Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-01-19
Cold Weather Exercise.


Let all of the live stock out Of the
barn on real cold days for exercise.
When an animal stands in the stall in
one position for ten or twelve hours It's
circulation becomes sluggish and vital
ity lowered. In this state of low vitality
IL feels the cold and will become un-
comfortable even in fairly tight and COM
Portable quarters.
Anyone will have noticed that on stay
ing indoors for many hours on very
cold day the house seems chilly in spite
of the glowing fire. We seem cold, and
are really cold, when the thermometer
registers high.
The trouble is not with the temper
ature of the house, but with the tenn
perature of our bodies. The stove in
the room is burning high, but the stove
in our body is burning low. We need to
shake out the ashes and turn on the
draft so that greater combustion will be
supported. We leave the house chilled
and blue for a run or romp outside on
the snow or ice with the temperature at
zero or below. We come back into the
house after half an hours exercise in
the open air all glowing and perspiring
with warmth. Now the house seems to
be almost burning hot, and we take OFT
our wraps to cool off. The blood is
circulating rapidly and new life and
warmth are felt in every cell.
Remembering that cattle are animals
physically like ourselves, we may know
that they grow torpid, chilly and un-
comfortable under long continuous con-
finement in the dead of winter. If they
are taken out and induced to exercise in
the cold open air their blood will begin
TO flow faster and richer and their life
fires will burn warm. The increased
flow of blood through exercise will
stimulate all other vital functions, re-
moving waste matter and building mp
new and healthy tissues. No domestic
animal can remain perfectly healthy,
strong and have constitution that Will
effectively resist disease unless the ami
NAL is allowed regular daily exercise in
the pure, open air.
There is great cry-and well found
ed one, too-going up now that large
percentage of dairy cows in this country
are affected with tuberculosis. No won-
der, when so many dairymen confine
their cows in immovable positions in
very narrow stalls with their necks
fastened in stanchions for weeks and
months at time. 1t is an easy way to
handle the cows. 1t is also an easy way
to weaken them and make them an easy
prey to disease germs OF all kinds. The
best way to combat any disease among
animals is to keep the animals vigorous
and healthy so that they are physically
able to resist disease. Harmful disease
germs are present almost everywhere,
even on the skin and in the digestive and
respiratory organs of animals. They lie
there in the spore state, harmless to the
healthy, resistant animal, but when the
animals vitality is lowered through any
cause they are always ready to attack
weakened organs and begin their course
of ravage. 1t is a commendable thing
to breed and feed dairy cows for high
production, but when simple laws of the
physical nature of the animals are
violated in securing the results no high
records are legitimate. The health and
resistant vigor of the cows must be
rigidly maintained for the future good
and continued high efficiency of the
dairy busness.-Turf, Farm and Home,