No. 4.] DAIRY CATTLE. 57 



Shelter in Winter. 



Of course, the northern farmer understands the necessity 

 of good barns, but even in the milk-producing districts trib- 

 utary to New York, there is a strange laclv of understanding 

 when and how to use them. I have ridden on the cars 

 through various old dairy counties in New York and have 

 been really amazed at the wastefulness of dairy farmers. 



Gentlemen, let me add a word. The cost of waste in the 

 United States to-day is greater than the cost of production. 

 I believe it absolutely and emphatically — the cost of waste 

 is greater than the cost of production. It is difficult to get 

 men to see often where they waste. With the mercury down 

 to 5 below zero I have seen a whole neighborhood of cows 

 turned out of the barn at 9 o'clock and left to wander around 

 the fields, ankle deep in snow, till 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 

 In many instances, the farmer would even go further in reck- 

 less expenditure and haul out a load of good hay and feed 

 the cows on the snow as a noon bite. This was done under 

 the mistaken idea that the cows must have that sort of exer- 

 cise in order to keep healthy. No cow can long give milk 

 profitably under such treatment. The secretion of milk pre- 

 supposes at the outset a relaxed condition of the system. 

 To promote this, a milk-giving degree of warmth is neces- 

 sary. Warmth relaxes and promotes the secretions ; cold 

 contracts them. Cold increases the consumption of food 

 without corresponding increase of product. These cows 

 were badly handled and their owners were not using dairy 

 intelligence, while at the same time they were subjecting 

 themselves to dairy expense. 



Barns and Stables. 



In the construction of the modern dairy barn, there are 

 certain considerations that belong to the day and age we live 

 in. First, they must l)e well ventilated. Second, they must 

 not be overcrowded. Third, they must be well lighted. The 

 matter of cheap and ettective ventilation is a difficult one to 

 deal with. We must warm the stable with the heat of the 

 animals' bodies. If we draw off the warmed air to supply 



