390 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the death rate bears a close relation to the purity of the milk supply. 

 A still more cogent factor is the care accorded the infants by their 

 mothers. It was found that where the babies were kept clean and well 

 cared for in the matter of clothing and temperature they were seldom 

 ill even though the milk supply was defective. On the other hand even 

 where the milk supply was well nigh perfect gross neglect was almost 

 always fatal. These doctors discovered facts which are current knowledge 

 among milk sellers, namely, that no matter how good the milk was when 

 delivered at the door of the house, it was very likely to be off flavor and 

 loaded with bacteria of noxious type before it passed the lips of the 

 infant. The neglected milk bottle is the executioner of a large majority 

 of the human race. 



CLEANLINESS AND COLD. 



Milk delivered to a creamery or cheese factory should receive as care- 

 ful treatment as if it were to go into the city milk trade, since the quality 

 of the butter and cheese is controlled by the quality of the milk. Let us. 

 in the remainder of this paper, therefore, consider how the farmer is 

 to meet his responsibility in this respect, how he is to economically manage 

 his herd in order to produce a quality of milk that shall meet the re- 

 quirement of factory or consumer. 



I have spoken of the health of the cow as far as infectious diseases 

 are concerned. Every herd should be tested with the tuberculin test and 

 likewise every herd should be kept during the winter in a stable in which 

 sunlight is th§ daily and ubiquitous visitor. The great germ destroyer is 

 sunlight. My chief criticism of the barns I have visited is the limitation 

 imposed upon the entrance of sunlight. Better the tumble down shed and 

 plenty of sunshine therein than the best cement stable with 7x9 windows. 

 Recently I have visited some round barns. They afford an inconceivable 

 amount of room but unfortunately a large per cent of the room is never 

 bathed in the antiseptic sunlight, especially where a large silo fills the 

 center of the structure. I have recently visited a large rectangular 

 barn with four rows of cows. The barn is too wide to be properly sunned. 



I may be an extremist but I firmly believe that a cheaper barn is better 

 than a more expensive one. and that a barn which provides room for just 

 one row of cows, with the ridge pole of the barn running north and south 

 with windows on the east and west sides, is a healthier and better arrange- 

 ment than any system which huddles the cows into masses. The danger 

 of cold has been exaggerated. Wind and rain I would avoid but sunlight 

 I would welcome even at the expense of a lower thermometer in the 

 stable. Several years ago a distinguished dairyman remarked that he 

 wanted his stable so warm that in it he was comfortable in his shirt 

 sleeves. Prom this remark I emphatically dissent. Where you have good 

 cows they must eat enough to supply the requisite amount of protein, 

 sugar, and fat for their yield of milk to have some heat as a by-product. 

 Build the walls of your barn air-tight except where the regulated vent- 

 ilator admits the fresh air and the tall cupola extracts the foul. Have the 

 windows almost continuous but well puttied. Keep out the wind but let 

 in the sun. Do not thrust a tightly boarded manger up against a window. 



