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PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ABOUT 
 
 BARN BUILDING 
 
 TOGETHER WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF SWINE AND SHEEP 
 
 PENS, SILOS AND OTHER FARM 
 
 OUTBUILDINGS. 
 
 EMBODYING THE EXPERIENCE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF 
 LEADING AMERICAN STOCKMEN AND FARMERS. 
 
 ^0 COMPILED BY 
 
 j. H:'sANDERS, 
 
 FOUNDER OF THE BREEDER'S GAZETTE. 
 
 CHICAGO: 
 
 J. H. Sanders Publishing Co. 
 
 1893. 
 
C'OPYBIOHT, 1892. 
 
 BY J. H. SANDERS PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 [AI.I. BIQHTB BEBEBVED.] 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 This book is designed to be suggestive rather than spe- 
 cific in the help it offers to those who contemplate the con- 
 struction of buildings for the accommodation of any variety 
 of farm stock, or for the carrying on of some business espe- 
 cially connected with any branch of live-stock husbandry. 
 It is true that all the plans herein presented are accom- 
 panied by more or less minute details as to their construc- 
 tion, but after all the chief merit of these plans, as well as of 
 the letter-press matter given in connection therewith, lies 
 in their suggestiveness — the facility with which the various 
 plans presented may be altered, modified, or combined so as 
 to meet the needs and the circumstances of farmers and 
 stock-raisers in every part of our country, whether they be 
 rich or poor, or whether their operations be conducted on a 
 large or small scale. In short, it has been the purpose of 
 the compiler in effect to take the intending builder with him 
 on a tour of inspection among the barns, 3table8, etc., that 
 have been erected and are used by successful farmers and 
 stock-breeders in various parts of the country, from New 
 York to Nebraska, and while we a)-e looking at the designs 
 to have the owners point out what they consider the merits 
 and demerits of the plans adopted. And assuredly it does 
 not detract from the value of the work that the plans and 
 descriptions as well as the accompanying suggestions are all 
 the work of practical men; all the result of practical experi- 
 ence, and not merely the fanciful conceptions of a theoretical 
 
6 INTEODUCTOBY. 
 
 architect, who, sitting' in his cozy office, may draft heautiful 
 pictures which will often prove expensive luxuries to those 
 who attempt to carry out these paper designs in a practical 
 way upon the farm. A handsome drawing may not always 
 result in a convenient and economical structure, although 
 heauty of design in farm-yard buildings should never be lost 
 sight of, for upon this much of the attractiveness of the 
 farmer's home depends. But the comfort, thrift, and health 
 of the animals, economy in the storage of hay, straw, grain, 
 and other foods, and convenience in the feeding and manage- 
 ment of the farm animals are the considerations to which all 
 others must be subservient. 
 
 In the hope that the plans and designs herewith submit- 
 ted may be helpful to others, the work is given to the public 
 conscious of the fact that after all a work of this kind can 
 be nothing but a help. And certaioly it must be a valuable 
 help to the intending builder to have an opportunity of 
 examining the plans and designs that others have followed. 
 In this volume we show in an hour what otherwise it would 
 require months and even years of travel to learn, and from 
 the wealth of experience herein contained the intending 
 builder may perhaps find something adapted to his needs 
 and ciri umstances. 
 
 J. H. SANDERS. 
 
 Chicago, March 15, 1892. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 ISTRODUCTORT, 
 
 5-8 
 
 Farm Barns— 
 
 
 General Krmarks. 
 
 fl-13 
 
 PlaDs of, 
 
 13-38 
 
 Cattle Barns— 
 
 
 General Remark!!. 
 
 39-42 
 
 Plans of, 
 
 43-113 
 
 Horse Barns— 
 
 
 General Remarks, 
 
 113-115 
 
 Plans of, 
 
 115-153 
 
 Sheep Barks, Yards, Corrals, Feeding Racks, Etc., 
 
 154-178 
 
 SwiKE Barns. Pens, asd Devices, 
 
 179-248 
 
 Silos and F.nsilage, 
 
 249-270 
 
 General Index, - , - 
 
 - 281-284 
 
GENERAL FARM BARNS. 
 
 The plan of barn or stable that is best adapted to the use 
 of the general farmer must necessarily combine to a greater 
 or less degree the features that are especially desirable to 
 those who direct their farming operations toward some par- 
 ticular branch of live-stock husbandry. On nearly every 
 farm in the West cattle, horses and swine are kept, and 
 sheep-raising is also largely a part of the general farm 
 economy. But the term "general farmer" is an indefinite 
 one, because few farmers devote their attention alike to 
 everything that may be produced upon a farm. One man will 
 make all of his farming operations, to a greater or less de- 
 gree, subservient to his specialty of, some particular variety 
 of live stock; another may desire to maintain only such 
 numbers of horses, cattle, etc., as are, in bis opinion, essen- 
 tial to the economical production of his specialty of grains 
 or grasses for the market; but the great bulk of Western 
 farmers pursue a system of mixed husbandry, cultivating the 
 various grains and grasses, and raising more or less of the 
 several kinds of live stock. And as the farming operations-- 
 lean in a greater or less degree toward any of these as spe- 
 cialties so must the general farm barn be constructed. No 
 cast-iron rules can be laid down, for what may be just the 
 thing for one man under certain circumstances may be very 
 far from what is needed by his neighbor who is differently 
 situated. 
 
 The most that can be done, therefore, in a work of this 
 nature is to offer a few suggestions and point out a few prin- 
 ciples that are of general application, and to suggest to 
 the intending builder a careful study of the plans herewith 
 submitted; with their several special adaptations; and thus 
 by taking a little from this and a little from that he may be 
 able to get what is best adapted to his own purpose. Our 
 designs for barns and stables for especial uses are particu- 
 
10 PEACnOAL HIKTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 larly full, explicit and suggestive, and are susceptible of al- 
 most numberless modifications. Ttiey are reproductions upon 
 paper of structures that have already been built by practical 
 men and submitted to the test of actual use. We have given 
 a number of plans of so called general farm barns, some of 
 them simple, cheap and plain, and others quite expensive 
 and elaborate. It is scarcely to be expected that many in- 
 dividual farmers will desire to erect so extensive, so compre- 
 hensive, so elaborate, and so costly a structure as that of the 
 MibSQuri State Agricultural College Farm barn with which 
 our description of plans opens; but this structure is so com- 
 plete in all its details and so well adapted to all the various 
 uses of a general farm barn that its plan may well be studied 
 by anyone intending to build, and such of its features adopted 
 as may be found especially suited to individual requirements. 
 And the same may be said of many of the other general and 
 special plans submitted. 
 
 In the great grain and grass-growing regions of the Cen- 
 tral West, where large numbers of live stock are to be cared 
 for, and where building material is often scarce and high- 
 priced, the ideal barn is quite a different structure from that 
 to which our fathers were accustomed a half century ago in 
 the older States and under a more primitive system of agri- 
 culture. Here the primary considerations are to provide 
 first, shelter for foddnr and for the live stock in such close 
 proximity that the labor of feeding will be reduced to the 
 minimum; and second, a location at once central to the fields, 
 pastures and the dwelUng house, and upon ground either 
 naturally well drained or which may, by a system of tiling, 
 be made so. The importance of location and arrangement 
 with reference to the fields and pastures is a point often 
 overlooked, and much valuable time is frequently wasted in 
 driving stock to and from the barn that might with a very 
 little foresight be saved. Most kinds of stock will naturally 
 seek shelter upon the approach of a storm, and if the pas- 
 tures are so arranged with reference to the barn, or the barn 
 with reference to the pastures, that this natural instinct can 
 be utilized the labor of housing and sheltering in the case of a 
 sudden severe storm will be greatly reduced and the "benefits 
 
GENDRAL FAKM BAENS. 11 
 
 of comfortable shelter will frequently be realized when other- 
 wise the stock would of necessity be left shivering in the fields. 
 There is a knack in so arranging these conditions as to se- 
 cure the greatest degree of convenience; that is, in so plan- 
 ning and constructing barns, yards and fields that the ad- 
 vantages tbey afford may be utilized with the least jpossible 
 loss of time and labor. It is not every man who possesses 
 the ability to do this, but the suggestions which accompany 
 many of our plana will be found helpful to all. And so of 
 drainage: the barnyards must be so situated or constructed 
 that they can be kept dry. Tile drainage may be utilized to 
 a much greater degree than is customary when the natural 
 di'ainage is insufficient, and a liberal use of cobble-stone or 
 gravel in the } ards adds so much to the comfort of- the animals 
 as well as of the owner that it is surprising that in locations 
 where either can be obtained at a reasonable expense they are 
 so sparingly u^ed. Nothing is more disgusting to the farm- 
 er's family, if they have any refinement about them, than a 
 muddy, filthy barnyard; and the farmer's son who has been 
 compelled throughout all his boyhoo:i to wade through one 
 of these diegraceful, stinking, wasteful cebspools is justified 
 in his desire to leave the farm forever upon the first oppor- 
 tunity. Make the farm and all of its belongings attractive, 
 if from no other motive than that of inspiring a love and 
 respect for the farmer's calling in the minds of the boys who 
 are born and brought up upon the farm. And nothing will 
 go further toward accomplishing this object than so ieon- 
 structing the barns and yards that they and their surround- 
 ings may l>e easily and economically kept clean and comfort- 
 able, it should never be forgotten that wet, muddy barn- 
 yards, and damp floors go far toward neutralizing all the 
 advantages obtained by what would otherwise be comfort- 
 able and profitable shelter. It is a considei'ation of no small 
 importance in this connection, that from every point of view 
 a system of barn building and management that provides for 
 the frequent if not daily removal of all manure from the 
 barns to the fields is by far the most economical and profit- 
 able. And by following this practice what will other- 
 wise become a nuisance about the barnyard becomes a 
 
12 PBACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABIT BUILDHTG. 
 
 source of revenue when removed to the field. The sys- 
 tem of allowing the manure to lie in heaps about the 
 barnyard is not only disgusting and filthy but it is 
 wasteful and extravagant. The barn should be so con- 
 structed that the manure may be at one handling loaded 
 into the cart or wagon and taken thence directly to the 
 field; or at most nothing more inconvenient than a wheel- 
 barrow should necessarily intervene between the manure 
 where it is dropped and the cart or wagon that is to carry it 
 in order to accomplish this. When this system of imme- 
 diate removal is considered impracticable or undesirable 
 the manure may be removed from the barn by the wheel- 
 barrow or cart and neatly stacked or penned up at a conven- 
 ient point outside to be hauled off at leisure; but as before 
 remarked in substance, both economy and comfort demand 
 that there should be at least a weekly carting of the manure 
 to the fields or pastures where it is needed. The maxim: 
 "Time is money," is no more true and important to the 
 farmer than that "manure is money," and the importance 
 of saving both time and manure is seldom appreciated by 
 the farmer in the construction and management of his barns. 
 
