Iron County register., 1889-11-21
AGRICULTURAL HINTS.
COW STABLES.

How to Build NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for
Feeding, Ventilation, Etc.
The best adaptation OF the stable for
the feeding of cattle is an important
matter as regards economy Of food and
labor and the best quality of the milk.
A tight, warm stable saves food, which
is largely expended in maintaining the
vital heat OF the animals, for their COM
Portable condition prevents the excess
sive radiation of heat from their bodies,
which either calls for more food to make
up the loss or reduces the product OF
butter, as the fat is the element mostly
affected by the cold.
The arrangements for feeding should
be made with a view to convenience and
ease of labor. A sufficiently broad pas
sage through the middle Of the building
will be found most desirable for large
dairies. For smaller ones the feed pas
sage should be on the north side, by
which the south side will be left for the
cattle, affording space for row of win
dows which will let in the sunshine.
The width depends upon the manner OF
the feeding. Where it Is desirable to
use a wagon for bringing in the feed for
Large herd, the passageway should be
of sufficient width, ten feet or SO, but
this may be reduced to six or seven
feet if light hand-car is used, and this
will be found in most cases better than
a wagon. With a central feeding pas
sage feed room should be made at one
end in q sort of annex, over which the
feed may be kept in suitable bins pro-
vided for the purpose, and having spouts
or shoots through which the meal may
be brought down as it is needed.
The standing floor for the cows should
be seven feet wide. Two feet Of this Is
taken up with the managers and five feet
for the COWS to stand upon. This part Of
the floor should have a slope of two
inches in the five feet. Any more than
this, which is required for good drainage,
would be injurious to the COWS, as tend.
ing to strain the abdominal muscles and
weaken the most important organs, thus
leading to those troublesome diseases
which occur SO frequently in ill-arranged
dairies. The standing floor should be Of
soft wood, with the planks arranged
cross-wise to prevent slipping. Behind
the standing floor comes the manure
gutter, which should be at least sixteen
inches wide and eight inches deep.
This is indispensable to save labor in
keeping the floor and the cows clean,
and it should be always kept half filed
with some suitable absorbent to retain
the liquid in such way that the cows
tails can not draggle in it. There are
several apparently small matters in a
stable which are important for saving
labor, and this is one of the most neces-
sary. The gutter should have an in
clination to carry the liquid to the drain,
which is an indispensable part of the
arrangement needed for the saving Of
manure.
The passages for the COWS come next
to the cutters. These should be three
feet wide to afford room not only for the
cows to reach their stalls, but for the
mixers; and this passage should be kept
clean and we'll Uttered with some dry
absorbent. Hard wood sawdust is excel
lent for this purpose.
The whole floor should rest on strong
beams, we'll supported by piers or
posts. The flooring should be double,
and to preserve the timber a coating of
hot tar or pitch is desirable to lay be-
tween the planks. This is laid on the
first p1anking so literally as to afford a
sufficient surplus to fill the joints be-
tween the second planking, which is
pushed up after being laid down so as to
Fill the joint with the tar and make a
water-tight floor. This is conducive to
healthfulness, for a floor soaked and sat-
urated between the joints with decom-
posing manure or urine Is not only un-
healthful, but the odor is absorbed by
the milk and is retained in the butter.
The whole floor will thus appear as in
the diagram below: