132 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



from herds furnishing milk for public use. This 

 refers especially to tuberculosis. It is unfortunately 

 a fact that many thousands of cows which now fur- 

 nish milk to the cities are in various stages of this 

 disease. There is no longer any doubt that it is 

 possible for this scourge to be communicated to 

 human beings through the medium of milk. The 

 time is near at hand when those dairymen who do 

 not voluntarily clean up their herds by m,eans of 

 the tuberculin test, will be compelled to do so by 

 force of public opinion expressed through ordi- 

 nances and state laws. This elimination of tuber- 

 cular cows will not prove the hardship that it 

 seems. It is inconceivable that a cow suffering 

 from this disease in any advanced form, can pos- 

 sibly be a paying proposition to the dairyman. The 

 disease will have so impaired her efficiency as a milk 

 producer that, in a great majority of cases, she will 

 not be paying for the feed she consumes. A care- 

 ful test of dairy cows suffering from this disease 

 would undoubtedly demonstrate this fact. 



Good dairy barns are one of the requirements for 

 profits in this business. These barns are as neces- 

 sary to protect the cows from heat and flies in sum- 

 mer as from cold and exposure in winter. Just 

 what the type of barn shall be depends upon the 

 taste of the farmer, and upon the money he wishes 

 to invest in the building. This much should be 

 common to all barns : that perfect ventilation 

 should be provided in some manner so that the 

 stock need not be exposed to the direct action of 

 cold winds in winter. It is not desirable to have 

 the barn uncomfortably warm in cold weather, but 

 rather to have a reasonable temperature and fresh, 

 pure air at all times of the day and night. The 

 problem of keeping a dairy barn clean and free from 