 The question of a good supply of water is one that must 
 not be overlooked. Where a reliable and abundant supply 
 can be surely obtained by the sinking of wells to a reasonable 
 depth, this will probably be found the most satisfactory and 
 the cheapest; but if there is the least particle of doubt as to 
 the abundance and permanence of the supply from this 
 source, cisterns had better be depended upon from the first. 
 The annual rainfall throughout the grain and grass-growing 
 regions is sufficiently large as it falls upon the roof of the 
 ordinary barn to furnish an abundant supply, provided it be 
 carefully caught and conducted to well-built cisterns of suf- 
 ficient capacity; and in either case the windmill will proba- 
 bly be found the cheapest and most economical means of 
 pumping. 
 
 As will be seen in many of the plans herein presented, the 
 idea of the old-fashioned great barn, with its heavy timbers 
 and complex frame work, has been generally abandoned by the 
 progressive practical farmers of the Western States, and a 
 
GEITEKAl FAKM BARNS. 13 
 
 system which, while certainly much cheaper, affords much 
 greater room for the storage of hay and other coarse foods, 
 and admits of much better ventilation and lighting in pro- 
 portion to sparse inclosed and money expended, has been 
 adopted in its stead, the central portions being used mainly 
 for storage of foods and the sides for the farm stock. Several 
 barns constructed upon this general idea will be found in this 
 volume, more especially in that portion devoted to cattle 
 barns. 
 
 But the whole subject in its every aspect is so thoroughly 
 reviewed in the suggestions, hints and descriptions accom- 
 panying the various plans herein given that a fuller dis- 
 cussion in this connection can scarcely be profitable, and we 
 may well dismiss it here without further comment. 
 
 MISSOURI COLLEGE BARN. 
 
 The accompanying plan is the work of Prof. J. W. San- 
 born, for many years actively connected with the Missouri 
 Agricultural College. Some two years after the structure 
 was built it was destroyed by Are, supposed to have been the 
 work of an incendiary. Prof. Sanborn writes of it as follows: 
 
 The barn was located near the farm-house, the yard be- 
 ing on the side opposite from the house. This, was the source 
 of some criticism, as all barns that may be fairly so named 
 in this region are located quite distant from the house. The 
 purpose in locating it near the house (about 110 ft. away) was 
 that of concentration of work, as the barn was designed to 
 cover everything on the farm that was supposed to need 
 shelter not covered by the house. In passing I may say that 
 no evil effects in odors or otherwise were discovered as a re- 
 sult of this arrangement, while its convenience was a matter 
 of daily gratification and pleasure. 
 
 There is also a feeling with our people of Missouri, which 
 I have no doubt is a quite common one elsewhere, that a con- 
 centration of buildings involves great fire risks, and so there 
 is a disposition to scatter them. The buildings on the Mis- 
 souri College farm went to the extreme of concentration, 
 except that the barn was not linked to the house, as one 
 
14 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 often Bees in the Eastern States. Two buildings only were 
 contemplated for the whole farm use outside of the laborers' 
 cottages. The farm-house included a dairy and ice-house. 
 The barn, as will be seen, covered every purpose that the 
 house did not — for which buildings are ordinarily erected on 
 a farm — ^tools of all sorts, all classes of stock, and all classes 
 of stock foods; carriages, root-cellar, silo, etc. 
 
 The conceded merits of the system — great concentration 
 of labor and saving of time— it was believed would far out- 
 weigh the increased fire risk. To this is to be added the 
 saving of cost in construction and repair, as it is well known 
 the larger the space covered the less outside surface of roof 
 and sides has to be provided per foot of space enclosed. 
 Whether scattered or concentrated, however, buildings are 
 usually insured, and the cost of insurance is so comparatively 
 Blight as to induce one to accept its protection and then go 
 forward on a line of economy that is formed without refer- 
 ence to risks involved by fire. The annual saving of labor 
 in the barn in question in practice, I believe, is worth many 
 times over the fire risk involved. 
 
 The barn was located at the head of what is known here 
 as a "draw," which looked to the south. It gave an admir- 
 able opportunity for a dry and light basement and for ease 
 of access to the first floor, while the yards received the sun's 
 rays, concentrated from the south in the yard, where in 
 winter days it was a most comfortable place for daily exer- 
 cise when the sun was shining. 
 
 The first cut on the following page shows the barn with 
 the end facing the west, the yards being on the south of it. 
 As it was especially designed with a view to the saving of 
 steps by the arrangement of each part with reference to the 
 other, and of manual labor by the use of horse power, steam 
 power and gravity, I will go over each part in detail. 
 
 Beginning at the west end (first cut) where the opening 
 is shown in the end of the barn, I will state that this opening 
 was for the reception of the carts and wagons for farm work. 
 The grade in front tipped toward the barn at this point for 
 about twenty feet away in order that the wagons might be 
 easily backed in either by horse or hand power. The floor, 
 
PLANS OP GENERAL FARM BARNS. 
 
 15 
 
16 PEACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BABIT BTjrLDING. 
 
 which -was laid in tar, protected it from any driving rains 
 that might beat in, although the unnecessary nuisance of 
 run doors was contemplated. Pulleys drew the wagon beds 
 off easily, by the aid of one man, where they were left to 
 hang suspended to the floor of the loft above, and out of the 
 rain, ready to be dropped upon a wagon when required. 
 This wagon shed was located, as a subsequent cut will show, 
 at a point which the horses had to pass in going to and com- 
 ing from their stalls, so that it was about as easy to house 
 the wagons as to leave them out of doors. 
 
 The yards show on the south side. The central ventilat- 
 ing shaft was not completed at the time the photograph of 
 the barn was taken, and the fine appearance of the structure 
 is not well brought out by the cuts. I have omitted to state 
 that its size was 65x130 ft. After studying other forms of 
 barns I-could find no form that I believed enclosed the space 
 desired so cheaply and arranged the conveniences so satis- 
 factorily. 
 
 The second cut on the preceding page gives a north and 
 westerly view. On the north side is shown, looking from 
 the west end, first the engine house set in the bank and 
 opening into the cellar; second (and between the engine 
 house and silo, the silo being the little building with an 
 ordinary roof), is the root-cellar. The roof of both the en- 
 gine-house and root-cellar is flat or sloped on a gentle grade 
 from the barn, forming the incline over which the crops are 
 taken in at the doors as seen in the center of the main barn 
 (page 15). Once in the barn the teams can be driven around 
 and out at the west end or be backed out and turned on the 
 flat roof. In the roof of the root-cellar is a trap-door 
 down which whole loads of roots may be dumped from 
 the two-horse dump cart used on the farm. The silo is in- 
 correctly shown; a door runs fully down to the roof of the 
 root-cellar, where a window is shown in the roof of the silo. 
 The cutter was set at this door and the cut food fell into the 
 silo by gravity, no carrier being used. The shutter-like 
 work seen on the outside of the barn over the engine-house 
 (page 17) is the exterior part of the corn-crib. 
 
 The water supply was taken from the roof of the barn 
 
PIxANS OF GENERAL FARM BAEKS. 
 
 17 
 
 into cisterns 16x18 ft. It was found that the roof would carry- 
 water enough for all of the stock that the barn would hold; 
 that is about 100 head each of cattle, sheep, and hogs, and 
 
 yr//i'1t/i/ //.'f^fin Yft 
 
 the few horses needed. This water was to be pumped up 
 into a tank holding a week's supply for the stock and located 
 on the second floor, from which point it could flo^ wherever 
 needed. This water could be pumped up at practically no 
 cost by the steam power whjle cutting fodder, grinding food. 
 
18 PBACTIOAL HTNTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 etc., while at the same time the chill could be taken off the 
 water if need be, by the engine for the entire ma^s, at prac- 
 tically no cost as it was pumped into the tanks. Two other 
 methods of securing water were open to us; one by boring 
 deeply (for the barn was on the highest point of land), but 
 this would probably cost about as much as the cisterns; and 
 the other was by the use of the hydraulic ram-pushing water 
 up from two rather uncertain springs below. 
 
 Stockmen who are in a region of doubtful water supply 
 will find that the roof of a good-sized barn will collect an 
 enormous amount of water in the course of the year, pro- 
 vision being made to store the spring, summer, and fall sup- 
 ply. Cisterns for the stock mentioned would cost here about 
 $650, and four of the size mentioned would be required for 
 the size of barn given and for our raiafall. 
 
 The cut shown on page 17 represents a cross section of 
 the bam and shows something of the method of framing and 
 supporting the roof of a wide barn, which must necessarily 
 be a heavy one. It is particularly given to show the method 
 of framing with reference to carrying the hay by the fork at 
 three points, thus making the work of mowing away as light 
 as possible, for the amount of hay taken away on one track 
 in so wide a barn would make the work of moving it by hand 
 very severe. This cut shows one side of the loft to be deeper 
 than the other. This, however, is only for the section over 
 the granary. 
 
 The cut on the following page represents the basement. 
 This is ten feet high on an average — one side being nine and 
 one-half feet and the other ten and one-half feet. This in- 
 cline in the floor of the basement of one foot from side to 
 side was for the purpose of drainage of the liquid manure, 
 which it was intended to have pass ofl by glazed pipes to the 
 manure cellar outside, at the southeast corner on the east 
 corner of the building. 
 
 A general view of the basement will show that a central 
 walk connected all the feed mangers with the scales, meal- 
 room, silo, root-cellar, water trough, etc. At the same time 
 it will be seen that every animal in the barn could be driven 
 direct to the scales for weight by one person. The gates 
 
20 PKACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 shovrn are so hung: a^s to make a continuous passage to the 
 yard from the stalls, or a continuous passage from the stalls 
 to the scales. This plan of a passage through the center of 
 the stalls will not strike some as being as convenient as a 
 passage around the walls. The system was employed by me 
 because of the constant use made of the scales in experiment 
 work, as it gave much more direct communication with 
 them. As a matter of economy it necessitates less waste 
 room than the other plan and was found to work very nicely 
 in practice. 
 
 The troughs for water in the yard were preferably used 
 for watering as daily sunning and airing was given, except 
 in bad weather, when the water in the basement could be 
 used. From the tank above the water could be furnished by 
 any one of a dozen ways. The trough in question supplied a 
 ready source of water for pigs, etc. 
 
