258 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



should be wiped with a damp cloth just before milking. Hay 

 should not be fed previous to milking, as it fills the air with 



dust. Care should be taken to 

 feed clean, nutritious foods and 

 such as will not contribute an 

 undesirable flavor to the milk. 

 The drinking water for the cows 

 should be clean, fresh, and the 

 tanks protected from possible 

 contamination. Furthermore, 



Fig. 81. — Brown Swiss Cow "Vo- the COWS should be healthy. One 



Hinsdale° m''^ ^^ ^"^^''^ ^'"'"''' ''^^^"^ produce sanitary milk 



and keep diseased cows. Each 

 animal composing the herd should be tested for tuberculosis 

 once each year and the diseased cases removed. 



The stables. — If one is to produce sanitary milk, the stable 

 must be kept clean. This applies to dust, cobwebs, and the like, 

 as well as to the manure and litter. Much light and good ven- 

 tilation are essential. The floors should be of cement. The 

 gutters and litter should be cleaned out twice daily, and the 

 material hauled to the field, or placed in a protected water- 

 tight pit outside the barnyard and of sufficient distance to pre- 

 vent odors from reaching the stable. The covered shed, if one 

 is used, and stable-yard, must be clean and well drained. It 

 is a rather common practice to house other animals, such as 

 horses or sheep and sometimes swine, in the same stable with 

 cattle. If sanitary milk is to be the product, no other animals 

 should be placed in the same stable with the cows. 



The cows should be bedded liberally, particularly if the floor 

 is of cement. The bedding should not be permitted to become 

 foul, as this not only lessens the comfort of the cattle, but makes 

 it more difficult to keep them clean and it promotes disease. 

 Old straw makes the best bedding material, but when high in 

 price, it may be replaced by many other materials, such as shav- 



