The  horse  stables  are  made  without  drains,  with 
water-tight  floors,  the  ends  towards  the  mangers. 
Use  plenty  of  bedding  and  all  the  liquid  solid  manure 
will  be  absorbed. 
With  a  large  stock  of  cattle  and  horses  construct  the 
barn  so  that  you  can  drive  through  or  drive  in  and 
back  out  a  load  or  back  in  with  a  two-horse  wagon 
empty.  Twenty-five  grown  cattle  will  make  a  good 
load  of  manuTe  every  day.  Every  farmer  ought  to 
know  what  to  do,  but  not  one  in  ten  does  or  pretends 
to.  We  hitch  Up  the  teams  and  dTive  into  the  stable, 
and  with  six-tined  manure  forks  load  the  manure  on 
the  wagons  oT  sleds  and  draw  it  out  and  spread  it 
where  we  Want  it,  and  when  spring  comes  the  job  is 
done,  nearly  1,000  loads  being  all  ready  to  be  plowed 
under  for  our  spring  crops.  These  stables  are  con¬ 
structed  for  winter  dairying  and  the  expense  of  build¬ 
ing  and  keeping  them  in  repair  is  very  small.  The 
manure  is  dry  so  that  it  can  be  spread  easily  and  I 
think  we  save  most  of  the  fertility. 
I  keep  from  100  to  125  cows  ;  all  stand  in  stanchions, 
on  an  average,  23  out  of  the  24  hours. 
Only  two  out  of  the  whole  lot  failed 
to  do  well,  :ind  these  are  all  right  now. 
My  hobby  is  ensilage  and  silos  and 
from  these  I  get  most  of  my  profits.  If 
you  have  a  stock  farm  whether  for 
steers,  young  cattle  or  sheep, 
build  a  silo  close  to  or  adjoining  the  '  ■ 
it,  for  in  a  few  years 
you  can  keep  double  the  amount  of 
stock  and  your  barn  will  be  too  small 
for  your  hay  and  grain.  Your  pocket- 
book  will  get  thicker,  your  debts 
fewer  and  your  wife  and  family  hap- 
pier.  FRANK  BI.AIR. 
practice  of  weeding  out  is  continually  going  on,  the 
feeding  being  so  heavy  that  a  poor  milker  is  fit  for  the 
butcher,  and  goes  to  the  shambles  as  soon  as  she  is 
found  unprofitable.  In  this  way  the  unprofitable  cow 
does  not  long  remain  a  burden  on  the  farmer’s  hands. 
The  factories  using  the  test  find  it  useful  in  toning 
up  the  skimmed-milk  farmers,  and  in  raising  the 
general  average  of  the  product.  A  few  factories  are 
paying  for  the  milk  according  to  the  results  of  the 
test.  The  system  has  been  very  satisfactory  both  to 
the  factories  and  patrons,  but  so  far  has  not  resulted 
in  raising  the  standard  of  the  cows.  The  dairy  farms 
are  largely  worked  by  tenants,  who  receive  a  share  of 
the  profits  ;  the  owners  of  the  farms  finding  the  cows, 
the  tenants  doing  the  work.  The  majority  are  Germans 
or  Swedes,  good  workers,  but  not  close  figurers  ;  with 
them  personal  economy  takes  the  place  of  close  figur¬ 
ing  on  the  cost  of  their  product. 
I*  there  a  growing  demand  for  sweet-cream  butter  ? 
Will  the  extractor  and  accumulator  obtain  a  large 
patronage  in  the  East  ?  No  doubt  there  is  a  growing 
sion  of  feeding  and  other  matters  relative  to  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  milk,  and  it  will  no  doubt  bring  out  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  the  various  methods  in  use  by  the  differ¬ 
ent  farmers.  d.  w.  willson. 
Wonders  of  Greenhouse  Culture. 
TUB  HORTICULTURAL  DEPARTMENT  AT  CORNELL. 
Speaking  of  travel  in  foreign  countries  Prof.  Bailey 
said  : 
“  If  you  intend  to  visit  a  foreign  country  study 
its  history  and  geography,  but  read  nothing  about  the 
manners  and  customs.  Leave  those  for  little  surprises 
that  come  suddenly  upon  you,  giving  zest  to  your 
journey.” 
I  was  reminded  of  this  advice  while  rambling 
through  the  greenhouses  which  are  under  his  charge 
at  Cornell  University.  Everything  from  common 
beans  to  the  aristocratic  seeds  of .  the  Victoria  regia, 
Which  cost  50  cents  each,  can  be  found.  Plants  grown 
from  the  same  lot  of  seeds,  by  different  methods  and 
fertilizers,  show  a  marked  difference. 
“The  aim  of  this  division,”  said  Prof- 
Bailey,  “is  to  give  actual  practice  in 
Nf  'S' ;  1  any  branch  of  the  work  desired.  Any 
student  who  has  the  vim  and  common 
sense  necessary  for  success  will  be 
cows. 
never  in 
Stock  Standing  “Tail  to  Tail.”  UVv 
l.  A  hemlock-plank  floor  is  good 
enough  for  me.  Of  course  any  kind 
of  wood  will  do  if  not  too  slippery  for  LMu  'ISfc- 
the  cows  to  keep  on  their  feet.  I  don’t 
think  there  is  anything  better  than  a  j«|L$8fr 
good  wooden  floor  in  a  stable.  2.  No 
more  slope  should  be  given  the  plat-  • 
form  than  just  enough  to  cause  water 
to  run  back  into  the  gutter.  One  inch  paPlw  \\ 
of  slope  in  four  feet  is  all  that  is  needed. 
