28 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATIOK. 



have our barns of sufficient size to house all our hay as 

 well as all our cows ; it should be arranged with reference 

 to convenience in handling fodder, and stock barns and 

 farm houses should be as near each other as is consistent 

 with health and cleanliness. Differed with many of his 

 neighbors in regard to shade for cows; did not want any 

 for his; it only tended to draw cows together in squads to 

 fight flies — and each other — when they ought to be feeding; 

 droppings would draw files, and would also be lost as a 

 fertilizer. Shade is not essential. Stagnant pools were to 

 be avoided; cows would stand in them, and return to the 

 stable in no condition to milk or handle. Our new lands 

 were not adapted to plowing ; must be reclaimed first. 

 All our farms could be made good dairy farms if rightly 

 handled. 



Judge Wilcox said: First the land should be capable 

 of producing good corn, oats, and grass; they ar(^ the 

 main essentials. The farm should be as compact as pos- 

 sible. Should have the purest of water. Springs are 

 preferable. Had two farms; one was supplied by spring, 

 at no cost, not five dollars per year; the other was supplied 

 by wind-mill, whi(;h was indispensable to that farm, as 

 creek was remote from buildings. It was essential to have 

 good water. Must not have all low land; varieties of soil 

 was good, so as to allow cows a change; would not say 

 much on this subject, as he would talk again to-morrow. 

 Every dairyman should keep an account with his farm, to 

 see how he was doing: expense was an important matter 

 on a farm. The barns should be light, airy, and cleanly, 

 and constructed in a durable manner for cattle; floors 

 should be paved with stone; had one barn with paved floor 

 which had been in use for twenty years ; used cobble stones; 

 the drops, or drains, should be flagged. Had one built in 

 1851; had not cost him twenty dollars for repairs since; 

 floors would rot and sills decay, not so with paving; were 

 less liable to odors or foul matter underneath them; in fact, 

 floors are the principal cause of bad odors in our cow barns. 



