29i HxpenencGS of the Severe Winter of 1890-91. 
during the winter. Mangel, where obtainable, and maize and 
rice meal, are favourite foods. These increase the quantity at 
the expense of quality, which gives rise to frequent complaints 
from the purchasers, who charge the farmer with watei'iug, 
thougli he is innocent of the offence. A mixture of peas, oats, 
and linseed ground together, mixed with chaff, and macerated with 
hot water, is the best food, and roots should be used sparingly. A 
liberal supply of pure water at an even temperature is essential. 
The sheds should be roomy and well ventilated. No single 
shed should be less than 18 feet wide inside the walls. Where 
practicable we prefer double sheds, with a central feeding 
passage. The mangers are made of fire-clay glazed inside. 
The sheds should be well lighted and ventilated, and the cold 
air should be admitted at the floor level, with a free exit for the 
heated air at the apex of the roof. No under-ground drain is 
admissible in a cowshed, the liquid drainage, if any, being con- 
veyed in an open channel, and delivered into a trapped drain 
well outside the buildings. All floors are composed of concrete, 
finished on the top with a thin coating of fine stuff', and 
notched to prevent slipping. The best litter is peat moss ; a 
layer six or eight inches deep is spread over the whole of the 
floor, a sprinkling of four-inch cut straw is scattered over the 
beds, and there results one of the most healthy, comfortable, 
and, as to the economical conservancy of the manure, most per- 
fect sheds it is possible to make. The droppings are collected 
from time to time and removed, whilst the peat absorbs and 
preserves the urine and its valuable constituents. When the 
moss litter has become thoroughly saturated, it is carried out, 
and may be taken direct to the land, its place being supplied by 
a fresh dressing. ^ 
As already noticed, there was no scarcity of milk during the 
winter months, so that, though the demand was better, prices 
were not sensibly affected. Separated milk is being more 
appreciated, and the demand steadily increases, both in the 
towns and the rural villages. In some districts the owners of 
buttei' fiictoi'ies are delivering fresli sei)arated milk at the doors 
of the working classes daily at one penny per quart. Thousands 
are now enjoying the luxury of a regular supply of milk, where, 
though situated in country districts, milk could not be formerly 
obtained except at prohibitive prices. CJood cheese has been in 
demand and has realised satisfactory prices ; both farmei's and 
factors are bare of stock, and as the early make is likely to be 
light, the general opinion is that prices will harden. As to 
butter, we need never expect, to compete with the foreign pro- 
