THE CARE OF MILK. 243 



the flame of a common candle. It is tins passage of air 

 through brick which causes a deposit of ice on the inner 

 surface of the wall of a warmed house when a cold wind 

 is blowing outside, or a deposit of dew on the inner wall 

 of a cold house when a warm wind is blowing in the 

 summer. But a frame house must be well constructed, 

 otherwise it will soon begin to decay at the foundation 

 and this will at once destroy its usefulness. The frame 

 house should be supported upon brick or stone founda- 

 tions, and if the soil is suitable, the foundation should 

 be sunk at least four feet below the surface. A section 

 through the center of a C9nvenient milk-house is shown 

 in the illustration (figure 36). 



The foundation is of brick or stone, and is carried up 

 suflBciently to preserve the timber from decay. The floor 

 is covered with hydraulic cement concrete three inches 

 thick, and is finished with a light coat of clear cement 

 and sand in equal parts. One window is on the north 

 side, and is protected against flies by a wire gauze screen. 

 A space of two feet is left above the ceiling, and through 

 this a ventilator is passed, which is closed by a trap-door 

 that can be raised by means of a cord reaching below. 

 The walls and ceilings should be plastered and a hard- 

 finishing coat of plaster-of-Paris, costing only a few 

 dollars extra, will add much to the cleanliness. Lime 

 wash will be always peeling off, and the scales will fall 

 down upon the milk. The hard-finish is less porous 

 than the lime, which is an advantage. 



A brick, stone, or concrete milk-house will be prefer- 

 able where the material can be procured easily; stone 

 or concrete will be the cheapest where the stone or 

 gravel is abundant, and either is better than brick both 

 for winter or summer use. If the walls are lined in- 

 side by means of furring strips four inches thick, upon 

 which the laths are nailed, a considerable air space will 

 be secured and this will help greatly to preserve an even 