3.  A  platform  four  feet  six  inches  to  -  J 
four  feet  ten  inches  is  long  enough.  0T  .  wrmM 
The  size  of  the  cattle  has  everything  !  ~r«*l 
to  do  with  the  length  of  platform.  No  1 
length  can  be  given  that  will  exactly 
fit  an  entire  herd.  4.  The  gutter  should 
be  six  inches  deep  and  from  14  to  16 
wide.  The  planks  of  which  it  is  com-  ( 
posed  should  run  lengthwise  of  it,  so  .. 
that  it  can  be  easily  cleaned.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  to  make  it  water¬ 
tight,  so  that  it  will  not  leak  a  drop.  * 
A  leaky  gutter  is  as  bad  as  a  leaky 
roof.  5.  I  think  the  cattle  should  stand 
tail  to  tail,  as  in  that  position  the  man- 
ure  all  goes  out  at  one  door,  and  when 
the  animals  are  let  into  the  stable, 
they  are  not  so  likely  to  go  into  the  r 
wrong  places.  Then  if  the  manure  is  K"  j 
hauled  away  in  wagons  or  sleds,  the 
team  can  be  driven  right  through,  and 
the  manure  loaded  on  from  the  end. 
6.  I  use  a  wheelbarrow,  but  if  I  had 
to  build  the  stables  again,  I  would  build  them  so 
that  I  could  drive  between  the  rows  of  cattle  and  take 
the  manure  to  the  field  and  spread  it  at  once.  More 
manure  is  wasted  by  being  left  about  the  barnyard 
than  is  washed  away  by  rains  or  thawing  snows  after 
it  has  been  spread  where  wanted.  william  cains. 
Some  Dairy  Questions 
AS  THEY  AFFECT  THE  ELGIN,  ILL.,  DAIRY  SECTION. 
What  is  the  probable  effect  of  the  introduction  of  the 
Babcock  milk  test  ?  Will  it  improve  the  breeding  or 
feeding  of  cows  ?  This  matter  has  not  received  the 
attention  of  our  dairymen  and  the  milk  producers 
that  its  importance  demands.  The  system  of  pooling 
the  milk  at  our  factories  and  creameries  has  not  tended 
to  encourage  either  the  breeding  or  feeding  of  cows 
capable  of  producing  high-grade  milk  as  regards  fat, 
but  has  rather  encouraged  the  keeping  of  those  that 
furnish  a  large  amount  of  milk  of  fair  average  quality. 
The  farmers  have  aimed  to  produce  a  large  yield  and 
have  largely  utilized  their  own  grain,  supplemented  by 
bran  and  other  similar  feeds.  The  prohibition  of  the 
use  of  ensilage,  brewers’ grains  and  all  other  fermented 
feeds  by  the  condensing  factories",  has  been  so  long  the 
practice  here  in  the  Elgin  District,  Illinois,  that  it  has 
become  the  universal  rule.  The  result  has  been  the 
production  of  milk  of  a  high  grade,  so  that  the  test 
has  not  been  used  either  by  the  farmers  or  factories  to 
great  an  extent  as  in  other  locations.  The  general 
Cucumber  Vines  in  a  Greenhouse.  Fig.  157, 
demand  for  more  mild-flavored  butter,  but  for  the 
sweet-creain  butter  such  as  that  made  by  the  extrac¬ 
tor,  no  trade  has  been  developed.  If  extractor  butter 
were  placed  on  the  market  without  prejudice,  there  is 
a  demand  which  it  would  meet,  particularly  when  the 
ladies  do  the  buying.  As  a  rule,  they  prefer  mild- 
flavored  butter.  In  my  opinion  the  great  use  for  the 
extractor  is  in  the  establishment  of  large  central  fac¬ 
tories  with  outlying  stations,  where  the  milk  of  the 
patrons  will  be  received  and  granular  butter  made  for 
delivery  to  the  central  factory.  In  this  way  a  large 
territory  can  be  handled  by  one  establishment,  and  a 
uniform  grade  of  goods  manufactured. 
In  the  best  Eastern  creameries,  what  grains  and  fod¬ 
ders  are  not  permitted  ?  This  subject  has  not  received 
the  attention  it  merits.  As  remarked  in  another  part, 
the  condensing  factories  forbid  the  use  of  certain  feeds, 
and  the  standard  thus  established  has  been  the  rule 
among  our  creameries,  but  has  not  been  closely  fol¬ 
lowed  or  insisted  on.  The  practice  of  cutting  corn 
stalks  without  husking  has  been  very  general,  but  has 
not  been  so  common  of  late,  the  corn  being  husked  and 
the  stalks  cut  and  fed  with  grain  rations  of  ground 
corn,  oats  and  bran.  In  a  few  sections  the  bran  left 
after  the  glucose  has  been  taken  out,  has  been  used  in 
its  wet  state,  but  there  is  a  growing  belief  that  it  hurts 
the  quality  of  the  butter  made  from  the  milk  so  pro¬ 
duced.  Last  year  a  dairymen’s  and  farmers’  club  was 
organized  in  Elgin,  Ill.,  that  is  taking  up  the  discus- 