 Tramway lines, which are cheaply made, were to run 
 from silo, root-cellar, and meal-room; also from the water- 
 tight gutters behind the cattle to the manure vault, so that 
 the manure could be run off daily to the manure cellar — a 
 building under a separate roof. This manure shed was also 
 to be liquid tight, so that no liquid manure (which is about 
 one-half of the value of the solid) was to be lost, either from 
 the cattle stalls or from the manure shed. To prevent this 
 loss in the cattle stalls the gutter behind them was laid in 
 pitch where wood was used. A part of the cattle stood over 
 cement fl(^rs — both systems being used as an experiment. 
 The cement floors gave me satisfaction; they were possibly 
 more slippery, but for the young cattle they were not objec- 
 tionable to a degree to enter materially into the calculation. 
 Their cost was somewhat more than wood, but their durabil- 
 ity is far greater when well done. 
 
 A half dozen systems of tying up cattle were used; each 
 was liked for its place. The system for which I am without 
 a name, but which consists of a half circle from which a chain 
 comes up under the throat of a cow and around her neok was 
 one of libeity, economy of food from waste, and cleanliness 
 of the cows. The box-stalls show their purpose. 
 
 The hog department was separated from the cattle sec- 
 
PLANS OF GENEBAL FAKM BARNS.' -21 
 
 tion by a close partition. Here hogs could be winter-fat- 
 tened fully as cheaply as under summer heat, and at a time, 
 when pork would bring its best price, while for feeding and 
 for experiment work they were directly accessible from 
 scales, meal-room, water, etc., requiring no duplication nor 
 change of place to feed at a loss of time. 
 
 The meal-room, by the scales, had all of its grain spouted 
 down from the granary above by merely drawing a slide. 
 The meal could run directly into the feed-oar in the square 
 in front of the root-cellar and engine-house, where the root- 
 pulper and steam-box were located. It will be seen that the 
 roots which come down by gravity from above pass out on a 
 level floor to the pulper and in the direction needed. 
 
 The fodder for the stock comes down the three large 
 ventilating tubes. In the loft these tubes have a series of 
 dooi's one above the other, so that, however full the loft, 
 fodder could be pitched into it easily. Pure air is an indis- 
 pensa'ble requisite of stock quarters. To procure this these 
 three ventilatin? shafts were inadequate, hence all around 
 the sides of the barn numerous others were provided very 
 cheaply by nailing boards on the studding until the eaves 
 were reached, under which an opening lets out the ascending 
 current. The base of all of these many ventilators could be 
 opened and closed at pleasure in cold or warm weather. It 
 is needless to say that with double windows such a basement 
 would not freeze in winter and would be cool in summer. 
 
 I suppose the reader will understand that the feed pas- 
 sages are entered from the main passage and that two rows 
 of cattle are fed from one feed passage. In experiment work 
 the fodder was weighed up in bags and each animal's food 
 placed in the feed passage before its mangen 
 
 The cut on page 22 represents the second floor, to which 
 easy access is had from the ground. On the west end the 
 open wagon-room is seen, and by its side, separated only by 
 the passageway, were the horse stalls. These stalls were 
 neatly made and so formed that no food could be. pulled out 
 under foot. Behind them was an open square for currying, 
 and around the side not occupied by stalls a harness closet 
 and also places for every stable convenience. 
 
t 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 I I 
 
24 PRAOTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BUILDING. 
 
 The small tool-room was ceiled up by itself and con- 
 tained every small tool needed on a farm, including assort- 
 ments of bolts, nails, screws, etc. Upon its walls every tool 
 was painted that would admit of being hung up; and every 
 one was required to put the tools in the places thus mapped 
 out for them. It is a most successful and gratifying plan, 
 saving perennial hunting for tools, and at night one could 
 put his hands on any tool needed. A broken or lost tool 
 would at once be missed on the most casual survey of the 
 room; also a dirty one could at once be traced home to the 
 party last using it. Where several laborers are employed 
 this is indispensable, and it is a great convenience if no one 
 is hired. The proximity of this room to the large farm im- 
 plements was equally convenient. It was easy and encourag- 
 ing to make repairs on them and convenient in bad weather 
 to do it. This room was 30x70 ft., including a section for 
 carriages. A general catch-all room for lumber, boxes, etc., 
 of 27x30 ft., including room for the tank, will be seen on the 
 plan where the tank is marked. 
 
 The sheep barn occupies the east end of the barn (page 
 22) and provides room for 100 sheep. The hay for these 
 sheep and also for the horses is dropped in front of both 
 sheep pens and horse stalls by a cut-off door inserted in the 
 ventilating shafts. These doors are operated in the loft by 
 either ropes or rods. The sheep are fed by entering the 
 open end of the rack from the main floor. Turning doors act 
 as cut-offs to the sheep from eating hay while grain is being 
 fed and when swung at the right angle as racks, from whose 
 small opening left unclosed by the two — one from each side 
 of the rack — the sheep pull the hay as needed, any dropping 
 passing into the receptacle below. By this plan no hay seeds 
 get into the wool of the neck. This rack I first saw on the 
 farm of the late Col. John B. Mead of "Vermont. The yards 
 are on the east end and not shown in the plan. 
 
 All fodder drawn into the barn passed over scales set in 
 the floor in the driveway and not shown in the plan. The 
 central point from which the fodder was drawn into the loft 
 above is shown. 
 
 The grain room was believel to be a model of conven- 
 
PLAK8 OF GENDEAL FABM BABNS. 25 
 
 ience and difficult to improve upon when all points are con- 
 sidered. The cribs were four and five feet wide for corn and 
 fourteen feet deep. This narrow width was for the purpose 
 of securing ample ventilation, thus enabling us to put the 
 corn in early, as I have always advised. To further secure 
 this end the cribs were slatted up — the outside section being 
 put up like shutters in order to keep out rain. The inside 
 was nailed up in a plain way with slats with spaces for air to 
 pass, except that at all needed and convenient points the 
 slats were set at an angle and dropped iato slots from the 
 outside of the crib. These could he taken out and put back 
 at will even when full of corn, so that we could get the corn 
 out or put it in from any point of the crib. 
 
 The grain bins shown were also fourteen feet tall and 
 their tops stood by the side of the thresher on the upper 
 floor. As the grain ran from the thresher it could very 
 largely drop into the bins without beingtoucbed. From the 
 bottom of these bins arrangements were made to spout it out. 
 In the square formed by the grain and corn bins the grinder 
 and sheller were set. The ground grain was put in boxes 
 whose bottom centered at a spout from which it could be 
 drawn out below for the stock. 
 
 The method of getting the corn to the bin was, so far as 
 I know, an original one. Four boxes were set in a wagon 
 bed into which the corn was throvrn as it was huskedout. 
 These boxes would hold as much as a wagon bed with the 
 extension on. On the sides of each wires were placed, which 
 with a bail dropped from a hay-carrier placed over the bins 
 formed a swivel. The boxes were drawn up by horses and 
 carried by them over the bins on the track. When at the 
 right point the man below, holding a rope attached to the 
 box, pulled the rope, lipped the boxes bottom side up and 
 emptied their contents upon an inclined plaae which shed 
 the corn off into the bin. Of course the corn-bin was covered 
 by a roof to protect it from the hay. This plan worked ad- 
 mirably. 
 
 The cut on page 23 shows the loft. It needs no explana- 
 tion. The ventilating shafts, place for threshing, etc., etc., 
 are all shown. All foods are drawn into it — corn-fodder, 
 
26 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKN BUILDING. 
 
 grain, etc. The grain is threshed at leisure in dull or 
 winter weather. The lott of the barn would have held 
 about 400 tons when pressed to its full capacity. Three 
 hundred and fifty tons could be put in without encroaching 
 upon the room used in the sweep of the central hay-carrier 
 fork. This room was usually filled from the farm of 118 
 acres. 
 
 MR. S. J. HARRISON'S BARN, LANARK. ILL. 
 
 This barn is described by Mr. Harrison as follows: It is 
 86 ft. long, 44 ft. wide, 20-ft. poets, 18-in. cornice, requiring 
 43,000 *A* shingles, 37,213 ft. of lumber, sided with A ship- 
 lap. There are two cupolas and forty windows. The cost 
 at prices prevailing here (1882) may be estimated as follows: 
 Lumber, $753.42; carpenter work, $300; masonry, $60; paint- 
 ing (lead and oil), two coats, $75; hardware, $40. Total, 
 $1,228.42. Its capacity is 94,600 cubic feet; corn-crib, about" 
 680 bushels in ear; granaries (five bins), 2,100 bushels; mow 
 for hay, 59,824 cubic feet — allowing 512 cubic feet for a ton, 
 110 tons. Bu^gy-room has space for two vehicles. Main 
 driveway at rear of horses, room for four two-horse wagons. 
 Nine box-stalls, each large enough for two horses if tied; 
 and, as indicated on ground plan, room for forty-five head of 
 young cattle. 
 
 The convenient points attained may be summarized as 
 follows: Buggies and wagons just behind horses— no mud 
 to go through to get hordes to and from them. Vehi- 
 cles can be drawn into shelter before unhitching. All the 
 stock kept in barn can be watered without going outside 
 the building. Grain equal distance from each end of feed- 
 alley, and hay dropped from mow nearest possible to place of 
 feeding. Driveways so that all manure is pitched on wagon 
 and hauled and spread on fields where wanted. This saves 
 much labor and loss of strength in manure; keeps the prem- 
 ises neater, cleaner, and healthier than when piled up out- 
 side of barn. For the purpose intended this barn combines 
 capacity, convenience and economy better than any the 
 writer has yet seen. By economy I do not mean something 
 
PLANS OF GENERAL FARM BARNS. 
 
 27 
 
 Buxgy 
 
 Room 
 
 -cr- 
 
 Harncss 
 Room 
 
 / Roc 
 
 ' fix 
 
 
 Drive- wuy , 
 
 14 ruwlde j 
 
 12 rt. high J 
 
 Urty laken up ^j 
 
 here 
 
 S| Box SldllK 1^ 
 <^\ I'oi" Bioort 
 
 x: 
 
 Kor Brood 
 
 /i Grain Bins 
 Bian,^, 
 
 rsh< 
 
 ! / Ouls 
 
 |/ Wttgons ai-e | ■• " " 
 
 .. i-^ ■•..»( Ill I 
 
 Coin 
 
 Crib 
 
 flso kupl [ii 
 shelipr here 
 
 ^l For 
 (=! Woik-bOit>C6 
 
 '\\'ork-borsea 
 
 -^, 
 
 *? 
 
