DAIRY CATTLE AND THE DAIRY FARM 125 



Milk Room. The milk room is a highly valuable appurtenance of the 

 dairy barn. In even the smallest dairies some sort of a separate room 

 should be provided for the cans into which the milk is poured from the 

 milkers' pails. This is necessary because milk absorbs odors very readily 

 and if it stands exposed in the stable it is sure to acquire a more or less 

 decided taint. The "cowy" flavor of milk, to which so many object, is 

 taken on in the stable and is in reality derived from the manure rather 

 than the cows. Dairymen doing a considerable business need a good 

 milk room. It should be conveniently located, easy to enter and leave, 

 airy, well-lighted and large enough for the milkers to use without crowd- 

 ing. In it the milk is weighed, sampled and strained and the milk records 

 posted. In summer it should be thoroughly screened. 



Office. There should be an office for the herdsman where he can put 

 his books, file his records, keep the medicines and the instruments such 

 as milk-tubes, teat-openers and the like that should rightfully be in his 

 charge. 



Dressing Room. The dressing room for the help should be light and 

 should be provided with a bench, mirror, lockers for the clothes and, if 

 running water is available, with open plumbing, otherwise hand basins 

 must be used. Individual or paper towels should be supplied; the roller 

 towel is as insanitary in the dairy barn as it is anywhere else. The 

 dressing room including the lockers should be inspected for cleanliness 

 often. In barns too small to afford a dressing room, the herdsman's 

 office may be used for this purpose. 



Ceiling. Except in certain types of shed barns it is necessary to care- 

 fully ceil the part of the stable where cows are kept in order to prevent 

 dirt from sifting down from above. The ceiling should not be more than 

 9 ft. above the floor and, except where wagons are to be driven into the 

 barn, a clearance of 7 ft. 6 in. between the floor and bottom of the ceiling 

 joists is sufficient. Stables of greater height are apt to be cold because 

 the animal heat is likely to be insufficient to warm them. Moreover they 

 are apt to be draughty and in some there is a tendency for air to stagnate 

 at the top. 



Lighting. The lighting of a barn 'demands careful attention. Until 

 recently dairy barns were dark or at best poorly lighted. Now it is gen- 

 erally recognized that plenty of light is necessary for the comfort of the 

 animals, to reduce eyestrain among the employees, to facilitate work 

 and to produce a cheerful atmosphere. Also, it is known that sunlight 

 tends to enfeeble and to destroy germ life. The amount of light needed 

 in a dairy barn has not been definitely determined either by experiment 

 or practice, but 4 sq. ft. of window space per animal or a minimum of 

 2 sq. ft. per 500 cu. ft. of air space is believed to be right and emphasis is 

 laid on the fact that the windows must be so placed that the light is evenly 

 distributed. A barn with the light all at one end, or one lighted so as to 



