STABLING SUITABLE FOR CATTLE 363 



strong if they are to stand, being made of 2-inch planks 

 rather than of inch boards, and should rise to the height 

 of not less than 4 feet. They should extend forward to 

 the passage side of the manger. The distance backward 

 should depend to some extent on the class of stock kept 

 in them and the method of tying the same. For dairy 

 cows that are not tied, they should come back to the 

 verge of the drop. 



No method of t3dng has proved more satisfactory 

 than that which ties with the swing stanchion. It gives 

 as much liberty as the tie around the neck which moves 

 up and down on an iron rod at the side of the stall. It 

 prevents the cows from stepping forward into the manger 

 or backward into the gutter, and by no means can they 

 be fastened or loosed more quickly. 



When constructing mangers, regard should be had 

 to the freedom which they give to the cow, to the 

 capacity for holding food and for retaining it, and to 

 the ease with which they ma_y be cleaned. Usually the 

 stall side of the manger should not be more than, say, 

 8 inches above the floor to allow the animals to lie at 

 ease with their heads extended over the manger. The 

 capacity for holding food, and, consequently, the size of 

 the manger, should depend somewhat on the kinds of 

 food fed, and as to whether the cattle are required to 

 consume fodder in the stall or when at liberty in a shed. 

 The ability to retain food depends materially on the 

 shape of the manger on the side remote from the stall, 

 and on the protection furnished on the stall side. The 

 Michigan experiment station has found that when the 

 passage side of the manger is perpendicular to about 

 half its height and then slants outward, the food cannot 

 be thrown out so easily into the passage by the animal 

 as when the outward upward slant is continuous from 

 the fioor upward. Mangers with plank bottoms can be 

 kept clean more easil_y than those made of concrete. 