 For Mikh i 
 Cows I 
 
 \ N 
 
 i 
 
 *<i 
 
 For Ml loll Ij 
 Cows I 
 
 ■O 
 
 >ci CcttiN 
 uoining 
 IVesIl 
 
 For Cvurt^ I 
 coming 
 
 -'0 
 
 Head 
 
 YeAi'liiigs 
 Run Loose 
 
 \i. 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 ^slOi^ Jiiswt _ 
 
 1 
 
 Sglf f«*d"1'miigK" " 
 
 eWnlei Tank r 
 H X 10 3 
 3 II. dcew L 
 
 
28 PRACTICAL HIIfTS ABOUT BABN' BUILDIKQ. 
 
 cheap and temporary. My experience is that everything 
 temporary is expensive. In building, therefore, I did not 
 regard present cost so much as durability. Ground bams 
 usually give way first in the sills. I therefore have no sills 
 across the bam, nor- at the doors, to rot out, but the posts 
 rest on large rocks selected for that purpose. There are no 
 floors except in feed-alleys, granaries, and in the stalls for 
 horses and milch cows. The floors in the stalls consist of 
 two-inch plank laid flat on the ground. Plank on the 
 ground will last as long if not longer, when stock is kept on 
 them, than if laid on joists, and as a foundation for the 
 plank ground in this country is cheaper than lumber and 
 is more enduring. The outside sills rest on a wall about two 
 feet high and the barn is filled up with dirt to the top of 
 the wall. This makes the barn drain readily. A couple of 
 loads of dirt occasionally brought in keeps the floor in good 
 order. 
 
 [Our drawing of the elevation fails to show the ground 
 leading up to the sliding door ■properly graded to permit of 
 driving teams into the barn.] 
 
 MR. R. F. AYRES' BARN, LOUISIANA, MO. 
 
 This barn is described by Mr. Ayres as follows: It is the 
 most convenient barn I have ever seen. It accommodates 
 ten horses, twenty cows, and twenty-five calves, with ample 
 room for .each. The stock, as you will see, are all in the 
 basement. The basement walls are of solid masonry, 8 ft. 
 high; the second story is frame, 14 feet to the square of the 
 building, floored with 2-inch oak for driveway and li-inch 
 oak for balance of barn. Can drive loaded wagon anywhere 
 over barn floor. Have no lolt above> have abundant room 
 for hay to supply stock for one year. OflSce, corn-crib, and 
 bins being 10 ft. high, leaves 4 ft. under the eaves; this, 
 running out half-way over the driveway, with a tight floor, 
 is used for storing sheaf oats. The rafter support is some- 
 thing new "under the sun," so my carpenters tell me. I 
 planned the whole thing, from top to bottom. There are 
 three posts, 6x6 14 ft. high, running through the center 
 
PLANS OF QEITEEAL FAKM BAENS. 
 
 29 
 
 the long way; on the top of these is a center beam same size 
 as post; upon this are set dovetailed struts in the shape of 
 the letter V, 12 feet apart, in pairs; and on top of these the 
 "purline plates." This makes a very simple frame for roof 
 and does away with the network of timber usually found in 
 the haymow of barns. The dotted lines between driveway 
 and haymow and "farm implements" and haymow (lower 
 cut on following page) are imaginary lines showing how I 
 
 make the divisions in storing away the hay. Can turn with 
 wagon and team around post, coming in at either door. 
 
 The north side is five feet under ground, with east and 
 west ends gradually coming to the level of the ground on 
 south side. The stock — horses, cows and calves — are all 
 separated, each going to separate pastures. All the stock 
 stand with heads to halls. This barn can be built at a cost 
 of from $1^500 to 82,000, locality and convenience of material 
 to be considered. 
 
30 
 
 PKACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 ^) 
 
 z 
 
 OS- 
 
 AA 
 
 yw 
 
 M 
 
 PASSAGEWAY FROM HALL TO HALL 
 
 3V2 r. WIDE 
 
 ::^ 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 
 E 
 
 £ X 
 
 u 
 Q O 
 
 o 
 
 
 i 
 § 
 
 X 
 
 r4 
 
 i 
 
 St 
 
 1 
 
 
 M 
 
 a M 
 
 ami 
 
 
 
 CORN CHUTE FROM CPIB ID BASEMENT 
 
PLAITS OF GEITEEAL FARM BAB2JS. 
 
 31 
 
 COLDREN & LEE'S BARN, IOWA CITY, lA. 
 
 This barn is described by Messrs. Coldren & Lee as fol- 
 lows: The total cost, including paint, etc., was $2,200. The 
 foundation consists of stone piers under each post 2x2x4 It. 
 deep. In addition to this Mr. Lee has, with his character- 
 istic attention to details, placed cross-sills laid on extra piers 
 
 between the several bents. 
 
 lUJI. 
 
 The frame is a mortise-and- 
 tenon structure with this peculiarity, -viz.: the usual small 
 4x4 braces are dispensed with and in their stead long 6x8 
 pieces are used, as shown in diagram. The same system is 
 used on the sides, and it makes a wonderfully strong and 
 durable frame at probably but slight additional cost over the 
 usual method. Sills and posts are 8x8, the latter 22 ft. 8 in. 
 Plates and braces 6x8. Cross-ties 8x8, except the end plates, 
 which are 8x10 to prevent bulging at the ends. Joists, first 
 
^.^ 
 
 5- 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 IS 
 
 ^7? 
 
 
 1 
 
 «: 
 
 1. 
 
 4' 
 
 < S 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 ^ I 
 
 \ 
 
 zz 
 
 
 
 
 "H — r 
 
 n^= 
 
 
 
 nr:: 
 
 
 
 . rll III li 
 
 
 -hC^-- 
 
 ■z' f^\j^ \^*\ 
 
 *» k. ij- 
 
 
 
 
 'y 
 
 I/" / 
 
 \ 
 
 i- 
 
34 PKACnCAL HISTS ABOUT BARN BtTILDIirO. 
 
 floor, 2x10 18 in. apart. Joi>st, second floor, 23e8 16 in. apart, 
 with an extra one through the entire center of barn. Floors 
 under stalls, etc., 2 inch laid slanting to rear for drainage. 
 Floors of feed-ways, etc., 1 inch. Floors of loft 8-in. matched 
 lumber. Bafters 2x6 20 in. apart. Shingles H in. to the 
 weather. Rcof elevation — eaves to apex — 13 ft. 6 in., some- 
 thing over one-third pitch. Siding 12-in. stock boards with 
 O G battens painted before being put on. The eaves project 
 20 inches. Windows are 6 lights, 9x14 in. Doors 3 ft. 6 in. 
 by 7 ft. 4 in. The cupolas are well proportioned and very 
 neat, being 4 ft. square and 5 ft. 10 in. from apex of roof to 
 eaves of cupola. The roof is tinned. 
 
 The large driveway doors are hung on weights (first 
 make and weigh your door and then procure the requisite 
 weights). They are 12x12 ft. and slide up on the inside. 
 The driveway has a hinged feeding rack and partition gates, 
 and will accommodate a number of calves. The hay is un- 
 loaded here through a 12-ft. square chute above. There are 
 two straw doors (not shown in front elevation) on rear eleva- 
 tion to take in straw upon the loft floor on that side, the 
 chutes marked in ground plan serving to bring it to the 
 stables as needed. Altogether it is the plan of perhaps one 
 of the best-arranged and most carefully-built barns. 
 
 The following are the items of cost: Carpenters, $375; 
 paint, $175; hardware, etc., $137.50; tin work, $70; windows, 
 $10; lumber, etc., $1,432.50. Total, $2,200. 
 
 FARM AND SHEEP BARN BUILT BY DR. N. D. 
 GADDY, LOVETT, INU. 
 
 Dr. Gaddy writes of his barn as follows: The size of the 
 barn is 56x84. The posts are fourteen feet apart each^ way 
 and stand on stone pillars, which are, at top, a few inches 
 above ground and reach below the surface beyond the freez- 
 ing point. There are no sills in the barn, unless that which 
 the crib rests on might be so termed. It is high enough 
 above the top of the ground to admit lambs under the crib 
 by going between rollers, or "lamb creeps." Under the 
 edge of the crib is a trough, in which corn, or meal, etc., is 
 
PLAKS OF GENERAL FARM BARNS. 35 
 
 kept for the lambs. After they learn the way under and to 
 the corn, oats, or meal, the noise of the rollers warns the 
 shepherd of the presence ol the lambs— come for eomething 
 to eat. 
 
 The divisions are made by fixinis^ girts or stringers from 
 post to post, one near the ground and one three feet above it. 
 To these the refuse ends of planks left in building the barn 
 were used and nailed upright, leaving a space of seven inches 
 between each two upright boards, through which the sheep 
 can put its head and eat without pulling out the hay or fod- 
 der and wasting it. By opening or closing gates the apart- 
 ments may be increased or diminished in size. Instead of 
 nailing or mortising in the girts to the posts I use a portable 
 fence in part of the barn. This portable fence may be dou- 
 ble, leaving space constituting a rack for hay. Sheep may 
 eat hay from both sides then if the fences are made so that 
 -they can get their heads through, as in the fixed racks. At 
 the east end of the sheep department are eight- fool gates, or 
 two gates four feet each, which, when open, constitute an 
 eight-foot driveway parallel with the carriage driveway in 
 the west end of the barn and parallel with the middle drive- 
 way. These three driveways make it convenient to load the 
 manure into the wagon or wagons for removal to the pas- 
 tures, meadows, or cultivated fields. With plenty of straw 
 for bedding the stock no stable, excepting that for the milch 
 cows, needs daily cleaning. Those who drink milk or use 
 butter will consent that a cow's stable cannot be kept too 
 clean. 
 
 With care in bedding horses, where the mangers are 
 high, it IB not an absolute necessity to remove the manure 
 from the horses' stable oftener than twice a month, and 
 sometimes we neglect it a month. The manure in the 
 sheep's stable is removed twice annually, hut need not be 
 removed more than once a year, if the owner so choose, un- 
 less the stone pillars are so low as to allow the accumulated 
 manure to come in contact with the lower ends of the posts. 
 
 As we are done looking around on the ground floor, let us 
 ascend the stairway in the west, or carriage driveway. Be- 
 fore starting up, however, you should notice the door fasten- 
 
36 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 ings to the large doors at either end of the driveway, and 
 note that the buggy or wagon may he driven in, the horses 
 ungeared, watered at the well here, put in their stalls and 
 fed grain and hay without exposing thezn again to the storm, 
 if it exists. 
 
