98 ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



30x68 feet, adjacent to the dairy barn, was arranged for this pur- 

 pose; mangers were built on each side, and the two bull pens 

 were retained at the corners. From Cuts 19 and 20 it will be 

 noticed that this shed is a one-story building with windows and 

 doors on both sides, thus affording excellent ventilation. Twenty- 

 two cows have been cared for in this manner with most satis- 

 factory results. 



From the experience at the university the past two years it 

 has been found that the cows keep much cleaner than when 

 stabled and that the milking stable is in a more sanitary condition, 

 consequently it is easier to produce clean milk. By this method 

 there is less difficulty in providing cows w T ith an abundance of 

 fresh air and they are more vigorous and healthy and have better 

 appetites than when kept in the stable. Since they can move 

 about and get exercise they will not suffer in cold weather if the 

 temperature is somewhat lower than in the ordinary stable. 

 Labor is saved as the shed can be bedded much more easily and 

 quickly than can stalls ; there is little stable cleaning to be done 

 and the manure is hauled directly from the shed to the field at 

 any time most convenient and when least damage is done the 

 land by tramping. Another advantage is the saving of fertility 

 much more completely. Many barns do not have cement floors 

 and so there is more or less waste of the liquid portion of the 

 manure. Since land is becoming so high priced no farmer can 

 afford to allow any fertility to be wasted and by this method all 

 the liquid is saved, as it is absorbed by the bedding. If only 

 enough bedding is used to keep the cows clean they tramp the 

 manure so thoroughly that it does not heat to make the air impure. 

 If manure is hauled directly from the stable to the field there is 

 a considerable portion of the year when it must be allowed to 

 accumulate in the yard where it will leach badly, or it must be 

 hauled on to the land when it is so wet and soft that much injury 

 is done by tramping; this is especially true on clay soil. 



On many dairy farms the question of getting sufficient help 

 is becoming such a problem as to interfere seriously with this 



