98 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



this thing, and he simply wants to be treated fairly and 

 squarely. 



Mr. Albee. What, in your judgment, has a commercial 

 standard to do with the question of purity of milk ? We in 

 Massachusetts consider the commercial standard that which 

 has to do with the money value of milk. 



Mr. Lane. Exactly ; but a commercial standard may re- 

 late to the cleanliness of the milk, as, for example, a standard 

 for bacteria ; or it may relate to the chemical qualities, as, 

 for example, the fat and solids ; in either case it is a com- 

 mercial standard. 



Mr. Albee. As we understand it in Massachusetts, the 

 question of the health standard has to do with the bacteria. 

 What does the commercial standard have to do with the 

 health qualities of milk ? 



Mr. Lane. A commercial standard for dirt or bacteria 

 has a good deal to do with health. 



Question. What is your opinion of the value of basement 

 barns in which to keep dairy cows, as compared with barns 

 not built on basement plans ? 



Mr. Lane. From a modern standpoint, of course, the 

 basement barn is not considered as good as the barn that is 

 not a basement barn ; that is, if any one were going to build 

 a stable in these days, he would hardly put the cows in the 

 basement. If you could ventilate it and put light enough 

 in it and make it comfortable, then there could be no just 

 criticism of your basement barn. 



Question. How about a manure cellar under a cow barn ? 



Mr. Lane. It ought not to be there, — it is a breeding 

 place for flies ; and I don't care how tight the floor is above, 

 more or less odor is bound to come up to the stable. 



Question. What do you think of a barn built on the 

 basement plan, — I don't mean a basement barn sunk in a 

 bank, but a barn in which the cows are kept in the lower story, 

 and fodder stored above? I would call it a basement where 

 the cows stand. How do you think that barn compares with 

 a barn of one story? 



Mr. Lane. That is a good question. It seems to be an 

 opinion that storage over the cows is a bad thing, but it 



