THE COW AND THE DAIRY. 



31 



" The daily average quantity of slop for a .Cow is about a barrel of thirty-two 



fallons. At iirst we were incredulous as to the amount they learn to consume ; 

 ut after many careful inquiries ^t many dairies, the fact is rendered certain. — 

 Now it is evident that no Cow in health would eat such an enormous quantity of 

 slop. By feeding on this unnatural and stimulating food, they are thrown into a 

 state of disease, and for a short time will feed monstrously, and yield large quan- 

 tities of bad milk." .... 



" The cow-pens are rude, unsightly wooden buildings, varying from fifty to 

 two hundred feet in length, and about thirty feet in breadth. They are very 

 irregularly arranged, so as to cover the entire ground, excepting narrow avenues 

 between ; and appear to have been temporarily constructed, as the arrival of new 

 dairies required enlargements for their accommodation. It is said they will con- 

 tain about two thousand head of cattle; but this estimate, we would judge, is an 

 exaggeration. The stalls are rented by the proprietor of the distilleries to the 

 different cow owners, at from four to five dollars a year per each head of cattle, 

 while the slop is furnished at nine cents a barrel.* Slop constituting both food 

 and drink, water and hay or other solid or gramineous fodder, supply no part of 

 the wants of these abused animals. The fluid element, indeed, appears not to 

 be in request for purifying purposes. Fountains of pure water, extensive hay- 

 ricks, capacious out-houses, and similar conveniences, which are ordinarily 

 deemed so important for the feeding and watering so large a stock, are here dis- 

 pensed with as unnecessary appendages to a city dairy. 



" The interior of the pens corresponds with the general bad arrangement and 

 repulsive appearance of the exterior. Most of the cattle stand in rows of from 

 seven to ten across the building, head to head and tail to tail alternately. There 

 is a passage in the rear for cleaning, and another in front which gives access to 

 the heads of the cattle. The floor is gently inclined, but no litter is allowed. — 

 The stalls are three feet wide, with a partition between each, and a ceiling about 

 seven feet high overhead. But the chief and most inexcusable defects are the 

 want of ventilation and cleanliness ; though in the latter respect, since public at- 

 tention has been called to their vile condition, they are somewhat improved. — 

 There appears, however, no contrivance for washing the pens, or by which a 

 circulation of air can be produced. To scent the effluvia, as it is diluted and dif- 

 fused in the surrounding atmosphere, is sufficiently offensive, and the visitor will 

 instinctively retire in dread of closer proximity. But to survey the premises round 

 about, and merely to look into the pens, will but inadequately convey an idea of 

 the disgusting reality. ... The astonishment is that animal life, with all 

 its wonderful recuperative energies, and power of accommodation to circum- 

 stances, can exist in so fetid an atmosphere;" .... 



" Such, then, as described, is the barbarous and unnatural treatment of this do- 

 cile, inoffensive and unfortunate animal, that is destined to supply us with nutri- 

 ment, both when living and dead, and which is one of the most valuable gifts of 

 Providence to ungrateful men." .... 



" Slop-milk is naturally very thin, and of a pale bluish color. In order to dis- 



were srill spoken of by the inhabitantfl in the neighborhoods as nuisances of so offensive a character as to 

 prevent the improvement of property in their vicinity ; while their present vile condition too truly indicated 

 the nature of the evila they were continuing to indict on more, distant portions of the community. The 

 most careful inquiries, however, failed to elicit any new information of mterest ; but we everywhere re- 

 ceived the fullest contirmation of the facts and principles which a]-e spread throughout this Wurk. 



In the course of the tour, we visited a large rum-distilleiy located in the immediate neighborhood 

 of the South Ferry, Brooklyn. We were not diaappoi»ted in failing of admittance into the concern, for 

 it is common to all these estabhshmenf^, which are battening on the spoils of an injured community, to 

 conceal, as far as possible, their operations from the public eye. It was, however, of little consequence, for 

 there were other means of information at hand, and much that was open to observation. We were informed 

 that from SKven hwndred to one thousand bushels of grain are dn.ily converted into whisky at this distillery, 

 the refuse of which would suffice to slop tvo t/umtand Cows ; and that about fifty liaad of cattle, and from 

 ' five to seven hundrred swine, were fattening on the premises. No milch Cows are there kept ; but we count- 

 ' ed eighiy-seven carts and viagons, containing an aggregate of one hundred and twnnty-niiie hogsheads, appa- 

 rently waiting for slush, exclusive of numerous others which were goin^ and returning from the premises. 

 The hour of our visit (3 o'clock P. M.) was inopportune to witness the daily delivery of the slop. The great- 

 est activity in the business is from 4 to 8 o'clock morning and evening, during which time an incessant 

 stream of carts ia seen issuing from the distillery, laden with slop for the supply of the neighboring dairies. 



The quantity of milk required for the daily supply of the cities of New-York and Brooklyn, as near as can 

 be ascertained, ia about fifteen thousand gallons. 'This, at the average price of six cents per quart, amounts 

 to three thousand seven hundred and fifty duUars per day, or, in round numbers, to fifteen hundred thousand 

 doUars a ye.or, 



* The price of slop is not uniform, hut ia varied by the value of grain. It has been ae low as 6^ cents per 

 barreL 



