178 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Ventilation of Stables. 



I spoke on this question several years ago, before your 

 Board, at the meeting in Dalton. Since then, thanks to 

 Professor King, splendid progress has been made in this 

 direction . 



I desire to urge upon the New England farmers that they 

 give to this question their most earnest consideration. The 

 spread of germ diseases among cows, fostered and nursed 

 as they are by the close, foul stables, has caused serious 

 alarm. The dairyman recognizes that if the cow yields 

 milk in winter she must be kept warm. He must depend 

 for heat on the bodily warmth of the cattle. If he venti- 

 lates by any of the old methods, he will lose this valuable 

 heat ; hence he doesn't ventilate. He packs his cows 

 closely in a tight stable, and refuses to study the question. 

 Maybe he is afraid he will find himself wrong. 



The new King method conserves the warmth, constantly 

 introduces fresh air and draws off the foul air. Two 3 r ears 

 ago I built a new barn with this system attached. Several 

 of my neighbors asked me what it cost extra. I replied, 

 "$350." Then they would say, "Do you think it pays?" 

 My answer was as follows : "You admit that you never saw 

 a better smelling stable ; the cows show by their bright, 

 vigorous appearance that they are in a healthy atmosphere. 

 Their work at the pail tells that also. The interest at 6 per 

 cent on the outlay is $21 annually. Money is worth only 

 what it will win in interest. I have loaned $350 to my herd 

 of 40 cows ; that is about 50 cents per cow. Would you, if 

 you were I, change these cows to the usual cow stable for 

 50 cents per cow a year?" They always admit they would 

 not, yet very few adopt the improvement. I am greatly 

 pleased with it, and my cows seem to enjoy it more than 

 I do. 



There are many other phases of the dairy question which 

 I would like to dwell upon. It is, as I said at the outset, a 

 wide field. 



In conclusion, I wish to quote a paragraph from Prof. F. 

 G. Short, because it is so clearly pertinent to the question, 



T 



