28 
ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN* S ASSOCIATION. 
have our barns of sufficient size to house all our hay as 
well as all our cows; it should be arranged with reference 
to convenience in handling fodder, and stock barns and 
farm houses should be as near each other as is consistent 
with health and cleanliness. Differed with many of his 
neighbors in regard to shade for cows; did not want any 
for his; it only tended to draw cows together in squads to 
fio-ht flies—and each other—when they ought to be feeding; 
droppings would draw flies, and would also be lost as a 
fertilizer. Shade is not essential. Stagnant pools were to 
be avoided; cows would stand in them, and return to the 
stable in no condition to milk or handle. Our new & n 8 
were not adapted to plowing ; must be reclaimed firs . 
All our farms could be made good dairy farms if ngh y 
handled. 
Judge Wilcox said: First the land should be capable 
of producing good corn, oats, and grass, they are 
main essentials. The farm should be as compact as pos¬ 
sible. Should have the purest of water. Springs are 
preferable. Had two farms; one was supplied by spring, 
at no cost, not five dollars per year; the other was supplie 
by wind-mill, which was indispensable to that farm, as 
creek was remote from buildings. It was essential to have 
o-ood water. Must not have all low land; varieties of soi 
was good, so as to allow cows a change; would not say 
much on this subject, as he would talk again to-morrow 
Every dairyman should keep an account with his farm, to 
see how he was doing; expense was an important matter 
on a farm. The barns should be light, airy, and cleanly, 
and constructed in a durable manner for cattle; floois 
should be paved with stone; had one barn with paved 
. which had been in use for twenty years; used cobble stones, 
the drops, or drains, should be flagged. Had one built in 
1851; had not cost him twenty dollars for repairs since, 
floors would rot and sills decay, not so with paving, were 
less liable to odors or foul matter underneath them; in tact, 
floors are the principal cause of bad odors in our cow barns. 
