1 
Plan for Sanitary Milk-house 
Sunlight and Cleanliness Chief Requisites 
I am intending to build a milk-house as located on the 
sketch. Fig 10. You will note the house is to be 10 feet 
from the barnyard fence, and about the same distance 
from the barn. It will be our aim to remove the manure 
as often as possible, and at such times as this cannot 
be done daily the manure, by using the swinging crane, 
can be dumped over 50 feet from the milkhouse. Do 
you think the milk-house is going to be too close to the 
barn or barnyard? I wish to build it as near as possible 
so it will be easy and convenient to cool the milk quickly. 
Russell, Pa. w. e, w. 
r,MANLINESS NEEDED.—The recent awaken¬ 
ing to the need of absolute cleanliness in the 
successful handling of milk, together with the more 
common knowledge of the effects of bacterial life 
upon it and the methods of controlling such life, have 
called for a little more elaborate method of handling 
milk than has heretofore been thought necessary. 
Milk is now looked upon as a human food—not as 
an article for sale—and precautions of cleanliness 
comparable with those taken in the preparation of 
other food are observed in its handling. No longer 
is it deemed good practice to leave uncovered and 
unstrained pails of milk standing in the stable, any 
more than it would be considered permissible to 
leave a setting of bread uncovered in the same place 
for the purpose of rising. In fact, of the two. be¬ 
cause of its peculiar composition, the milk would be 
the most likely to absorb the stable odors. 
REQUIREMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION.—A milk- 
house then should be of such construction as to 
provide absolute cleanliness and to permit the main¬ 
tenance of this sanitary condition with the least pos¬ 
sible expenditure of labor. It should have an 
abundant supply of both hot and cold water and if 
possible steam, the steam jet being a big factor in 
keeping things clean. It should be handy to the 
stable and at the same time be so located as to be 
free from the stable odors. The actual 
distance that it must be placed from 
the barn or manure pit varies with the 
market to which the milk is to be 
shipped. To secure a clean scoring the 
New York City Health Department de¬ 
mands that the milk-house be at least 
100 feet from the manure pit, privy or 
other source of possible contamination. 
1 believe that the State ruling is not 
quite so drastic, and the ruling apply¬ 
ing to your particular case could be 
obtained from your Board of Health. 
As far as the actual results go, the di¬ 
stance separating the milk-house from 
these sources of infection is not of so 
much account as its location relative to 
them. It should be located on high, 
well-drained ground, above these pos¬ 
sible sources of contamination, provid¬ 
ing ample facilities for drainage, and 
so situated that the prevailing winds 
will blow from the milk-house toward 
the manure pit rather than in the re¬ 
verse direction. 
MATERIALS.—The size of the milk- 
house needed will depend somewhat 
upon the extent of the operations that 
will be conducted within it. A sug¬ 
gestive floor plan of a house 12x16 ft., 
about minimum size, is given. This 
size can be built economically with 12- 
ft. lumber, the length that is usually 
most easily obtainable. The wall con¬ 
struction should be tight and warm, 
both to conserve the boiler heat in the 
Winter and to shut out the heat of the 
Summer sun. A tight ceiling at the 
plate level with a window in each 
gable gives a well-ventilated attic that 
is an aid in keeping the milk room 
cool in Summer. Ample and easily 
controlled ventilating flues must be pro¬ 
vided for the rooms beneath as well. 
For outside finish shingles, clapboards 
or vertical siding can be used, depending upon which 
will best suit the surroundings and the purse of the 
builder. The interior, however, should either be 
smoothly ceiled up and painted with a good grade 
of water-resisting enamel, or metal lath and cement 
plaster used. In any case, concrete, either in the 
form of plaster or solid wall, should be used up as 
far as the bottom of the windows. 
THE FLOOR.—Concrete makes the only service¬ 
able floor within reach of the ordinary farm. A 
bell trap should be provided, and the floor given a 
pitch toward it in order that wash water may readily 
escape. A trap must be used to secure a water seal, 
and prevent the smell that would otherwise come 
from the drain pipe. It is usual to place this trap 
‘The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
near the center of the floor, but some dairymen 
prefer having the floor highest in the center, sloping 
to all sides, where the water is caught in a depres¬ 
sion and led to one or more traps. Such an arrange¬ 
ment has the advantage of providing a drier working 
floor for the operator, as the wash water runs to 
the outside instead of escaping toward the center, 
as is the case with the central trap. 
WINDOWS.—Light is a great enemy of germ life. 
