THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 145 



or four feet, and kept perfectly dry. The air may 



idmitted through perforated zinc plates, or woven-wire 



dows, placed opposite to each other, having shutters 



^nich may be opened or closed according to the temperature 



and state of the weather Glazed windows may be added, 



and should be open, excepting in very hot or very cold 



weather. The situation should be dry, and well shielded 



from the north, east, and south 



Dairies in natural or artificial caves, which occur in some 

 countries, with springs of water at hand, are admirable for 

 coolness and uniformity of temperature , but in England we 

 must not look for such advantages ; nor are they needed 

 A verandah round a dairy is very useful ; it shades the sun in 

 summer, and is a protection against the cold and damp in 

 winter There should be a washhouse, with every conve- 

 nience for hot water, for scalding the dairy utensils, and for 

 warming milk; and if cheese be made as well as butter, a 

 churning-room, with presses, and a cheese-room are also 

 needed. 



" In Switzerland and in Holland the cow-house and dairy 

 often have a very neat appearance, within a short distance 

 from the principal residence. The plan in both countries is 

 very similar ; the style of the roof is the chief difference. In 

 the common dairy-farms of Holland the farmer and his family 

 live under the same roof with the cows. In the Netherlands, 

 especially in North Holland, or Friesland, a cow-house is as 

 clean as any dwelling-house, and the family often assemble 

 and take their meals in it. The following description of a 

 cow-house and dairy, under one roof, combines all that is 

 useful, with considerable neatness internally and externally : 

 It is a building about sixty feet long, by thirty wide, with 

 a verandah running round three sides of it. The dwelling is 

 not here attached as it usually is in common (Dutch) dairies, 

 and the building is not surrounded by a farm-yard. These 

 are the only circumstances in which it differs from that of a 

 common peasant's. The dairy-room is sunk below the level 

 of the soil, and is paved with bricks ; the sides are covered 

 with Dutch tiles, and the arched roof with hard cement. 

 The cow-house, like all in Holland, has a broad passage in 

 the middle, and the cows stand with their heads towards this 

 passage, which is paved with clinkers, or bricks, set on edge. 

 Their tails are towards the -wall, along which runs a broad 

 gutter, sunk six or eight inches below the level of the place 



L 



