Vol. LXIV. Wo. 2»T9. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 1, 1905. 
•fl PER YEAR. 
"C0W0L00Y” IN A DAIRY BARN. 
A FARMERS’ INSTITUTE ON THE FARM. 
Clean Barn, Feeding, Handling, Breeding. 
AN INSTITUTE IN A COW STABLE.—I have 
attended institutes in churches, theatres, courthouses, 
schoolhouses and halls of various kinds, some pleasant, 
warm, light and well ventilated; others gloomy, cold, 
dark and the air so bad that the audience soon got 
drowsy and the speakers prosy. Never until March 8 
did I attend one in a cow stable. Such a one was 
held at the farm of H. C. Cook, Denmark, Lewis 
County, N. Y. There were present 350 men and women 
and 50 cows. This in spite of the fact that the roads 
were full of snow and the “going” 
really dangerous. 
THE STABLE.—Mr. Cook’s barn is 
such a one as any thrifty farmer could 
build. Not at all the expensive, often 
unpractical structure seen on the so- 
called “model farms” of wealthy men. 
The stable is nine feet high, built in 
the form of an L, the long side being 
90 feet; the cow stable 36 feet wide, the 
short arm of the L running out nine 
feet farther, and in this are the horse 
stalls. The two rows of cows face to- ^ T * 
ward the wall, with a feeding alley of / 
ample width in front. The space be¬ 
hind the cows is wide enough to drive 
a wagon through and load in the ma¬ 
nure from either side. Alongside of 
the horse stalls end are the granary / 
and silo. Except for the space occu¬ 
pied by these there are double win¬ 
dows, making the stable light enough 
to read in anywhere. The floors are 
cement and the gutters the same. The 
walls are double sheathed with an air 
space between, and sided overhead 
with matched and beaded pine, inex¬ 
pensive but neat. The cows are fas¬ 
tened with swinging stanchions. The 
whole stable, except the ceiling, was 
covered with cold water white paint. 
V EN IILATION.—On each side of 
the stable are two ventilating shafts, 
30 feet from either end, and opposite 
each other. They are made of matched 
pine and lined with tar paper, each 
three feet wide and one foot thick, run¬ 
ning from the floor up the side to the 
upper floor (used as a hay loft) and 
following the roof to the peak, where 
the two come together in a neat cupola. 
The foul air goes out near the floor. 
There is also a little door in each shaft 
near the ceiling that can be opened ^ ^y 
when the weather is warm. The fresh 
air comes in through four-inch tin 
tubes starting near the ground on the outside, running 
between the sheathing and opening into the stable a 
foot below the ceiling. There was not a sign of damp¬ 
ness in the walls, and the ventilation so perfect that 
w r hen I held my handkerchief near the floor at the 
opening of the ventilating shaft it was drawn in. Be¬ 
fore the people gathered the thermometer stood at 58 
degrees, and at the close of the session, after the stable 
had been filled with 400 animals (human and bovine) 
it stood at 70 degrees. At no time was there the slight¬ 
est stable odor, or, as is so often the case when coming 
from outside into a crowded room, the offensive smell 
of fetid breath. 
ARRANGEMENT FOR THE MEETING.—A little 
platform was put up at one 5nd of the alley for the 
speakers. The floor was covered with shavings. 
Jhiough the alley were set chairs across which pine 
boards were laid as seats for the audience. A wire 
was strung behind the cows on which were hung bran 
sacks as a partition between the two classes (cows and 
humans). I he whole stable was neatly decorated with 
flags and red, white and blue papers, expressing a senti¬ 
ment approved by both cows and humans. 
THE DINNER.—T oo much cannot be said in praise 
of Mr. Cook's neighbors, the members of the Denmark 
Grange, who did so much to make the institute a suc¬ 
cess, not only by their presence, but their loyal assist¬ 
ance. At the close of the morning session the boards 
were taken from the chairs, these pushed aside, and as 
the audience crowded toward the cattle, as if by magic, 
from the adjoining granary tables were brought in and 
Pounds Average 
Food 
Milk- 
milk 
value 
cost 
Cash 
value 
Cows. 
per 
per 
per 
per 
per 100 
Profit 
cow. 