 As we go up the stairway you will ohserve that the south 
 end of the driveway, for an extent of 14x14, is not floored 
 above. The same arrangement exists at the north end of 
 this driveway. (This is convenient for unloading hay at this 
 end of the barn.) The remaining 14x28 ft., you observe, is 
 floored tight; or from west to east, 28x42 ft., then an open 
 space over middle driveway of 28x14 ft.; then, again, floored 
 for a space of 28x28. On each side of the last the floor is 
 lowered eighteen inches, and floored 28x14 ft. on each side. 
 As these floors, aggregating a space of 56x28 ft., are over the 
 sheep stables, they are laid very tightly. Over the horses' 
 and cows' stables are floors 11x28 ft. each, on which are built 
 additional granaries. The intervening space of three feet 
 between these and the main floor ad mits of hay being thrown 
 down into the mangers. Across and above the middle drive- 
 way are foot-bridges, one at each side of the main floor, over 
 which let us walk and descend another flight of stairs into 
 the middle driveway. As we approach the large door to go 
 outside, take hold of the lever that hangs on one door and 
 raise it to a horizontal position and you observe that it raises 
 the lower piece that fastens between stones at the bottom, 
 while it lowers the upright piece that goes into a mortise 
 hole in the tie across above the door. Now, push open the 
 door and you observe the door carries the fastening appar- 
 atus with it, so that it is always ready for use just when and 
 where you want to use it. I had become tired with the usual 
 troublesome fastening, by means of a movable upright, to 
 shut the two doors against, and about three years ago I de- 
 vised this and had my carpenter construct it; and I find it 
 very convenient for double-door fastenin"-, when properly 
 made. This fastens one door, and the other can be fastened 
 to it very easily. 
 
 On each side of the sheep department are gates eight feet 
 long, to fasten the sheep in and keep the doors open for ven- 
 
iwiw 
 
 §■ 
 
 JvSuflh^t^^J^g^^Cani^and] _OtttJ 
 
 Meet 
 
 Btces 
 
 0(ttet 
 
 i4«]4 /a 
 
 For Cahei or 
 Sheep \ 
 
 
 Staii-way 
 
 14«28 
 
 For old Ewes. 
 
 Drive- Way when Clates.and 
 
 Doors are Open. 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 For Cahesfyr 
 
 S 
 
 14«14 
 For Rami 
 
 Crib 
 
 D J 
 
 Haa 
 
 Buggy Room 
 
 Gate '- 
 
 - ^///| 
 
 ^ e^ / / ] 
 
 ^ I 
 
 5«10 
 
 8«10 
 
 i-D- 
 
 E«U 
 
 5«14 
 
 5«14 
 
 5«14 
 
 iXare and Colt 
 8»14 
 
 D - 
 
 Slaii'way 
 
 Drixe- Way 
 
38 PEACTIOAl HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 tilation in warm weather. In snowy or stormy weather the 
 doors may be closed. Long, sliding windows are so made in 
 ■the east end of the barn for the purpose of additional ven- 
 tilation, as well as for the admission of light. 
 
CATTLE BARNS. 
 
 Before entering upon our series of iUvistrations of cattle 
 barns we may well supplement what was said upon the 
 subject of barn buildings in general by the following from 
 the i)en of Col. W. A. Harris, a well-known and experienced 
 cattle-breeder of Lin wood, Kan.: 
 
 The ideal location for the barn should be as nearly as 
 possible in the center of the farm. The dwelling, of course, 
 must be near and, alas for the gossips and the people who 
 "get lonesome," more than a few feet from the county road! 
 The. advantage of having as many pastures and fields di- 
 rectly connecting with the barns is immense. Time, dis- 
 tance, labor, all are saved; and oversight, at all seasons, of 
 the stock made more convenient. The character of the 
 site, however, is of still greater importance, and if there is 
 anything worse than a low, flat, undrained barn-yard and 
 adjacent lots the writer has yet to see it. Strange to say, 
 nothing is more common. 
 
 If such a location is unavoidable then it will pay to use 
 all the resources of drainage, tile and stone, till even the 
 longest wet spell loses its terrors and planks and rails no 
 longer are needed as bridges to cross the depths and reach 
 the barn door. Wet, and not cold, is, besides, the greatest 
 enemy to thrift and flesh, and the floors of all sheds and 
 pens must be high, dry, and well drained. We read of cov- 
 ered and paved courts, etc., in England that seem "all too 
 bright and fair" and beyond our fondest hopes, so perhaps 
 we had better go to the barn at once, though do not forget 
 the importance of a sufficient number of well-fenced, conven- 
 iently-arranged lots of sizes from a hundred or so square 
 feet up to an acre or two. There are never too many. There 
 is an infinite variety of wants met by an infinite variety of 
 circumstances, mental peculiarities, and financiaJ condi- 
 tions, resulting in a corresponding variety of farm buildings 
 
40 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKN BUILDIXG. 
 
 to be found scattered over the land, from the huge, ark-like 
 structures that dominate the landscape in Lancaster Co., 
 Pa., to the foui- loiks with a prairie-hay roof that shelters 
 the pony team in Kansas and Nebraska. We are of the 
 West, however, and the great grain crops here grown are 
 not housed "in the straw" as they are there, and our need 
 is greater for the shelter and protection and convenient 
 feeding and care of animal life, hence our talk must be in 
 that direction. First and foremost we must place good air, 
 good light, and dryness; they go together. One of these 
 qualities lacking the others are almost sure to he absent. 
 The dark, cavernous recesses of very large barns are seldom 
 ventilated or dry, and this is almost necessarily a conse- 
 quence of great size. The heavy foundations imply a base- 
 ment dark, damp, and stinking. The great roof and floors 
 mean heavy timbers, much skilled labor, and expense, and 
 last but not least is the chance that some winter night, in 
 red and yellow flame skyward soaring, the huge structure 
 vanishes with all the horrors of agonizing death to helpless 
 creatures (we will not say brutes) and to the owner loss im- 
 measurable. Let us rather have two or more smaller build- 
 ings, all above ground, on light foundations, light timbers, 
 but little "framing" — ^the "balloon" style of construction 
 permitting the use of much ordinary labor — far enough 
 apart for some degree of safety from fire and a chance to 
 save life. Doors on every side and ample windows. Noth- 
 ing is so cheap as sunlight and yet nothing is so scarce in 
 the average barn or stable. Another great advantage of 
 somewhat scattered and smaller buildings is the possibility 
 of dividing up the stock and obtaining direct access from 
 different lots and pastures of different classes of stock. It is 
 not uncommon to see in the middle of the night, in a large 
 barn, a hundred cattle aroused and disturbed by one uneasy 
 heifer or lost calf. Avoid all plank flooring as one of the 
 worst temptations of the artful architect. Broken stone 
 (eight inches) with here and there a three-inch tile running 
 to the outside, with six inches of porous, yellow clay on top, 
 wetted and tamped, hardening like a brick, will always be 
 dry, never slippery, needs only here and there after the 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARKS. 41 
 
 winter is over a little fresh clay and affords no harbor for 
 rats. Have no narrow, contracted passageways for the 
 larger cattle to crowd and jam together in. A favorite 
 arrangement seems to be a narrow feeding alley, two rows 
 of cattle, heads in, and two narrow passageways behind the 
 cattle. This is a misuse of space, more expensive and not a 
 bit more convenient. Par better have one wide space, not 
 less than ten feet, which is less than the three, in the 
 center in which the cattle have ample room to walk quietly 
 to their stalls, where they stand heads to the wall. A hand- 
 cart is used to distribute the feed (before the cattle come in 
 at night) and every animal has the same stall always. Time 
 and time again we have seen seventy head of cows walk into 
 such a stable from three entrances and be tied up by two 
 men and munching their feed in twenty minutes, with 
 neither noise, hurry nor confusion. 
 
 Every barn should of course have mow sufficient at least 
 to supply its inmates with the winter's hay, bins for bran 
 and prepared feed, but corn-cribs should be separate and 
 distinct structures. 
 
 In latitudes where the mercury only now and then falls 
 below zero animals suffer more from the barn being too 
 warm and close than from cold. In fact but for the difficulty 
 of properly apportioning feed, so far as health is concerned, 
 a good, deep shed, say twenty feet from front to rear, with a 
 hay-rack and plenty of bedding, is better than any barn; the 
 air is pure, no drafts and no over-heating and no chilling. 
 Health and vitality are in direct proportion to pure air, and 
 well bedded is half fed. 
 
 No matter how perfect the barn may be nothing can take 
 the place of abundant bedding, and convenience in getting 
 it in and getting it out (in the shape of manure) easily and 
 rapidly is a thing indispensable. The manure should go 
 direct from the stalls to the pastures and cornfields. For 
 meadows and wheat it must be kept, of course, but not in or 
 neai* the barn. As long as wheat will pay the cost of pro- 
 duction the straw Is a sufficient profit to justify the stock- 
 grower in raising it. Sawdust and even dry leaves are use- 
 ful if straw is lacking. Water in the barn is seldom a sue- 
 
42 PEACTICAI. HINTS ABOUT BASS BUrLDISTG. 
 
 cess. A large central tank of say 200 barrels supplying 
 drinking troughs in every lot, fitted with covers to be closed 
 at night in the winter, seems to serve every purpose, and it 
 Is a rare day when all kinds of stock should not be turned out 
 for a few hours at least. Warming water was for a time a 
 favorite "fad" and the writer tried it for one winter; since 
 then the heater has rested in "innocuous desuetude." 
 Thirsty cattle coming suddenly out of an overheated barn 
 may be hurt by drinking ice water, but the cold air has the 
 same effect and the condition of the cattle is the fault. 
 
 "Our armies swore terribly in Flanders but it was noth- 
 ing" to that which ensues when at night or morning "the 
 barn door is off the track." Hinges of course are obsolete. 
 Nothing but the best of rollers should be used, the track of 
 iron, put up as true and solid as it is possible to have it, and 
 then watch and keep clean the groove in which it runs at the 
 bottom. Box-stalls should be built wherever a roof can be 
 extended along the sides without cutting off the light and 
 air from the main building. A long shed closed in front and 
 divided into box-stalls, on the north side of a lot, is of great- 
 est utility. One or two extra warm ones should always be 
 provided a little to one side for winter-night calving, sick 
 -animals, etc. 
 
 Many patent fastenings have been suggested and adver- 
 tised, but after all nothing in practice has been found more 
 convenient, more speedy or more safe than the old-fashioned 
 German chain cattle tie with about a foot play on a vertical 
 half-inch iron rod under the edge of the manger. The cattle 
 have perfect freedom up and down and can reach to the 
 center of the manger of an eight or nine-foot double stall. 
 When taken off the cattle the end ring should be hooked 
 over a nail in the side of the stall just above the animal's 
 neck, where it is just in place for use at night. 
 
