172 BOABD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



RATIONAL STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



BY DR. F. H. OSGOOD, BOSTON. 



Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the State Board 

 of Agriculture : "When I received your very kind invitation 

 to address you at Dalton at the public winter meeting of the 

 Board, I was just about completing some analytical work in 

 the field, with a view of ascertaining the exact conditions 

 under which our dairy cattle are kept. The results of this 

 work extended over 15 different towns ; 25 barns were 

 examined ; the largest number of animals in any one barn 

 was 60 ; smallest number, 1 ; average, 20. 



The number of cubic feet air space per head varied from 

 300 to 2,500, the average being 750 cubic feet per animal. 



The carbon dioxide in 10,000 feet of air varied from 6 

 parts to 14 parts, the average being 8.6 parts in 10,000 

 parts of air. The number of bacteria in 10 litres of air 

 varied from 140 to 1,130, the average beino; 424. 



From an examination of the water upon these premises, 

 56 per cent was found to be in good condition, 20 per cent 

 in fair condition and 24 per cent in bad condition. The 

 air was found in good condition in 12 per cent of the barns 

 examined, in fair condition in 48 per cent, in bad condition 

 in 40 per cent. 



In reviewing your notice of the meeting, I see that the 

 subject of my paper is designated as " Rational stable man- 

 agement." This, however, seems too broad a field to cover 

 in so short a space of time, and I shall confine my atten- 

 tion to a consideration of two of the fundamental essentials 

 to a "rational stable management." These are, a pure 

 water supply and a sufficient quantity of pure air. 



Dr. Parkes, the founder of modern hygiene, a man who 

 has contributed more to the saving of life than words or 



