that the dairy barn requires artificial heat. If the 

 barn has siding on the outside and paper and ceiling boards on the inside, 

 it furnishes an air-tight wall. The barn is heated by the animals to a 

 temperature of about fifty degrees, which is about the correct temperature. 



Large production is always accompanied by a good circulatory system. 

 In order to have a vigorous flow of blood, the cow must have plenty of 

 fresh air to purify her blood. It is, therefore, very essential to have some 

 means of supplying fresh air. Very little attention has been paid to this 

 in the past, which is one of the reasons why the milch cows go into 

 pasture in the spring in a weak condition. They are kept in the barn 

 and compelled to breathe foul air over and over again, and if any of the 

 cows are diseased the others are under conditions to contract it very 

 readily. 



All systems of ventilation are based on the fact that cold air is heavier 

 than warm. The King system is used most extensively. It admits pure 

 air by means of ducts, without creating a draught, and draws off the 

 impure air by means of outlets. Another means of furnishing fresh air 

 is by admitting it through swinging windows and drawing off the impure 

 air by means of several ventilators. 



Light, the third important factor, should be furnished in abundance. 

 It is the greatest disinfectant we have, and as germ life is very antagonistic 

 to both milk and animals, the importance of light is evident. Each cow 

 should have six square feet of window space. Glass is little more ex- 

 pensive than wood and should be used freely in building the barn. 



I have thus far spoken only of the new dairy barn. There are a large 

 number of barns already built that could be greatly improved with little 

 expense. A ventilating system could be installed without materially 

 changing the barn, and windows could be sawed between the ones that are 

 already there. By making a few simple changes, the old barn can be 

 transformed into a comfortable home for the dairy cow. 



EFFICIENCY IMPORTANT. 



The farm, and especially the dairy farm, if it is to be made a success, 

 must be operated on the same basis as our factories. In fact, the farm 

 is a factory, and every animal on it a machine placed there for the specific 

 purpose of making a substantial profit over and above the cost of main- 

 tenance and labor. As in the manufacturer's plant, the machines on the 

 farm should be put to a rigid test, and if they fall below a certain stand- 

 ard they should be disposed of at once and replaced with those having 

 greater efficiency. 



