Ventilating Dairy Barns 
All Admit Need , But HOW Is The Problem 
I T is not the purpose 
of this article to 
offer argument for ventilation nor to try 
to establish the fact that good ventila¬ 
tion of the dairy stable is necessary. I 
am taking it for granted that in this day 
and age, when we as a State and nation 
are spending millions upon millions of 
dollars in the fight against tuberculosis, 
that every thinking man and woman 
fully appreciates the need of good ventila¬ 
tion in the dairy stable. 
Our problem is how shall we effect the 
ventilation and at the same time protect 
our stock from drafts and have the stable 
A unique location of out-take flues, made 
of 5 thicknesses of board and 6 inches 
of shavings, costly to build, but more 
economical than cheap, poorly insulated 
flue that would not work. The only 
criticism that can be offered is that they 
are near doors. 
warm enough to permit the use of water 
buckets. Let us consider first what is to 
be accomplished, then what fundamental 
principles we must consider to accomplish 
our aim and finally what practical method 
we shall adopt in employing these funda¬ 
mentals to accomplish our purpose. 
Good authorities tell us that an average 
dairy cow requires about 3,500 cubic feet 
of fresh air per hour. This is a block of 
air 15 feet and 3 inches long and with the 
same width and height. While the cow is 
breathing this amount of air she is also 
throwing out with her breath about eleven 
ounces of water every hour, which is in 
the form of vapor. With these figures in 
mind let us think what happens in a 
twenty-four-hour day in a stable where 
thirty cows are kept. 30 x 24 x 3,500 = 
2,520,000 or a block of air 136 feet on a 
side. Considering the water vapor we 
have 30 x 24 x 11 ozs. = 59.5 gallons. 
16 x 8.3 
This gives us a clear idea of what we have 
to do. 
Bams may be ventilated through 
cracks, windows, muslin curtains, hay 
chutes or by well-designed and well-built 
This ventilator failed to work because 
fundamental principles were ignored. 
The sheet iron flue has no insulation, so 
the outgoing air chills and the moisture 
condenses and runs back into the stable, 
if the weather is mild, otherwise it 
freezes in the pipe. The pipe is too 
small and as it stops just under the eaves 
wind in this end of the barn is bound to 
force air down, rather than up the flue- 
ventilation systems. Cracks, if large 
enough, give ample ventilation but offer 
no means of controlling the stable tem¬ 
perature. AVindows have the disadvan¬ 
tage of admitting drafts in windy weather 
and furnishing very little ventilation 
when it is calm. Muslin curtains when 
clean and dry permit the passage of some 
air but because of the moist air on the 
inside and the cold 
on the outside often 
freeze solid. At best the moisture and 
dust of the stable soon clog the cloth so 
that it is practically useless. Hay chutes 
permit a considerable change of air in the 
stable but offer no good means of control¬ 
ling the temperature of the stable. More¬ 
over, the moist stable air is deposited in 
the loft where the moisture condenses and 
drips on the fodder, and cases are common 
wherqthe roofs have been ruined by rotting 
or corrosion and barn timbers have de¬ 
cayed and failed long before their time. 
None of these means of ventilation offers 
sufficient control of temperature to make 
it, in general, safe to use drinking cups to 
water the stock. 
A properly designed and built system of 
the King type offers a more satisfactory 
means of ventilation. In this system air 
is brought into the stable through numer¬ 
ous small flues in the side wall and carried 
out through flues that start near the 
stable floor and go up through the loft to 
the cupola. The out-take flues act as 
chimneys through which the foul moist 
air of the stable passes off. 
Let us consider what takes place in the 
common chimney and the kitchen stove. 
That is, why does the smoke go up the 
chimney? Air comes into the stove where 
there is fuel and in the process of burning, 
oxygen of the air combines w'ith the car¬ 
bon of the fuel. . . . This process gives 
off heat. Any water that may be on or in 
the fuel is vaporized. As the air comes 
in contact with the fire it is heated and 
In this barn the cows are stabled in the 
“lean to” facing the main bam. There 
is a level insulated ceiling over the stock. 
The out-takes go up from the cows’ i 
heads to the ventilators in the roof. 
expanded. That is, a given weight of air 
after heating occupies a larger space or a 
given volume of heated air weighs less 
than the same volume of cold air. The 
cold heavy air because of its greater 
weight settles into the stove and forces 
the warm light air up and out of the" 
chimney. 1 he warmer and consequently 
the lighter the heated air is and the taller 
the chimney, if of proper size and con¬ 
struction, the more easily the cold air 
can force the warm air up, and con¬ 
sequently the stronger will be the draft. 
The condition of the outside air and the 
velocity of the wind affect the draft, but 
as these may change at any hour or 
minute, the only force that can be de¬ 
pended upon is that of the heat. 
Now let us apply this same principle to 
the ventilation of the dairy stable. In 
the case of the King system the only heat 
available is that given off by the animals. 
The normal temperature of the animal 
body is approximately 100 degrees F. 
It is from this small source of heat that 
not only the air is to be moved but also 
that the water already referred to is to be 
kept in the form of vapor so that it will 
pass off with the air. Should this vapor 
become chilled and the moisture be con¬ 
densed one of the main objects of ventila¬ 
tion would be defeated. It stands to 
reason that since the heat effect is the 
only constant force that makes the air and 
moisture pass through the system, it is 
necessary that the stable be of a size and 
so built that it can be warmed by the 
stock. For the comfort of the animals and 
the best working of the system there 
should be about 500 to 750 cubic feet of 
space per 1,000 pound animal. This 
(Continued on page 106 ) 
By A. M. GOODMAN 
It Costs Less to Build a 
Good Bawl Than It Does 
To Run a Pool* One 
Have you ever looked at your bam from the standpoint of profit 
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