100 . 
cow. 
cow. 
of feed. 
per 
10 
5,008 
78.3 
,$20.00 
$39.07 
$1.52 
$13.07 
15 
5,784 
80.5 
30.00 
40.58 
1.30 
10.58 
15 
5,784 
80.5 
30.00 
40.38 
1.30 
10.58 
13 
5,71 7 
75.1 
35.40 
43.07 
1.24 
7.61 
15 
3,783 
75.5 
24.00 
28.00 
1.19 
4.60 
9 
4.117 
79.4 
31.02 
32.73 
1.05 
1.71 
19 
3,094 
70. 
20.00 
21.63 
.83 
9 
2,872 
71.6 
20.00 
20.56 
.79 
8 
3.270 
80.3 
29.01 
28.22 
.97 
20 
2,174 
72.4 
29.00 
16.18 
.55 
This shows 
not only a 
wide variation in the j 
4.37 
5.44 
.79 
14.82 
DER BLACKBERRY VINE WITH 1,500 BERRIES. 
See l’age 272. 
placed end to end in the alley, set with dishes and good 
Grange fare. The chairs were drawn up, and in less 
than 15 minutes from the time of adjournment we were 
eating heartily. Seldom have I enjoyed a meal more. 
The air was pure, the company of the best, the food the 
same, and a feeling of repulsion so often experienced in 
public eating houses, because of the surroundings, was 
entirely absent. In less than an hour and a half 280, 
exclusive of the cows, were well fed. 
1 HE PROGRAMME.—The first speaker was Geo. A. 
Smith, of the Geneva Station, whose subject was “Feed¬ 
ing the Dairy Cow.” He showed the following very 
suggestive chart, compiled from statistics gathered in 
Chautauqua County by Mr. W. A. Patrick, of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, as the statement of patrons 
of a creamery where the milk was sold on its fat 
content: 
tion per cow, value of the milk per 100 pounds, cost 
of feed, receipts, value of milk per $L worth of feed 
and profit or loss per cow. While the cows giving 
the larger flow all gave a profit, it will be noticed that 
the greatest profit, as well as value of 
milk for $1 worth of fjed, did not 
come from the cows giving the great¬ 
est flow or the highest value per cow. 
This was because they were fed a 
home-grown ration. Mr. Smitji showed 
by giving clover, oats and peas and 
Alfalfa with the corn silage the cattle 
can be kept in good condition, and 
milk be made more economically than 
when the high-priced protein grains 
are fed, and emphasized the fact that 
it is the net profit and not the gross 
sales the farmers should look for. 
USEFUL REMEDIES EXEM- 
, PLIFIED.—He was followed by Dr. 
C. D. Smead, of Schuyler County. He 
was dressed in overalls and jumper, 
' and led on the platform a fine cow. 
• i ' 
and showed how an animal can be re- 
, lieved from bloat by placing a stick 
in the mouth and tying it behind the 
ears with a string or band of hay or 
straw. In more severe cases he showed 
j how with a jack-knife a hole can be 
made in the paunch, to let the gas 
escape. Always in the left side, insert 
the knife at a point midway between 
the hip bone and first rib and a hand’s 
width below the short rib, always with 
the edge of blade toward the udder 
and pointed as though it were to come 
out at the flank on the opposite side. 
In case an animal eats an overdose of 
grain give from four to six quarts of 
water and repeat after 15 minutes. 
This will soften the mass and allow it 
to pass through the bowels. Give in 
addition one quart of raw linseed oil. 
If relief does not come within an hour, 
repeat the dose of oil and follow with 
a quart of ginger tea. In case of 
choking give a little linseed oil to lu- 
Fig. 112. bricate the gullet. Fie then showed 
how a clevis could be put in a cow’s 
mouth; through it the hand may be in¬ 
serted and the obstacle removed. In case it is too far 
down to reach with the hand, take six feet of inch rope, 
soak in water so it will stiffen, draw the cords over in 
the form of a bulb, and crowd the obstruction into the 
stomach. He also illustrated how in cases of milk fever 
air could be forced into the udder by a rubber syringe, 
and with a milk tube or in lieu of that by a bicycle 
pump. In the latter case, care should be exercised not 
to force the air too fast. Then tie the teats with tape 
to prevent its escaping. Always sterilize the milk tube 
by placing it in boiling water or carbolic acid. Never 
use a long milk tube. W ith the cow before the audience 
these things were made so clear that any farmer could 
readily see how to act in such cases. 
PRODUCING SANIT.ARY MILK.-After dinner 
Prof. R. A. Pearson, of Cornell, made an address on 
the above subject. In such a stable, with the clean cows 
