S56 [Assembly 



amraoDia, and thue prevent it from occupying the surrounding 

 atmospliere and being deleterious to cattle, but in a majority of 

 stable?, when the door is opened, the strong smell of ammonia is 

 such as to cause a person's eyes to be irritated, and so with the 

 eyes of the animal in the stable. 



Young and growing animals cannot assume a healthy organism 

 while breathing impure and impi^oper air, nor can the milk of 

 animals fed in badly ventilated stables, be as healthy an aliment 

 as under more propitious circumstances for its development. 



Apart liom this aigument, which should be entirely sufficient 

 to induce the farmer to pay strict attention to the ventilation of 

 his stables, the cruelty of confining animals to buildings badly 

 ventilated may be named; and when it is taken into account, that 

 the use of proper disinfecting materials, in addition to the ordin- 

 ary means for ventilation, would increase the amount of fertilizing 

 material, as well as protecting animals from disease, it seems 

 worse than stupid to leave these well understood truths neglected. 



Mr. H, C. Vail said — Mr. Chairman, in regard to the practice 

 of providing warm, well ventilated stables, I can only say that 

 the experience of my father and myself, extending over many 

 years, has proved it to be the most cleanly, healthy, and economi- 

 cal method w^hich can be adopted. The cattle were divided into 

 three or four parcels — one lot of fourteen being confined in a 

 large, well ventilated stable, so constructed as to be readily 

 cleansed. Feeding troughs were arranged in such a njanner as to 

 allow the animal to rise up and lie down easily, and permit the 

 removal of the refuse food. Plaster and other deodorizers were 

 used more frequently than in the other stables. Tlie health of 

 the animals was better, the manure superior in quality and great- 

 er in quantity than that niade by the cattle running at large in 

 the open yard, while they gave larger returns of milk, of a richer 

 quality, and fattened more easily. The amount of food required 

 to maintain this condition was less than what was required for 

 animals confined in the stables badly ventilated by strong cur- 

 rents of cold air, or of those cattle kept in the open yard. In- 

 deed, it would be impossible to maintain the same conditions with 



