558 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



transverse principal the necessary strenprtli is secured, whatever may be 

 the length of tlie building. The building may be used either for 

 feeding and shelter, or for ndlking in addii-ion, according to the taste 

 •of the owner. The cliief oljection urged ag;iinst milking in a 

 building with a lolt overhead, is that dust from the hay will fall i'lto 

 the pail. While this may be trae if theie is a faulty floor, it must 

 not be forgotten that by far the greatest source of contamination of 

 the ndlk is tlie dirt from the udders and hind quarters of the cows, 

 and from the hands of the milkers. if the building is properly 

 constiiicted, the cows groomed and scrupuljus cleanliness oliserved, 

 the number of stories above the cows is a matter of little 

 consequence. Odours from the cows and bedding can be avoided by 

 good ventilation and cleanliness. These matters are emphasised because 

 the main poirrt is to keep the attention directed to the princi[)al 

 evil. It is the little particles of cow dung which Hird their way 

 into the milk which do irrore hai-m than all else corrrbiired. There is 

 only one way of keeping these oirt of the pail, and that is caie and 

 attention on the part of the farirrer. A good building for the nrilkirrg 

 shed is desiralile, l)ecau:se the means necessary for- securing this cleanli- 

 ness are then more readily provided. Rut the most perfect shed will 

 fail to secure clean nrilk if the owner is igirorant or careless. A very 

 simple nreairs of olitaining clearr wjiter, on the most priuritive farm, 

 is described in Mr. Carroll's article in the Journal for Jurre, 1902. 



Location and General Arrangement. 



Besides convenience of access from the different paddocks aird 

 from the road, the farirr buildings shorrld be located at a lower level 

 than the dwellirrg house, arrd if possilde, in such a position that the 

 prevailing winds blow fioirr the house to the stable rather than vice versa. 

 The distance should be fionr 50 to iOi* yards, arrd sonre of the 

 original trees shorrld be retairred or others ])lanted, so as to make a 

 break betweerr the two. The trees not only aflbrd a gi-ateful shade 

 in the srrnrnrer, but they protect the honre to a great extent fronr the 

 flies and dust. When all the native trees have been destroyed and it 

 is decided to nrake a plantatioir, the srrgar gum aird wattle are the 

 best temporary trees, while the permanent orres may be selected from 

 the lilackwood, English oak arrd e\in, Pinus i^isignis and Cupresstis 

 lamhertiana, acconling to the locality. In wet districts a slab foot- 

 path, four- feet wide, from the house to the milking shed will 

 materially reduce the labor of keejrirrg the home clean and tidy. The 

 direction of the long axis of the building is not a matter- of great 

 inrportance, and if a better level can be obtained by de{)arting from 

 the cardiiral points of the com|)ass, there is no reason why this should 

 not be done. In fact, a building facing the N.E. arrd IS.W is in many 

 localities the best. 



As has been already mentioned, our plan is to begin the building 

 by erectiirg oire end iir its perirranent position and arrairge so as to 

 extend it as far as necessary in the opposite direction in sections of 

 8, 16 or 24 feet. If means can be secured for driving the hay wagon 



