144 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MILK HYGIENE 
feed, the front feet frequently slip backward and the 
cows are thrown on their knees, causing bruises which 
often lead to the development of knee tumors. The feed 
trough should be 18 inches wide and at least 6 inches 
deep, with the front high enough to prevent feed from 
being pushed out of it. 
The gutter or drop should be constructed of cement. 
Wood or earth gutters cannot be kept clean and free 
from odor. The gutter should be 16 to 18 inches wide, 
with an average depth of 8 inches below the level of the 
platform. It should be deeper at one end than at the 
other, to give the bottom sufficient slope for drainage, 
or the entire floor may be sloped and the depth of the 
gutter remain the same. Sometimes the floor back of 
the platforms is laid on a level with the bottom of the 
gutter or 2 or 3 inches above it, thus removing the back 
wall of the gutter entirely or making it 4 or 5 inches lower 
than the front wall. This has the advantage of per- 
mitting the sun to shine into the gutter when there are 
windows in the rear of the cows, but it also increases 
the likelihood of manure being splashed upon the wall; 
when the back wall of the gutter is lacking entirely there 
is a tendency for the hind feet of cows to slip backward 
when they are stepping up onto the platform. Plenty 
of litter should be kept in the gutter to absorb the urine 
and thus prevent it from being splashed by droppings 
or by the cow’s tail when the animal is lying down and 
switching at flies. The floor of the gutter sometimes has 
a % inch slope from the front to the rear with the object 
of raising the toe and increasing the tension upon the 
posterior tendons when cows stand down in the gutter, 
the intention being to make the position uncomfortable, 
but this construction does not always have the desired 
effect. 