 By way of supplementing what Col. Harris has said in the 
 foregoing upon cattle barns in general it may be interesting 
 to refer to the diagram herewith given, showing the plan 
 and method of construction adopted by him in a cheap cattle 
 barn which he built upon his farm a few years ago. As will 
 be seen it fully carries out his idea that an expensive, elabor- 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARITS. 
 
 43 
 
 —ilr^*- 
 
 ate barn is not a necessary adjunct to successful cattle breed- 
 ing in the Western States, but that reasonable shelter for 
 the herd frona the rigors of winter and some little outlay for 
 the protection of the hay is in keeping 
 with the best principles of economy. The 
 unpretentious yet admirably arranged 
 building (briefly described herewith) was 
 built at Linwood a few years ago, and 
 has given the best of satisfaction. The 
 material used in its construction was as 
 follows: 32 telegraph poles, 20 ft. long; 32 
 telegraph poles, 25 ft. long; 6 000 ft. of 
 boards, 16 ft. long; 30,000 shingles; 400 
 battens, 3xi, 16 ft. long; 34 sash, 4 lights, 
 10x12; 4,500 ft. of flooring; 200 joists, 2x8, 
 16 ft. long; 2,500 ft. of rough boards; 250 
 pieces, 2x4, 16ft. long; 1,400ft. of masonry 
 in underpinning. 
 
 Concerning the advantages of the plan 
 of arrangement followed out Col. Harris 
 writes: 
 
 "In reply to your favor regarding the 
 barn which has attracted your favorable 
 attention I would say that the points in 
 its favor are cheapness, light, ventilation, 
 and ample room. The ^vide alleyway 
 permits the ready and uncrowded passage 
 of cattle, and the same is. true of the stalls. 
 Wagons go through and take up the ma- 
 nure, which goes direct to the fields. Bed- 
 ding is distributed in the same way, and 
 we 'are now using hay from the outside 
 distributed in this way, holding in reserve 
 that in the mow. Our pastures are ar- 
 ranged so that cattle come in from three 
 different lots without interference or confusion. The dirt 
 floor is cheap and never slippery and we are not annoyed by 
 rats. The holes which wear are readily filled by a load or 
 tw3 of dry earth which is at once an absorbent and deodor- 
 
 Driveway 
 
 -H!> 
 
 
 
 
 ¥ f 
 
 ^f 
 
44 
 
 PEACTICAl HliraS ABOUT BARN" BUILDING. 
 
 izer. We have all the windows open on one side or the other 
 (to the leeward ) and have no wheezing or coughing. It was 
 built by two carpenters and lour laborers in thirty days, cost 
 about $1,100, and can be afforded by any farm of 160 acres. 
 The mow holds near 140 tons of hay by filling up alter the 
 first has settled. It now has tied up fifty-six head of cows 
 and heifers, and their calves loose. The roof of the north 
 side will be extended sixteen feet next season so as to make 
 fifteen box stalls 10x16, the windows of which will be opposite 
 those in the barn so as to permit the free passage of air. It 
 will cost only about $350 or $400 to do this and will then 
 
 shelter more cattle at less cost and in a healthy way than 
 anything I have seen." 
 
 A simple and inexpensive device is employed by Mr. 
 Harris for the preservation of hay put up in "ricks" or 
 stacks, a rather crude illustration of which is herewith ap- 
 pended. As to its construction, which is of the simplest 
 character, Col. Harris says: "In making this cheap hay 
 cover we use common boards twelve to sixteen feet long, a 
 foot or more wide, putting one on top of rick first, then slip- 
 ping one on each side under the top one about two inches 
 ajid fastening by driving a common fence staple over a num- 
 ber nine smooth wire just at the edge of the upper board so 
 as to make a sharp bend in the wire over the edge of the 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARKS. 45 
 
 upper board, and so on down as far as wanted; six to eight 
 boards on each side are generally enough; then fasten a 
 good-sized stone in the end of the wire and the thing is done 
 —two wires to each length of board about two feet from ends 
 and as many sections as may be needed for the length of rick, 
 putting the middle section on last with ends lapping over the 
 next ones. Tn using the hay a single section is taken oft by 
 drawing out the staples and the rick cut down so as to loave 
 the cover on the remainder. Boards and wire can be used 
 over and over." 
 
 PLAN OP BARN SUGGESTED BY HON. T. C. JONES, 
 DELAWARE, O. 
 
 The building may be 40 ft. in width, to allow two rows of 
 stalls, each stall being 8 ft. long, with a gutter of 1 ft. in the 
 rear; and a space of 6 ft. between the gutters and the outside 
 walls would leave, after allowing for space taken up by walls 
 and partitions, 8 ft. for a passageway. 
 
 To afford ample room above for the storage of hay, etc., 
 the posts may be 25 ft. long, which, assuming the stable to 
 be 9 ft. high, would give about 14 ft. in the clear for the 
 upper story. 
 
 The length of the building will depend upon the number 
 of cattle we wish to provide for. Allowing 8 ft. in width as 
 ample room for double stalls for large cattle, a barn 90 ft. 
 long would accommodate, say, forty-flve or fifty head of dif- 
 ferent ages, the younger animals requiring much less space, 
 besides giving room for boxes for calviflg cows and cribs for 
 calves, meal boxes, etc. The appartments for the calves 
 should be cribs made of strips of boards 3 in. wide, with spaces 
 of about the same width between, because the air near the 
 floor is always foul where young calves are kept in close boxes, 
 even when they are open above. These cribs may be movable, 
 and constructed with only one side and two ends, the stable 
 wall, to which they may be attached by a movable fastening, 
 forming the other side. The space of 7 ft. behind the cows 
 would allow the placing of these cribs there, as would be con- 
 venient for very young calves. 
 
46 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 The chaff-cutter may be in the upper story; and at inter- 
 vals of 20 to 25 ft. in the middle passageway there should be 
 conductors extending up through the hay loft to the roof and 
 
 ELEVATION, 
 terminating in well-constructed ventilators. These conduct- 
 ors or chutes should be about 4 ft. square, with openings in 
 the upper story to let down into the passageway hay, chaff, 
 etc. 
 
 
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 GROUND PLAN. 
 
 The mangers will be about 22 in. wide, and 2 ft. high 
 above the floor of the stalls, and the bottoms should be about 
 6 in. above. The floors for cows may be of dry earth, with a 
 square timber for the inner side of the gutter, which may be 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 47 
 
 made of hard-wood plank, and the space between the gutter^ 
 and the walls may be paved with cobblestone. Sometimes 
 planks are used for this purpose, but as cattle are liable to 
 slip and fall in passing in and out on these floors the stone 
 pavement is preferable. A box for meal, bran, etc., 10 to 12 
 in. wide and about 10 in. deep, may be placed in the manger 
 at each corner. The top of the outside of the manger should 
 be a 2x4 in. s6antling, in which, near the meal box, holes will 
 he bored for the chain ties with which the cattle are fast- 
 ened. The advantages of the double stalls are that less space 
 is required for a given number of cattle than where each 
 has a stall to itself. A large cow would not be comfortable 
 in a stall 4 ft. in width, while 8 ft. will give ample room for 
 two — it is also found that there is great convenience in 
 having the long manger for feeding shock-corn, etc., as may 
 bo done in the double stalls. The barn should have suitable 
 openings for light and air, some of which should have glass 
 window sash, and all be provided with proper shutters. All 
 the doors should be made with upper and lower halves, not 
 only because they are more convenient and lighter, but for 
 the reason that the upper halves may be left open for venti- 
 lation when necessary. 
 
 ME. H. H. CLOUGH'S BAEN, ELYRIA, O. 
 
 The accompanying plan is that of a cattle barn in use by 
 Mr. H. H. Clough near Elyria, O., specifications for which 
 are as follows: 
 
 Walls to be of stone up to joists of main floor — two feet 
 thick at ends, eighteen inches at sides — and of suitable 
 thickness and depth below ground, according to nature of 
 soil. Frame to he of 8x8 stuff (plate beams 7x7), put together 
 with mortise and tenon and stayed with braces and girders 
 between sill and plate-beams, the interior frame extending 
 to and supporting roof. Besides the four corner posts of the 
 frame there are to be five posts on each side, two on each 
 end and two sets of five each in the interior, placed as shown 
 in cut. Rafters to be of 2x6 stuff, two feet apart, projecting 
 two feet at eaves and gables. Joists to be 2x12 and one foot 
 
PLAKS OF OATTIB BARKS. 
 
 49 
 
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 PBACnOAL EINIB ABOrX BABK BUILDIK6. 
 
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fLAirS OF OAIILE BABK8. 51 
 
 apart. Sides to be of 12-in. barn boards planed on one side 
 and cracks battened. Flooring and sides of stalls to be of 
 1-in. hard-wood lumber. Floor of loft and sides and ceil- 
 ings of tool-room and granary to be of matched lumber. 
 Barn floor to be of two thicknesses of 1-in. oak, lapped and 
 matched. Windows to be 2 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. Basement 
 elevation 8 ft. 2 in. to joists. Floors of stalls to be slightly 
 raised at head for prox>er drainage, and gutters ditto, as 
 indicated by arrows. 
 
 Although built with a stone basement this is not a "bank 
 barn." 
 
 We are advised that the cost of this building, unpainted, 
 was about $2,000. It is a large and commodious structure 
 designed for the special accommodation of a herd of pure- 
 bred cattle, and has given Mr. Clough the best of satisfaction. 
 
 MR. E. W. PAYNE'S BARN, MORRISON, ILL,. 
 
