II 



case a board N should be nailed in a slanting position with end 

 pieces on either side so as to give the air a slant in direction of the 

 ceiling. 



As to the size of the flues, Prof. King, of Madison, Wis., 

 (whose excellent book, "Physics of Agriculture," every farmer 

 ought to have) considers that for 20 cows they should have a 

 cross-section 2 feet by 2 feet. The intake of fresh air need not be 

 nearly so large, as there are always leaks at windows and doors 

 and it is better to have several small intakes to prevent draught. 

 This principle air circulation without draught on the cows 

 can be applied to a straw stable as well as to the most expensive 

 one. 



Comfort is an important element in cheap milk production, 

 and while fixed stanchions may make it easier to keep the cows 

 clean, we need only observe them when lying in the pasture to 

 know how cruel and unnatural their position must be in those 

 "animal stocks." Somewhat better are the various swinging 

 stanchions, but tying them, or if it can be afforded one of the 

 modern stalls like the "Bidwell" or the "Drown" are the only right 

 systems, and a liberal supply of bedding will not only help to 

 keep them clean and make them comfortable, but increase the 

 manure heap, which the Danish farmers call their "gold mine." 



To keep a cow tied up all winter is in no way a natural treat- 

 ment, and though it is done by many good dairymen (thus uni- 

 versally in Holland and Denmark), the trend is now, as Mr. H. 

 B. Curler recommends in his "American Dairying," to give them 

 lukewarm water outside, and if the weather is fairly mild let them 

 remain there an hour or two at their option. This advice should 

 not be misunderstood as a defense for those farmers who turn 

 their cows out to drink through a hole in the ice on the watering 

 trough. 



The more the cow is deprived of exercise, the greater the need 

 of keeping the pores of the skin open by daily carding and brush- 

 ing. Indeed, this is not only a question of health (cheap milk pro- 

 duction), but also of cleanliness (pure milk). It is a wonder to 

 me that the farmer who will give his time willingly to keep his 

 horse clean, begrudges it to his cows. It is a question of health 

 in both cases, but in the latter it is also a question of health to his 



