No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 309 



other farms equally good milk is being produced from more sim- 

 ple construction of stables. I have in mind a farm in Susquehanna 

 county which is sending to New York milk which receives nearly as 

 high a score in cleanliness as any other milk shipped to the city, yet 

 the buildings are very simple. The production of clean milk perhaps 

 depends largely upon the individuality of the man as upon the equip- 

 ment. Clean milk may be produced under very simple though sanitary 

 conditions, if great care is used in the care and handling of the pro- 

 duct from the time the milk is drawn until it reaches the consumer. 



The style of farm buildings and stables in different regions varies 

 widely. Pennsylvania has a peculiar type of structure of barn which 

 is seldom found in other states. These barns have the stables in the 

 basements, which are usually dark, poorly ventilated, and unsanitary. 

 Such stables, however, can be easily modified, giving more healthful 

 conditions for animals, by building a one-story ell with concrete 

 floors and very simple sanitary interior fittings. Such a stable has re- 

 cently been erected by the U. S. Indian School at Carlisle, Pennsyl- 

 vania, from plans by this Department. 



Another style of barn, very applicable to regions where considerable 

 grain is grown, is a covered yard type of stable with storage above, 

 and an arrangement for stanchioning cows at the time of feeding. 

 This covered yard may be entirely enclosed, with side windows, and a 

 sanitary milking stable addition adjoining this building in which the 

 milk may be produced as cleanly as from any other system. A stable 

 of this kind was built a few years ago near Columbus, Ohio. It was 

 large enough to accommodate 60 cows my dividing the covered yard 

 into two yards holding thirty cows each. The silage and all roughage 

 is fed in this covered yard and the grain feed may be fed here or may 

 be fed in the milking stable during the time of milking. The advant- 

 age of this system is that it enables the farmer to utilize a great deal 

 of the straw, and overcomes the necessity of cleaning stables daily. 

 Where plenty of bedding is used, the cows are usually as clean as or- 

 dinarily found in the other type of stable, even where considerable 

 care is given to grooming and cleanliness. In such a system it is 

 necessary to give 80 to 100 square feet of space per animal. If the 

 storage above the covered yard is arranged for hay in the center and 

 straw in the wings, then the amount of labor in caring for the ani- 

 mals can be reduced to a minimum. This system ought to appeal to 

 farmers in parts of Pennsylvania, especially in Lancaster county, 

 where the rotations call for considerable acreage of wheat and where, 

 as a usual thing, a great many steers are fattened for market. 



In making a study of the equipment on the farm, each owner must 

 carefully consider principally the type of farming and the simplest re- 

 quirements for the storage and handling of his crops. A truck or 

 fruit farmer may not require near as much expenditure in buildings 

 as a hay, grain, or dairy farmer. The problems of working out stan- 

 dards for equipment for all different types of farming is receiving 

 special attention in this office. 



Another problem which each farmer should carefully consider is 

 the amount of equipment in farm implements and machinery. As 

 stated for farm buildings, many farms are over-equipped in this re- 

 spect, while many others do not have the amount of equipment neces- 

 sary to handle the farm economically. The question of the most 



