56 MODERN DAIRY PRACTICE. 



vicinity.* The milk may easily be infected with very in- 

 jurious bacteria from such hotbeds of fermentation. 



Ventilation in the Stable. As regards the air in the 

 stable, it is of the greatest importance to avoid as much as 

 possible everything that may tend to make it impure ; 

 the air must be kept fresh and pure by means of an 

 effectual and well-arranged system of ventilation. The 

 stable ought to be aired after each milking, and the clean- 

 ing of stable and feeding should not begin till after the 

 milking. 



In order that the ventilation be effective it is, however, 

 essential that the air outside of the barn be purer than 

 that in it, which in many places is not the case. Gener- 

 ally the surroundings of the cow-stable are not given the 

 attention and careful inspection which they deserve. 



The fear that the animals be exposed to draught must 

 not prevent the airing of the stable, for draught can very 

 well be avoided if the ventilation be arranged in a proper 

 manner. The ventilation- valves of the stable ought 

 always to be open except when the temperature sinks be- 



* The general use of silage as a food for dairy cows among Amer- 

 ican farmers makes this a most important point to us, which we 

 cannot afford to overlook. In building a silo mere convenience in 

 handling the silage is too often thought of, to the exclusion of con- 

 sidering the influence of the presence of a fermented cattle-food on 

 the milk and its keeping quality. The silo is often built in a corner 

 of the barn, and arranged so as to open directly to the stable, filling 

 the stable air at all times with a strong silage odor. Silage, and 

 especially corn silage, is one of the great adjuncts to modern Amer- 

 ican dairy-farming, but it is essential that it be fed judiciously, in 

 connection with some dry coarse fodders, hay, corn fodder, etc., and 

 that the feeding take place after, and not directly before or during 

 milking.-W. 



