140 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MILK HYGIENE 



improve the conditions. Any woodwork can be treated 

 in the same manner. Whitewashing removes dirt and 

 cobwebs, improves the light, and exerts a disinfectant 

 action. 



The platform, or the floor of the stall,, should be about 

 8 inches above the bottom of the drop or gutter and 

 should be smooth, free from cracks or depressions and 

 impervious. All things considered, cement is probably 

 the best material of which to construct platforms. 

 Cement platforms are objected to on the ground that 

 they are slippery, cold, and hard. If given a rough 

 finish with a wood trowel or by drawing a stiff broom 

 over the surface before the cement is dry, they will not be 

 slippery. A layer of coal tar or pitch about 1% inches 

 below the surface will reduce the conduction of heat from 

 the body of the cow and will therefore make the platform 

 warmer, while the hardness can be overcome to a certain 

 extent by the use of plenty of bedding. Recently, a 

 mixture of two parts of sawdust and one part of cement 

 has been recommended in place of the usual cement mix- 

 ture, the claim being made that it is warmer and is not as 

 slippery. A covering of inch boards is sometimes laid 

 down over the cement to reduce the hardness and cold- 

 ness. Cement floors have several advantages: they are 

 readily cleaned, wear well, and do not absorb urine or 

 liquid manure nor permit these substances to leak through 

 and saturate the earth beneath. Next to cement, the 

 most desirable floor is one of matched planks, with the 

 joints filled with tar. Wood is less of a heat conductor 

 than cement and is not as hard, but it absorbs urine and 

 liquid manure and is liable to crack and form crevices in 

 which manure and other material may lodge and decom- 

 pose; it is also less durable than cement. Cork bricks 



