The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-12-21
AGRICULTURAL.
Shut that Door.

II is amazing how careless some men
are bout keeping their barn doors
closed in cold weather. They will go
into the barn to feed and leave an out
side door open while they are in, let
ting the cold air into the barn to chill
the cattle. 1t is nice to have modern
barn made as warm as lumber and
building paper can make it, but there
are great many Of the other kind in
Vermont, come of them built two or
more generations ago. Most of them
have been repaired, they would hardly
have been standing bad they not been,
but still they are old. A man may be
obliged to use such barn, but he is not
obliged TO have cold stable. Paper,
nails and lumber are not as costly as
cold places for stock TO stand in. 1t is
not every man who has the Bnack of
viking up" things; 1t is good thing
for farmer to have, and if he does not
have it, he had better change work
with neighbor who has, and get the
old stable repaired. Making good
aoor is waIm-weather job, 30 we will
pass that over. Look around for some
old windows, If you cannot get new
ones. The new ones are often cheap
est in the end, for the old putty is con-
stantly crumblipg in most cases, but
the old can be reputtied, new glass put
in, and the stable made light. 1t pays
to have double windows in stable or
house. In frosty weather the single
windows are so covered with frost that
half their light is din med. Then q
vast amount of cold gets in through
single windows. A stable should of
course be on the sunny side of the barn,
go the cows will get all of the sunshine
they can. The hay and straw can well
be on the north side, but put the cows
on the sunny side and if the stable is
not there, change things around 80 as
10 get them into the sun.
Most of the old barns were open in
front of the cattle, the feed floor was
open to the rafters and all the big
cracks in the bays and scaffolds, and
such stable was like refrigerator.
1t would freeze The manure into solid
chunks, and crowbar and pickax had
to be used in cleaning it out. Make
the stable warm behind, use cbsff and
every device to do it. The objection
to chsff is that it makes too good quar-
tiers for mice and rats. Dry sawdust is
better in that respect. Keep the frost
out in some way. Make double doors,
use shutters or thick curtains for the
windows, and do not leave the uncover.
ed glass 10 cool IF the stable all night
Do the same with every glass single
window on the premises, where it is
any object to secure warmth.
But there are cases where the door
or something else oughtto be left open.
Go into some of the modern barns and
you feel at once that they are too warm
too close. 1t is far easier 10 make q
stable warm than it is 10 give the cattle
proper ventilation. 1t seems to be the
most puzzling thing to keep cattle
warm and yet give them pure air. The
plan advocated in the WATCHMAN
some time ago by II. L. Blxby looks
like an ideal one. 1t was brit fly to
have the stable as warm and close at
you please, and then let the cows head
project into the pure cold air. Some.
thing like an adjustable curtain was tc
be fastened around her neck to keer
the cold from her body. This would
help to ward off tuberculosis and solve
the ventilation problem to perfection
But the COW could not have water in
front of her in the stable to drink as il
would be sure TO freeze in very cold
weather, unless the fee ding foor was
made warm. That would bring up
again the old vexed question of how to
secure warmth and ventilation