SANITARY CONDITIONS OF DAIRY FARMS. 
469 
invisible fingers of gravity, which finally drag down all to a com¬ 
mon level. This depressing influence is not developed suddenly 
and distinctly, but silently and secretly the sapping and mining 
go on till the explosion comes in sickness, suffering and the 
sleep that is eternal. (N. H. B. of H. page 216.) 
If it is necessary to have cellars then it is most essential that 
they should be well drained, well lighted and well ventilated, 
and the manure instead of being dumped into the cellar should 
be carried some distance from the buildings. Care should also 
be taken that the well is not situated so as to receive the surface 
drainage. Too often the well is situated in or near the barn¬ 
yard, and I have known cases, where through either ignorance 
or carelessness, the cows were watered from a puddle or hollow 
near the barn into which the surface water from the barnyard 
drained. 
Light is another essential that is almost neglected. Good 
light is just as essential to the health of the “higher animals as 
it is to plant life.” We ordinarily get too much in the habit of 
viewing light in barns as being simply for the purpose of en¬ 
abling us to see what we are doing. Light, however, has a 
direct bearing on the health of the body and an even more 
direct influence on the causation of this special disease under 
consideration. Light is especially necessary, where through 
want of exercise, the circulation is sluggish and the system is 
depressed, light will stimulate the circulation. It increases the 
oxidation; more co is given off and the functions of the whole 
body are quickened and enlivened ; but sunlight also retards the 
growth of germ life, and, more than that, the vitality of certain 
forms of bacteria, including anthrax and tubercle bacilli, is de¬ 
stroyed by the action of light. So that while light is necessary 
for the healthy development of the higher forms of life, it is det¬ 
rimental to the lower forms of life. And yet in how many barns 
are we able to see distinctly. In how many barns can we see to 
read a thermometer without going to the window. 
Nor are the above the only conditions that tend to impair the 
health of the dairy cow. On the average farm no care is taken, 
