124 



Journal oj Agriculiiire. 



[8 Feb., 1907. 



backward, with her hind legs in milking position, and the feet are on the 

 edge of the kerb. She has recently passed dung which is seen to- have 

 dropped over the edge of the kerb and clear of the standing floor, so 

 that it does not get paddled about, and the floor is left clean in case the 

 animal lies down. The usual position of the droppings is also shown 

 behind the third cow. 



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SECTION OF GANGWAY AND STALLS, SHOWING PLATFORM STALLS, DUNG 



SPACE AND GUTTER. 



Out of twenty-four cows continuously stalled over night in this shed 

 during the winter, fourteen regularly passed their droppings and urine 

 over the kerb into the dung space, and their quarters were maintained 

 in a clean state throughout. Six others were erratic in this respect, while 

 the four remaining ones (heifers) were habitually " dirty," always dunging 

 forward on the stall floor. 



Some question may be raised as to cows not being all the same size, 

 and therefore variation in the length of stall floors would appear to be 

 necessary. In the shed under review the stalls on one side are 5 feet 

 from the chain post to kerb, and these are used for the biggest cows. 

 The smaller cows and heifers are on the other side, where the floor is 

 4 ft. 6 in. from post to kerb. Every chaui post is, however, capable of 

 being moved 6 inches either way, forward or backward, so that stall 

 lengths varying from 5 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. can be arranged for in a 'few 

 minutes. The chain posts are simply bolted on to the rafters and 

 stall frame, and the bolts can be readily withdrawn and placed in holes 

 provided either forward or backward. Of course, this adjustment of 

 stall lengths cannot be arranged for if the cows are fastened by bails. 

 It is difficult, however, to see what advantage bails have over chain fasten- 





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DETAIL OF PLATFORM KERB, DUNG SPACE AND GUTTER. 



ing. Personally, I never saw a bail until I came to Australia, and my 

 previous experience of cow-sheds in England and Scotland had been life- 

 long, and gained in widely-separated districts. 



5th. Short Stall Partitions. — It will be seen from the interior photo- 

 graph, that the partition frames between the stalls on one side are very 

 short, extending only 5 feet from wall, and 2 ft. 6 in. from chain post, so 

 leaving a space of '2 feet between the heel post and the kerb. On the 

 other side the stall partitions are alternately long and short, the former 

 extending backward to the edge of the kerb. This was a necessity of 

 construction, the principals to carry the roof being placed 9 feet apart, 

 and constituting the heel post of each alternate sLall. Short stall parti- 

 tions serve the same purpose as those extending a long way behind the 

 cow, and they have at least three advantages over the latter. In the 



