178 THE DAIKYMAX'S MANUAL. 



Thus the careful management of the cows becomes an 

 important part of the business of a dairyman. The stable 

 should be clean, or the cows cannot be clean ; it should 

 be well aired and ventilated, or the air in it will be im- 

 pure ; it should be made comfortable, or the cows will 

 be worried and yield less milk ; it should be cool in sum- 

 mer and warm in winter. There should be a convenient 

 way to dispose of the manure, and a convenient and safe 

 mode of entrance and exit. The fastenings should be 

 safe. The cows should be separated so that they cannot 

 hook or punch each other when fastened, and yet be so 

 close together that space is economized ; they should be 

 thoroughly carded and brushed twice a day, and immedi- 

 ately before milking, and in every way they should be 

 preserved from uncleanliness and annoyance, and kept 

 contented and happy. 



The following system of management has been adopted 

 and practiced in the author's dairy: 



The stable has been described in a preceding chapter. 

 The cows are stabled every night through the year ; in 

 the winter for warmth and shelter, and in the summer 

 for coolness and for safety from flies, also for the saving 

 of manure. The manure made is an item of importance 

 and is an object of solicitude ; the management is there- 

 fore to some extent made consistent with the saving of 

 all the manure possible. 



At five o'clock in the morning the stable is cleaned by 

 opening the trap doors in the gutter and drawing out the 

 manure into the cellar by means of a large hoe, fourteen 

 inches wide to fit the gutter, the gutter is then washed 

 out with a few pailfuls of water from the pump, and 

 brushed out with a stiff broom, after which the trap 

 doors are closed. The standing floors and passage- 

 way behind the cows are previously swept. The floor 

 and gutter are then sprinkled liberally with gypsum 

 (plaster), and are littered down with leaves, cut straw^ 