 In sending us the sketch from which the engravings on 
 the following page were made Mr. Payne writes: 
 
 It is strictly a cattle barn; is set upon concrete piers 
 made of cement and gravel, each pier standing upon a foot- 
 ing 2x3 ft. and 6 in. deep made of best Portland cement to 
 resist frost. These piers are 2 ft. long, 14 in. thick at bot- 
 tom and 10 in. at top, and 18 in. high, standing 10 ft. to 
 centers, and are made of Louisville and Akron cement and 
 gravel. I think they cost more than stonework would have 
 done, but the expense might have been lessened by using 
 some quicklime. The sills are 8x8 and lower joists 2x8. 
 The main barn is 32x80 and built after a design of my own. 
 The bents of the frame are 10 ft. to centers and each bent is 
 constructed of two 2x6 studding for each outside post, and 
 the inner posts, which slope slightly outward at the top, 
 have a tie joist reaching through from outside to outside, 
 spiked between the two studs. These bents are fastened 
 together by ribbons 2x6, gained in a half inch and gained 
 into the studding li in., bringing the ribbons flush. The 
 second joiBts are supported by a 4x4 out between the inner 
 
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 ELEVATION, BEOTION, AND GBOUND PLAN. 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 53 
 
 posts and beveled on top to take the bearing of the joists, 
 and are supported by three 2x6 studs for each 10 ft. set 
 upon the sill and cut under the ribbon, these short studs 
 being set at the same slope as the posts, and 3 ft. 4 in. 
 to centers, which is the space allotted to each animal. 
 The hay loft is clear from the floor to the peak, in which a 
 track is constructed and a hay-carrier used. The hay- is 
 mowed between the bents at the sides with very little labor. 
 The track does not extend outside the barn, and no diffi- 
 culty is found in operating the carrier six feet to one side of 
 the load. The floor is divided into double stalls 6 ft. 8 in. to 
 center and Hhe partitions extend across the manger. Cattle 
 are tied with chains attached to an iron staple at the side 
 upon which the chain can slide up or down sixteen inches. 
 A feed alley runs through the whole length of the main barn, 
 cattle standing with heads to the center. There is on one 
 vrhole side an addition 16 feet wide arranged in stalls and a 
 box-stall for a bull, which opens into a yard for exercise, as 
 shown in the diagram. 
 
 A discrepancy will be observed between this description 
 and the plans in regard to the supports for the second 
 joists. This description is according to the facts, and is 
 better than the perpendicular support as shown in the plan. 
 
 MILLER & SIBLEY'S BARN, FRANKLIN, PA. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most complete, elaborate and conveni- 
 ent barns for dairy cattle in this country is that of Messrs. 
 Miller & Sibley of Franklin, Pa., well known on account of 
 iheir success as breeders of Jersey cattle and trotting horses. 
 The description, which is quite full, will form a profitable 
 study for such of our readers as desire to adopt the octag- 
 onal form in barn building. Messrs. Miller & Sibley de- 
 scribe it as follows: 
 
 Our barn, as will be seen by reference to the cuts accom- 
 panying, is a polygon of sixteen sides. There has been no 
 attempt made at display. We hope, however, that nothing 
 has been neglected which can add to the comfort or health- 
 
54 PBACTICAL HOTTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDmG. 
 
 ELEVATION. 
 
 PLAN OF BASEMENT, 
 
PLAITS OF CATTLE BARNS. 
 
 55 
 
 Ooo!L 
 PLAN OF FIRST FLOOR. 
 
 PLAN OF SECOND FLOOR. 
 
56 
 
 PBACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BAKN BUILDING. 
 
 fulness of the herd, for we maintain that perfect health is 
 the first requisite for the breeding of butter-producing ani- 
 mals. 
 
 The barn is heated by steam and in winter a uniform 
 temperature of from 40 to 45 deg. Fahr. is maintained night 
 and day, never colder than 40 deg., never warmer than 45 
 deg. Self-registering thermometers in locked cases show 
 at all times any variation from this temperature. We do 
 not think any one can charge us with keeping our cattle in a 
 
 SECTION A. B. 
 
 hot barn, the aim being only to maintain a temperature just 
 above the freezing point. 
 
 More attention to proper ventilation has been paid than 
 to all else, and we doubt if any private house or public hall is 
 more perfect in this respect. Tbe barn is surmounted by a 
 cupola twenty feet in diameter. This is open every day and 
 night in the year-. The lower sash of each window is raised 
 eight inches and a board placed under the sash. A hole six 
 inches in diameter is cut through this board in which is 
 placed a zinc pipe opening outwardly and turned up on the 
 inside some three feet in height. This allows for the admia- 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BA.ENS. 57 
 
 sion of air between the .two window sashes and also of a full 
 current of air through the six-inch pipe, thus preventing any 
 possibility of a current of air striking directly upon the ani- 
 mals. By this arrangement, "HO matter what the weather 
 may be, a full supply of pure fresh air is given to every ani- 
 mal by the current from the lower floor passing up the stair- 
 way in the center of the barn, and also through two chutes 
 extending from the lower floor well up toward the roof. 
 
 The basement of the stable is devoted mainly to the milk- 
 ing cows. It is laid with concrete. Gutters covered with 
 iron gratings extend back of the cows and terminate in a 
 sewer which leads 100 rods away from the stable. This floor 
 can be scalded out with hot water, the gutters and sewers 
 flushed, and the cattle put back in the barn on a dry floor in 
 an hour's time. 
 
 The first floor is of two thicknesses of matched yellow 
 pine with tarred paper between the layers. Sawdust is used 
 for bedding on this floor, which is devoted mainly to box- 
 stalls, both open and tight, for the service bulls and for cows 
 soon to calve. 
 
 In a room on this floor is placed our cream separator and 
 engine. On this floor is also our cleaning machine, which 
 by a system of revolving brushes cleans a cow perfectly in 
 from three to five minutes' time. During the winter months 
 each cow receives a daily cleaning, three men being able by 
 this method to thoroughly clean 160 head per day. 
 
 The second-floor space is devoted to storage for fodder, 
 grain, and bedding, and also for our power cutter, which 
 cuts one ton 6f dry corn-fodder into one-third inch lengths in 
 twenty-five minutes. 
 
 The barn is lighted by sixty incandescent electric lamps. 
 A night watchman is employed who, at intervals of every 
 half-hour, makes a complete tour of the stable, seeing that 
 all is well, a touch of the button enabling him at any time to 
 notify the superintendent of anything wrong. To insure 
 the watchman's wakefulness and attention to duty an elec- 
 tric time detector is in use which keeps perlect record of 
 bis movements through the barn. 
 
58 PEACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDIN(J. 
 
 MR. C. S. BABCLAY'S BARN, WEST LIBERTiT, lA. 
 
 Mr. C. S. Barclay, a well-known Short-horn breeder of 
 West Liberty, la., has recently built a barn which may com- 
 mend itself to other breeders as aflording shelter for a large 
 number of cattle, as well as a goodly store of hay, at moder- 
 ate cost. Particulars as to construction are furnished by Mr. 
 Barclay, as follows: 
 
 For frame of barn, 18 pieces 6x8 in.x24 ft.; for end center 
 posts, 2 pieces 6x8 in.x22 ft.; posts for doors and girths, 12 
 pieces 4x4 in.xl2 ft.; posts for doors, girths, etc., 12 pieces 
 4x4in.xl6ft. and 1 piece 4x4 in. xl 4 ft.; rafters for main build- 
 ing and outside shed, 50 pieces 2x6 in.xlG ft.; rafters for first 
 shed, 22 pieces 2x6 in.x20 ft.; for plates for outside shed and 
 girths on which, to nail the siding, 38 pieces 2x4 in.xl6 ft.; 
 for plates -and girths for first shed, 51 pieces 2x4 in.xl6 ft.; 
 braces, 246 pieces 2x6 in,xl2ft.; hip rafters, 2 pieces 2x6 in.x 
 26 ft.; girths for ends of barn, 16 pieces 4x6 in.xl2 ft.; girths 
 for ends of bam, 2 pieces 4x6 in.xl6 ft.; plates for main barn, 
 30 pieces 2x8 in.xl2 ft.; roofing boards 12 in. wide, with 
 hollow batting 4 in. wide and 1 in. thick laid under the 
 boards, all well painted with mineral paint; upper roof 16-ft. 
 boards, 15 in. projection, with eave trough to carry water off 
 made of 6-in. fencing; second roof covered with 20-ft. lumber, 
 projection and eave trough same; siding boards 12 in. wide, 
 battened with O. 6. bats; doors hung on rollers; windows 
 for each box-stall, 4 lights 10x12 in.; 4 in shed end, 4 lights 
 10x12 in.; 2 in front end, 6 lights 10x12 in.; box-stalls all 
 boarded on the inside four to five feet high and have double 
 partitions where not made of 2-in. plank; bull BitMa made 
 with doors opening into stable and outside; feed trough 8 in. 
 deep, 12 in. wide at bottom and 16 in. wide at top; hay-rack 
 made of 4-in. strips 4 ft. high, bottom tight, and made so 
 that all chaff and seed falls into feed box; double stalls for 
 cows 7i and 8 ft. wide, with floor for cows to stand on 6 ft. 
 long. Of the posts used for sheds the longest were 22 to 24 
 ft., set in the ground 2 ft.; the outside ones are from 10 to 14 
 ft. They are swamp burr oak, cut in May and peeled; used 
 
CROSS SKCTION AND GEOUND PLAN. 
 
60 PRACTlCAl HINTS ABOUT BAKN BtTILDIIfG. 
 
 38 of these. Building is well braced throughout and strong 
 enough to stand anything but a tornado. Posts of frame are 
 set on heavy burr oak blocks, with brad in bottom of posts. 
 We calculate we have room for 150 tons of hay and straw for 
 bedding for the winter. 
 
 This barn will accommodate over eighty head of cattle, 
 and its total cost was about $700. 
 
 MR. ORLANDO CRITTENDEN'S BARN. 
 
 Mr. Orlando Crittenden, an Ohio cattle-breeder, describes 
 the barn herewith illustrated as follows: 
 
 I built this barn expressly for the winter quarters of my 
 herd of Short-horns. It is a bank barn on nearly level 
 ground, there being but a slight rise. The barn is 44x80 ft., 
 posts 24 ft. running from wall to plate, set 16 ft. apart. 
 Lower story 8 ft. between shoulders and wall 18 in. high, 
 making in all 9 ft. 6 in. We use dirt floors, so you can see at 
 once that the stable is warm. The windows have blinds, but 
 no glass, so that the temperature can be easily regulated by 
 opening or shutting the slats. The upper flooring is matched 
 the same as house flooring, so no seed or dirt can get through ' 
 on the cattle. We have plenty of ventilation above, as I will 
 show later. I drive in on the upper floor from the back side 
 of the barn, not shown in the sketch. I have a bridge run- 
 ning back 16 ft. with some slope, and from that back it is 
 graded so that a team can easily walk in with a ton of hay. 
 I stow all my grain above and thresh above, keeping all the 
 straw in the barn for use as bedding. 
 
