682 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



calves should be six by eight feet, with larger stalls to which 

 they may be shifted later, with solid partitions (wood or 

 concrete) . The aisle side should be open and provision made 

 at the opposite side for a free opening near the level of the 

 floor (door or window) , so that in warm weather there may 

 be a free passage of air through the stall at the floor level. 

 The floor should be of concrete or other impervious material 

 which will freely admit of washing and disinfection. 



The heating of the nursery has generally proven a failure. 

 Any attempt to heat the room with overhead steam pipes 

 has, in my observation, heated the upper air, kept flies alive 

 all winter, and made concrete and similar floors cold and 

 damp. An ordinary stove is somewhat better, but it is 

 dangerous and the heat diffuses slowly and imperfectly. 

 Neither of these plans supplies warmth where it is most 

 needed — ^the cold and usually damp floor — and neither ad- 

 mits of free circulation of air without most of the heat pass- 

 ing out of the room. I have found hot water pipes laid be- 

 neath the concrete floor and properly operated highly satis- 

 factory. The capacity of the heater should be very low 

 compared with the cubic content of the room, as a safe- 

 guard against overheating. The pipe should be large, either 

 cast iron water pipe or sewer tile carefully laid. There 

 should be but a single loop of pipe beneath each tier of stalls. 

 With such a system installed, little heat is required to warm 

 the floor, and, once it is warmed, heat is retained for a long 

 period. The floor upon which the calf lies is kept warm 

 and dry while the general temperature of the stable may be 

 kept low and the exchange of air abundant. The interior 

 of the stable, stalls and fixtures should be unpainted, or at 

 least not painted with lead or zinc. Possibly zinc is not in 

 itself poisonous, but it is rarely or never free from lead. In 

 fashionable stables many calves die from licking painted 

 walls or fixtures, and sometimes feed pails. 



Throughout the milk-feeding period the condition of the 

 calf should be watched closely. It should not be permitted 

 to become gaunt or pot-bellied. The feces of a sound, vigor- 

 ous calf do not adhere to its tail and buttocks. Upon the 



