No. 4.] MILK. 27 



Suitable Buildings and Surroundings. 



The old style of keeping the cattle, manure, crops and 

 farm implements all under one roof, can no longer be re- 

 garded as perfection, no matter what the arrangement or 

 ho\Y thoroughly ventilated the buildings may be. The dan- 

 ger of loss by impairing the health of the stock and damage 

 to fodder is too great. I am in favor of the style of barn 

 where the cows are in an annex by themselves, with no 

 manure cellar under them. Costly barns or stables are not 

 essential to the production of clean milk or to the mainte- 

 nance of a dairv herd at its highest efficiency. To obtain the 

 best results it is important, however, that the cows be kept 

 comfortable at all times. To do this, there are several 

 essentials with which a barn must be provided. It must be 

 constructed and kept in repair so that the roof will not leak, 

 sides that do not allow the wind to blow through, and doors 

 that will close tightly. Have the platform fit the cows; if 

 it is too short the cows cannot lie down comfortably, and if 

 too long the droppings will fall on the rear of the platform 

 and the cows will become soiled when lying down. It is 

 of the utmost importance to keep cows clean. It is well to 

 have the platform gradually taper to six or eight inches 

 shorter at one end than the other, as cows vary in length. 

 When large herds are kept, the platform on one side of the 

 barn may be longer than on the other side, and the cows 

 arranged accordingly. 



Have the barn on an elevation, if possible, so you can get 

 good drainage. The barn yard should be located on the 

 south side of barn, the ground inclining to the south-east. 

 This should be well drained, and should have a hard surface 

 either of cinders or gravel, so that there will be no nuid or 

 manure for the cows to get into. The barn should not be 

 sufficiently near the house to cause unpleasant odors, or to 

 endanger the one should the other take fire ; it should be as 

 close as possible, and yet avoid these drawbacks. Any one 

 who has done farm chores in rough weather, when the ther- 

 mometer was 30° below zero, will appreciate the saving of 

 discomfort by not having too long a distance to go from 

 house to barn, — in fact, to any other farm buildings. 