Sunlight has a considerable direct germicidal action, 
but to my mind the chief value of light in combating 
germ life is its indirect action; it exposes and brings 
to attention dirt, the breeding place of this form of 
life, which would not be seen in a less thoroughly 
lighted place. It follows then that the milk-house 
should be well provided with windows. These win¬ 
dows should be of a type that is readily opened, 
swinging windows, hung flush with the inside, so as 
to present a smooth inside wall preferred, and each 
provided with a good screen to exclude flies in the 
Summer. The fly is one of the greatest carriers of 
milk contaminating germ life, incubating as it does 
in manure piles and other places of filth. r. h. s. 
Tile Drainage of Wet Spots 
AUSE AND EFFECT.—In tile drainage there 
are a number of things to be considered in each 
individual case before work is started; however, 
cause and effect are the main elements. If the cause 
is fairly well understood it is easy to get the effect, 
so I am going to give one or two examples of the 
41 
work on Shady side Fruit Farms, and attempt to tell 
in a plain way how we got results. 
IMPROVING AN ASPARAGUS PATCH.—This is 
one of our experiences. We laid a main line directly 
from the spring that furnishes water for our barn. 
We did this so as not to have so much mud below 
the spring. This line was carried directly from the 
main head, as we supposed, and to all appearances 
was taking off all the surplus water. To the east, 
and within 20 feet of the spring, we have under cul¬ 
tivation a patch of asparagus of 15 rows, 300 feet 
h»ng. The spring is on a line with the upper end 
of the asparagus. Beginning about 200 feet down 
into the asparagus patch, and from there to the 
lower end, the water came to the surface, nearly one- 
third of the whole lot. Unless the season was un¬ 
usually dry we had no crop on that end. In the 
first place, in laying the main line of tile, at a point 
150 feet below the spring we discovered a stratum of 
gravel. Fifty feet of sewer tile was immediately 
put in through the entire lengtn of the sand. This 
main line added materially to keeping the asparagus 
dry, hut not altogether. I noticed that around the 
spring, on the side next to the asparagus, the ground 
kept wet until late in the season, so we went to work 
and put in a “Y” or angle line. This line now carries 
off all the water from that asparagus, and also keeps 
our barnyard well drained. The extra on our aspara¬ 
gus crop will more than pay for that entire line 
every season. 
TILING A VINEYARD.—In one of our grape 
vineyards we laid two lines of tile crosswise with 
the rows. The indications to us at that time were 
in keeping with the system. The effect, while help¬ 
ful. did not keep the land dry. so we lost a lot of 
young vines the first year from heaving out. The 
Spring following we laid another line between the 
first and second rows on the west. This line crossed 
both of the others and carried nearly 
all the water away from this vineyard. 
From this little vineyard of 400 vines 
we sold this season $371 worth of 
grapes. All lines of tile did not cost 
us to exceed $100. labor and all. With¬ 
out them the entire planting would 
have been a failure. The location of 
this vineyard is on the north hillside, 
hut slightly sloping to the east. The 
first two lines were laid to the east and 
west, the shale coming to the surface 
north and south, so only the seepage 
from a few feet along the lines was 
carried off. When the north and south 
line was put in the water was picked 
up before it got into the vineyard. This 
illustration should serve to keep others 
from making the same mistake. 
LOCATING DRAINAGE LINES.— 
In locating the proper place for lines 
like the ones explained, it is well to 
remember that the water does not 
show at the surface at the point it 
exudes from the “hardpan” or “shale.” 
but will appear at a distance in pro¬ 
portion to the fall of the ground and 
the make-up of the soil. I have found 
that the proper location of laying tile 
has more to do with the real success 
and benefit derived from it than any 
other cause. If the land has hut a 
« 
slight fall the water source may be 
found many feet above where the ap¬ 
parent wet spot is. A little experi¬ 
mental digging at the point that sug- 
as being the right place 
will save a lot of fruitless work and 
disappointment. Many wet places are 
not fed by springs. They are simply 
basins that hold surface water on ac¬ 
count of the nature of the subsoil. In 
such cases the water must be let out 
by drainage or evaporation. 
STARTING THE WORK.—From the 
examples I believe any intelligent farmer will be 
able to locate his intended lines properly. The fir-: 
thing we do is to stake out our lines to make sure 
they are just where we figure they should be. When 
that is done (the staking! we proceed as follows: 
If there are no trees or obstructions we use the 
tractor for plowing and scraping: however. I will 
tell you how we did it with the horses. With the 
team and regular turning plow we start the width 
of one furrow to the right of the stakes, go the length 
of the line and back on the opposite side one fur¬ 
row’s distance also, then up on right and back on 
left cuts out the center, giving the appearance of a 
double-width dead furrow. Before starting we set 
plow as deep as it will turn well. Now we take our 
Arrangement of Milk-house. Fig. 11. 
Barn with Swinging Crane for Removing Manure. Fig J2. 
