DAIRY BUILDmOS. 107 



gles are used, as these stain the water a dark color, and 

 give it an objectionable taste, so that the cows will not 

 take enough of it to supply their wants. When the cows 

 are taken out of the yard, the trough should be emptied 

 while the weather is cold, or there is danger of making 

 ice in the troughs. Ice water is exceedingly hurtful to 

 cows, and should never be used in a dairy. 



An excellent way to make a trough is to procure white 

 oak plank two inches thick, twelve or fourteen feet long, 

 and twelve inches wide. For the bottom a plank sixteen 

 inches wide is used. The edges of the bottom and end 

 planks are evenly dressed and covered with two or three 

 thicknesses of roofing paper dipped in tar. The sides 

 are then drawn up close to the bottom and ends by 

 means of screw-bolts, and this will make a strong, cheap, 

 durable, water-tight trough. The troughs should he 

 three feet above the ground, so as to avoid the gathering 

 of filth in any way whatever. The yard should be well 

 fenced with a strong plank fence, capped on the top, and 

 should have several gates opening on hinges and closed 

 with such fastenings as can not be loosened by any of the 

 more experienced cows. The fence should be at least 

 five feet high. 



Cow-sheds. — The practice of lodging valuable covrs 

 in a basement of a large barn filled with the most com- 

 bustible matter, and provided with flues and air passages 

 for the rapid spread of fire and passage of suffocating 

 smoke, has frequently led to the entire and cruel destruc- 

 tion of fine herds of cattle, worth thousands of dollars 

 each. The most valuable cattle are thus apt to be en- 

 dangered. As the loss of a herd is" a calamity equally 

 serious to a working dairyman as to a wealthy amateur 

 farmer, one of the first objects to secure should be safety 

 from fire, without sacrificing other requisites, as cheap- 

 ness, comfort, convenience and cleanliness. 



An excellent cow shed, in every Avay desirable, may be 



