186 SOME FEATURES OF THE DAIRY FARM 



air near the top of the stable, just below the hay floor, or, if no 

 hay is stored overhead, about seven feet from the floor. 



Much trouble has been experienced with the system if not 

 properly installed. The author hesitates to recommend it or 

 any other system to those who do not understand its principles. 

 In practice, a thoughtful use of windows and muslin curtains 

 will go a long way toward solving the problem. 



The muslin curtain at the window furnishes an economical 

 and fairly efficient means of drying the atmosphere of the stable 

 and permits thorough mixing of fresh air with the old. If 

 the muslin is fastened to a frame that may be slid into place it 

 may often be used when the temperature or the wind would 

 not permit windows to be opened with safety. On mild days, 

 of which all parts of the United States have so many, the doors 

 or top half of the doors and windows may be opened with safety 

 and good results. Under some circumstances the muslin cur- 

 tain is to be recommended over any other system. 



The temperature of the stable should, so far as possible, not 

 be permitted to go lower than about 45 and not much higher 

 than about 70 degrees. A temperature of about 60 degrees 

 seems to be the one best suited to dairy cows. A high tempera- 

 ture, 85 degrees or above, causes the cow to lose her appetite, and 

 go "off feed " easily if being at all crowded. A cold tempera- 

 ture in the stable, on the other hand, cools the cow's body just as 

 it would any other warm object and requires that the cow make 

 it up by eating more feed. The temperature must be main- 

 tained if life is to continue. Nature's safety valve in this 

 matter is tense muscles and shivering. Literally, therefore, a 

 cold cow must shiver herself warm, as queer as this may sound. 

 We all know how tired we feel in the morning after having 

 " slept cold." We were tired because our muscles had been at 

 work, drawn tense, to keep us warmer. 



Good light is necessary in the stable for ease in doing the 

 work and for keeping it clean, as w r ell as being desirable from the 

 standpoint of the cow herself. Too much li<rht, however, is 

 wearying to any animal and thus expensive. The most serious 

 objection to facing cows outward is that they will face more or 



