•562 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



in parts of Gippsland and the nortliern |)laiiis, where stone of all 

 kinds is out of tlie question, a wood floor set in tar asplialt is the best 

 available. The object is not only to kee[) t])e cows dry, but also to 

 keep tlieui clean, and reiiuce the labor of lenioving tlie manure to a 

 miniujum. Good concrete made be njade as follows: — 



Coarse Gravel . . 2 parts Coarse Sand . . 2 parts 



Fine ,, .. 1 ., Cement .. .. 1 ,, 



On a good foundation thiee inches of concrete will be suflacient. 



The inside fittings may be modified to suit the ideas of the 

 individual, one arrangement being shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The 

 posts su|)porting the floor joists on each side of the roadway aie used to 

 carry one end of the division between the stalls. Tlie mangers are 

 .5 feet G inclies from tlie keil), and between the manger and the 

 outside wall of the building there is a 4 feet race for feeding. A 

 truck may be run along this, and the food jiassed down from the 

 loft by means of a shoot in one corner. The mangers are simply 

 made l)y means of ati angle rail hiid along the floor to form each 

 cornel-, the front ami back are formed of 6 x 1 hardwood, with a 

 4 X 2 to form the edge. The front of the manger is thus 10 inches 

 and the back 18 inches from the floor. The lower rail between the 

 cows may be carried forward to help in tixing the back of the 

 manger, and, at the same time it will keep neighbouring cows from 

 interfering with one another when feeding. Two cows thus stand 

 side l)y side in each eight feet space. They are best tie<l up by 

 chains, the eye of which slides up and down a 16 inch liolt fixed on 

 the posts at the mangers. Bails may be easily fixed if they are 

 required. INo divisioiis are placed in the niangers to separate one 

 cow from the other, except the end of the rail already noted. In this 

 way the whole length of the manger may be cleaned out after each 

 feeding. 



The advantages of this system are as follow: — 



1. Uncovered cow yards are done away with. The whole herd is 

 under shelter and the milking is done with as much comfort as is 

 possible. 



2. The cows may be regularl}' fed to supplement the foi"age 

 obtained in the ))addock. This means a notable increase in the 

 returns from each animal. 



3. 1 he cows are kept v/arm in winter nights. Straw or blacken 

 fern mny be used for bedding. In bracken districts this is the only 

 way in which a pest can be turned into a valuable commodity. 



4. The manure is easily secured. Each day a shovelful of dry 

 earth is scattered at the rear of each cow. Isext morning, after milk- 

 ing, a dray is taken through the shed, the manure lemoved, and 

 carted out into a small adjoining paddock at once. It is ploughed 

 under in the couise of each foitiiight. In this way a succession of 

 fodder crops may be grown and it will be found that the increased 



