1909.] The Construction of Cow Houses. 



537 



preventing slipping where the passages are not kept thor- 

 oughly clean, while the wheels of coolers, or other carriages 

 used in the conveyance of food to the stock, invariably break 

 the surface at the grooves. Properly finished concrete is 

 scarcely ever slippery if clean, but may be more or less so 

 if dirty. It is fully as cheap as any other flooring material 

 laid equally substantially, is less absorbent than most, and 

 probably more durable than any other. Where blue brick 

 is used for the passages and stalls cement might with advan- 

 tage be put in the bottom of the manure channel, as there 

 are no junctions as with bricks to hold urine and manure, and 

 the uniform gradient necessary for this part is more easily 

 maintained with cement than with bricks. 



Drainage. — There is general agreement among those who 

 know this subject best that there should be no covered drains 

 inside the cow-house, or if there are, they should be reduced 

 to the shortest length possible. With buildings having two 

 rows of stalls, particularly those of the largest size, it is not 

 always convenient to have open drains, as occasionally the 

 fall is to the centre, and in that case a covered drain has 

 often to be made from the manure channel to the outside. 

 In such circumstances no one need hesitate in putting in a 

 covered drain, rather than have an open one in an awkward 

 position, where the risks from the open drain may be much 

 greater than from the closed one. In such circumstances no 

 pipe should be put in less than six inches in diameter, and 

 pipes eight or nine inches are to be preferred. The pipes 

 should be given a steep gradient, say, one inch or more 

 for each three feet length of pipe. There should be no bends 

 in the line of piping, which outside the building should end 

 in a small cess-pool. The entrance at the manure gutter 

 should be protected by a grating, and any good pattern , of 

 sludge collector. 



The drainage outside the cow-house will, in great part, 

 depend on how the urine is to be disposed of. Urine drains 

 are always difficult to keep clear, and in consequence they 

 should be given a good fall and kept as short as possible. 

 If there are any bends, pipes with loose covers should be 

 inserted at each, and if the length is great or fall little pipes 

 with loose covers should be inserted at frequent intervals. 



