MILK DAIRYING. 401 



permits the removal of the grains as may be needed. In 

 this pit several thousand bushels of grains can be stored, 

 and being packed down closely, and kept from access of 

 air, may be preserved in good order for months. It is 

 upon a similar plan to this that farmers are now preserv- 

 ing their corn fodder in a green state in silos until the 

 new crop comes in. The basement has four doors and is 

 amply lighted and ventilated. The floor is divided in 

 the center by a wide feed-passage, upon each side of 

 which are stanchions to hold the cows. There are no 

 feed troughs, but the feed is placed upon the floor be- 

 fore each cow. The stanchions are made of oak, are 

 self-fastening by means of an iron loop, which is lifted 

 as the stanchion is closed, by its beveled end, and falls 

 over it, holding it securely. The space between the 

 stanchions for the cow's neck is six inches. Each cow 

 has a space of three feet, and there are no stalls or parti- 

 tions between them. The floor upon which the cows 

 stand is four and a half feet wide, behind this is a man- 

 ure gutter eighteen inches wide and six inches deep, and 

 behind the gutter a passage of three feet and six inches ; 

 in all giving a space of fourteen feet from the center 

 of the feed passage to the walls upon either side. Hay- 

 chutes are made in the floors, by which hay is thrown 

 down into the feed-passage. These also serve for venti- 

 lation, in connection with the cnpolas upon the roof. 



In the summer the cows are pastured, but get their 

 usual ration of corn meal, and when the grass begins to 

 fail are fed green crops cut and carried to the yard, 

 or into feeding lots, where they are kept. The principal 

 crop fed is corn fodder, grown in drills and cultivated 

 as well as if planted for grain. The main crop on these 

 farms is grass for pasture and hay, and Western corn is 

 purchased for feeding. The reason for this is that corn 

 is thus procured more cheaply and easily than it can be 

 grown here, while hay is bulky to transport and cannot be 



