58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



fresh air we lower the temperature. There is only one way 

 out of the difficulty that I can see, and that is to allow at 

 least from 800 to 1,000 cubic feet of air to each animal, and 

 more, if possible. To do this we must either stable a less 

 numljer in a room or build the stable room wider or higher. 

 I believe lumber is cheaper than tuberculous cows, and I am 

 very certain that a great improvement in the healthfulness 

 of the stable would ensue by making it two feet higher than 

 they are usually l)uilt. Square wooden ventilating pipes can 

 easily l)e built from the stable to the roof, starting at about 

 two feet from the floor. They do not work perfectly always, 

 as sometimes the current sets downward. It is well to insert 

 a sliding damper to regulate the current. 



It is a serious question with many whether it is not a bad 

 practice to store hay and fodder over the cows. The finest 

 barn I ever saw, as shown by the appearance of the cows, 

 was in the form of an L. The hay and ensilage was at the 

 end of the short angle. The cows were tethered heads 

 towards a centre feeding alley in the longest angle. The 

 centre alley was ten feet wide, ran through both angles, and 

 seven feet overhead was hung an iron railway. Suspended 

 thereto was a large box on rollers capable of holding 1,000 

 pounds of ensilage or about 300 pounds of hay. This was 

 filled with either hay or ensilage as desired, at the fodder 

 end of the building, and rolled along on the overhead track 

 in front of the cows. One man can easily push the box 

 along on the overhanging railway loaded with all it can hold. 

 In this way the fodder was kept free from all effluvia from 

 the stables, and thorough ventilation was easily secured. 

 This barn was built for the Gordon Guernsey herd near my 

 home, and I studied its effects Avith great interest. It was 

 only a story and a half stable, quite cheaply built, but I cer- 

 tainly never saw cows thrive better than in this barn. Every 

 cow barn should contain one or more box stalls for a sick 

 cow or one about to calve. That dread disease, milk fever, 

 may often be averted if the cow is placed in the box stall a 

 few days before calving, where she can have full, free use 

 of her body during parturition. Again comes the solemn 

 injunction to study well this question of motherhood. The 

 box stalls should command full view of the other cows, to 



