144 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MILK HYGIENE 



feed, the front feet frequently slip backward and the 

 cows are thrown on their knees, causing bruises which 

 often lead to the development of knee tumors. The feed 

 trough should be 18 inches wide and at least 6 inches 

 deep, with the front high enough to prevent feed from 

 being pushed out of it. 



The gutter or drop should be constructed of cement. 

 Wood or earth gutters cannot be kept clean and free 

 from odor. The gutter should be 16 to 18 inches wide, 

 with an average depth of 8 inches below the level of the 

 platform. It should be deeper at one end than at the 

 other, to give the bottom sufficient slope for drainage, 

 or the entire floor may be sloped and the depth of the 

 gutter remain the same. Sometimes the floor back of 

 the platforms is laid on a level with the bottom of the 

 gutter or 2 or 3 inches above it, thus removing the back 

 wall of the gutter entirely or making it 4 or 5 inches lower 

 than the front wall. This has the advantage of per- 

 mitting the sun to shine into the gutter when there are 

 windows in the rear of the cows, but it also increases 

 the likelihood of manure being splashed upon the wall; 

 when the back wall of the gutter is lacking entirely there 

 is a tendency for the hind feet of cows to slip backward 

 when they are stepping up onto the platform. Plenty 

 of litter should be kept in the gutter to absorb the urine 

 and thus prevent it from being splashed by droppings 

 or by the cow's tail when the animal is lying down and 

 switching at flies. The floor of the gutter sometimes has 

 a % inch slope from the front to the rear with the object 

 of raising the toe and increasing the tension upon the 

 posterior tendons when cows stand down in the gutter, 

 the intention being to make the position uncomfortable, 

 but this construction does not always have the desired 

 effect. 



