88 CLEAN MILK 



The Cloth Method of Stable Ventilation 



Quite recently there has come into existence a new system of 

 ventilating barns by means of windows covered with cheap cotton 

 cloth. No method could be simpler or less expensive and the results 

 thus far reported have been very favorable. 



Thus Ellis M. Santee, of the Dairy Department of U. S. 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C, writing in Hoard's 

 Dairyman of May 17th, 1907, records some conclusions from ex- 

 haustive experiments with cloth ventilation as compared with the 

 King system. He affirms that even with the thermometer register- 

 ing 43 degrees below zero, water never froze in the barn with 

 cloth-covered windows. Also that the difference in temperature in 

 barns with cloth-covered windows and in those with all glass win- 

 dows, was but 1 to 3 degrees. Moreover, in the stables ventilated 

 with cloth-covered windows, the humidity was 7 to 10 per cent. 

 lower than in the barns ventilated by the King system. Finally he 

 records the fact that many good dairymen have closed the outlets 

 and inlets of their King system to give place to the cloth curtain 

 method. Glass windows to secure proper sunlight (Santee) should 

 be alternated with cloth-covered openings, the proportion being 3 

 sq. ft. of glass and 2 sq. ft. of cloth-covered openings for each 

 1,000 lbs. of animal. The cloth should be muslin of the first grade 

 better than cheesecloth, costing 5 to 6 cents per yard. 



Some farmers are supplementing the King system of ventila- 

 tion with the cloth method. This is superfluous if the King system 

 has been properly installed. With the chimney flue in the King 

 system, for creating a draft, there is good ventilation with little 

 air moving along the ground and heat is not wasted in high winds. 

 This is not the case with cloth ventilation. Moreover, if the cloth 

 becomes wet and freezes, ventilation may be nil for the time. 



Cheesecloth is now often used in place of muslin and over 

 all the windows of the barn. If fastened outside the windows the 

 glass may be closed when it is so desired. 



