Ventilation was given by a wide chimney rising
behind it, and light entered by two windows in front. The whole of
the interior was whitewashed.
In this way a dairy was obtained which, from the thickness of its
walls, was cool enough for the purpose during the hottest weather.
Preparations were now made for breaking in the cows to be milked. A
sort of lane was made of two strong fences of iron wire. This lane
was of the shape of a funnel, narrowing at one end to little more
than the width of a cow. At the end of this was a gate, and
attached to the gate a light trough filled with fresh alfalfa.
Half a dozen cows which had recently calved were now separated from
the herd, and driven into the wide end of the enclosure. One by one
they approached the narrow end, and when one had reached the
extremity, and had begun to devour the alfalfa, of which they are
very fond, a bar was let down behind her, so that she could now
neither advance, retreat, nor turn round.
One of the boys now began cautiously and quietly to milk her, and
the cows in few cases offered any resistance. One or two animals
were, however, very obstreperous, but were speedily subdued by
having their legs firmly fastened to the posts behind. In a few
days all were reconciled to the process, and ere long would come in
night and morning to be milked, with as much regularity as English
cows would have done.
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