 Plan of basement— 44x80 ft.; o a, cow stable, with double 
 stalls; 6, calf stable, the same; c, bull stall, 8x16, which is 
 ceiled tight; d, room 10x16, which is plastered and has a 
 chimney for stove (this room is for the herdsman, as he is 
 needed by night as well as by day); e, granary, 8x16, (this is 
 filled from above); /, alley or feeding floor 12x68 (this floor is 
 two feet above the ground or stable floor; the hay is fed by 
 pushing off each side, which falls into the mangers); g, stair- 
 way; h, entrance; i i i, water tanks (water is pumped in the 
 
tLANS OP CAiTLB BARNS. 
 
 61 
 
 ELEVATION. 
 
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 A 
 
 
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 } 11 
 
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 80 ftet. west- side \ 
 
 DIAGRAM or MAIN FLOOR. 
 
62 
 
 PBAOIIOAL Hlirrs ABOUT BABIT SVlLDtSQi. 
 
 barn by a windmill which stands abuut ten rods from the 
 barn); j, door, sliding up on rollers between the ceiling and 
 the place where hay is put in for the bull. 
 
 Plan of upper story — 1, straw mow; ^, driveway; 3, hay 
 mow; 4, alley 4x32 (this is for carrying grain to granary 
 
 P=7" 
 
 qs 
 
 D^ 
 
 V/ast side 
 
 DIAGKAM OF SECOND FLOOR 
 
 -CRITTENDEN BARN. 
 
 when thrashing); 5, hole in floor over granary; 6 6, hay 
 chutes 4x4, with doors to open as the hay lawers in feeding; 
 7, chimney; 8, stairway; 9 9, straw chutes, the same as the 
 others; iO, double doors for driving in; XI, the door for the 
 belt of the machine when threshing. The four chutes give 
 ventilation from below. 
 
 MR. THOMAS CLARK'S BARN, BEECHER, ILL. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Clark of Beecher, 111., the well-known Here- 
 ford breeder, has a remarkably compact, convenient and 
 substantially-built cattle barn, the most noticeable feature of 
 which is its immense capacity — both in the way of loft room 
 and accommodations for cattle — all in such a very compact 
 shape; and it is on this account, and in the sarnie ratio, oon- 
 
ELEVATION AND GROUNB PLAN, 
 
64 PRACTiOAl HINTS ABOUT feABK BtJilDtNCi. 
 
 venient. It will not require a mule cart and a half-dozen 
 men to feed the sixty to seventy head of cattle this barn will 
 accommodate. On the contrary, we venture to say that Mr. 
 Clark with his own hands will be able to deal out the rations 
 of roots and hay'in one short hour of a cold winter morning. 
 The main part of the building is 50z60 ft., the outside 
 posts of which are 18 ft. from basement ceiling, and inside 
 posts 34 ft. extending to and supporting the hip roof. Upon 
 three sides of this structure there is a 17-ft. lean-to, mak- 
 ing a total ground floor (it is not properly a basement] of 
 
 t«i 
 
 SECTION SHOWING CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 67x94 ft. This is to be used as shown in diagram. The 
 foundation upon the front side abuts a bank, giving easy 
 access to the barn floor above. The wall is 19 in. thick, of 
 brick, and is built up about 7 ft., the height of ground floor; 
 upon the other three sides it is only a little above ground. 
 Piers under each post support the main part. The posts of 
 lean-to are 4x6 in., 7 ft. high; sills 6x8 in.; rafters 2x6x24 ft., 
 3 ft. apart; siding 8-in. shiplap laid up and'down; posts sup- 
 porting main part 10x10 in., about 7 ft, high with caps; 
 12x12 sills upon each set of these support the joists, which 
 
PLANS Ot CAMLE BAHlfS. 65 
 
 are in turn very heavy — 3x12 — 11 in. apart, and are set into 
 the sills 3 in. and 8 in. deep, thus having- 4 in. of the width 
 of the joist extending over the sill. This arrangement saves 
 space and makes things very secure. The first section of 
 roof is a two-thirds pitch and upper part one-quarter pitch. 
 Eaves project 16 in. and are boxed in all round. Cupola is 
 6x6x6 with 8-in. eaves. Dormer windows to loft 6 ft. high 
 with twelve 8x10 lights. There are two such windows also on 
 each side and three in rear. There is an air-space chamber 
 in the front foundation wall to prevent frost entering. 
 
 The ground floor is of crushed stone and cement, with 
 proper fall to rear of cattle. The loft floor is of matched 
 lumber; roof of shingles, of which, by the way, it takes about 
 ninety thousand; but much of this expense is saved in the 
 siding. The total cost was about $3,000, the several items of 
 which are not at hand. 
 
 MR. WILL R. KING'S BARN, MARSHALL, MO. 
 
 The engraving on next page illustrates the barns of Will 
 R. King, at Peabody, five miles south of Marshall, Saline 
 Co., Mo. It is arranged so as to provide comfortable quar- 
 ters for 100 head of cattle. The windmill as shown in the 
 engraving is a five-horse power double-header and furnishes 
 power to run the corn-sheller, feed-mill, and hay-cutter. 
 The loft in the barn, shown on the right as you face the 
 page, has in it a hay-cutter and will hold 100 tons of hay. 
 The loft over the horse barn, shown on the left, will hold fifty 
 tons of hay, and the corn-urib holds 2,500 bushels of corn in 
 the ear. The ground adjoining this barn is divided off into 
 suitable dry lots which are provided with racks for feeding 
 hay to stock when not in the barn. The posts are sixteen 
 feet. At the lower left-hand corner of the diagram is shown 
 a row of sheds opening into the barn-yard with hay-loft over- 
 head. The horse barn proper is 60x40 ft. and the cattle barn 
 120x38 ft. The elevation shows the horse barn on the left 
 and the cattle barn on the right, the two connected by the 
 mill-house, 14x35 ft. The diagram is explained as follows: 
 
 B S — Box-stalls. S D — Sliding door. G P — Calf pens. 
 
SDi 
 
 ELEVATION AND GROUND PLAN— KING BABN. 
 
PLAlfS OF CATTLE BAKXS. 
 
 67 
 
 B— Stall for bull. C H— Cut hay. F B— Feed-bins. M H— 
 Mill-house. S — Shelter. C C — Corn-crib. S&Q — Shed 
 and hay-loft. H F— Hay-feeder. H— Harnesses and saddles. 
 O— Carriages. G— Granary. H R— Harness repair. BY— 
 Barn-yards. F— b'enoe. W M— Windmill. H B — Horse 
 barn. 
 
 C. W. NORTON & SON'S BARNS, DURANT, lA. 
 
 The special features of the plan of the barn of C. W. 
 Norton & Son of Durant, la., presented herewith, are its 
 wonderful cheapness and its great capacity both for feed and 
 stock. The main building is devoted entirely to hay or fod- 
 
 END ELEVATION. 
 
 der room, and the "lean-to" sheds afford protection and 
 feeding space for much more stock than many a more expen- 
 sive barn, and any part of them ma^ be readily partitioned 
 off into stalls of any desired size. The Messrs. Norton have 
 two such barns, one for cattle and the other for sheep, and 
 are much pleased with them. 
 
 The frame of the main part of the building consists of posts 
 20 ft. high and 3 ft. below ground, placed 8 ft. apart as shown 
 in diagram. The posts of the shed are 8 ft. high. The posts 
 
PRACTICAt HINTS ABOUT BAB3«f BtnLDnTG. 
 
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 Jl 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BAENS. W 
 
 of the feeding racks extend obliquely to and support the roof 
 of the sheds. The plate beams are of 2x6 scantling and 
 spiked to posts. The roof consists of 2x6 rafters 8 ft. apart, 
 with two sets of 2x6 girders between eaves and ridge-pole 
 and covered with 12 in. barn boards planed on one aide. The 
 shed roof is of same material. The frame is stayed and made 
 Arm by the support of the lean-to, and there are also gird- 
 ers of 2x6 stuff across the main part every sixteen feet. The 
 sides are of 12-in. barn boards and battened. The shed upon 
 the south side is not boarded up. The large doors at gable 
 end are desirable in order to drive in and out to haul away 
 manure. 
 
 Expense items are as follows: 8,000 ft. boards at $16— $128; 
 8,000 ft. battening at $4— $32; 1,500 ft. rafters, girts, etc., at 
 $14— $21; Carpenters, hardware, etc., say $19. Total, $200. 
 Should it be necessary to buy lumber for the posts, 1,800 ft. 
 are added, at $14— $25.20. Grand total, $225.20. 
 
 MR. DAVID E. CUNNINGHAM'S BARN, AMANDA, O. 
 
 Mr. David E. Cunningham of Amanda, O., has recently 
 completed a barn diagrams of which are herewith presented. 
 It is built on a roomy, liberal scale, with a 20-ft. floor in 
 center. It is 22 ft. sill to plate, stabling 8 ft. in the clear 
 with dirt floor;^. The sills are 12x12, balance of frame priu' 
 cipally 8x8. Joists of barn floor 2x10, 15 in. apart. Joiats of 
 loft 2x8, 15 in. apart. .Joists of alleys 2x6, 15 in. apart. Raft' 
 ers 2x5, 2 ft. apart; one piece 13 and one piece 14 ft. long. 
 It is set upon stone pillars about 2 ft. deep beneath each post 
 The roof projects 15 in. The sides are of 9-in. shiplap. 
 
 Expense items are given by Mr. Cunningham as followb 
 31,000 ft. stuff lumber at $12.50— $3s7.50; 6,000 ft. shiplap for 
 siding at $1&— $114; 8",000 ft. boards, flooring, etc., at$18— $144; 
 4,500 ft. sheeting at $14— $63; 36 M shingles laid at $5.50- 
 $l!i8; carpenters, $346; foundation, 290 ft. at lOc— $29; paint 
 770 square yards at 15c. — $115.50; 19 windowsat$3 — $57; hard 
 ware, etc., $46. Total, $1,500. 
 
70 
 
 PRACTICAl HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDINO. 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BABN8. 
 
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72 
 
 PRACTICAL HOTTS ABOUT BASS BmLDING. 
 
 THE MILLER BARN AT GOODENOW, ILL. 
 
 The accompanying sketches represent a barn built on 
 "the old Miller property" at Goodenow, HI. It was designed 
 and its construction superintended by the Hereford breeder 
 and commission salesman, Mr. Tom Smith of Crete, 111., and 
 is especially noteworthy as being an eminently convenient, 
 roomy and well-ventilated cattle bam, but of extremely 
 simple construction and small cost. It will accommodate 
 sixty to seventy head of cows and calves, having twenty-two 
 
 :! ^^y^ I I n II M.I II -xp '• 
 CROSS SECTION. 
 
 double stalls and six box-stalls, besides a roomy g^i-anary and 
 hay floor at one end. Attention is called to the inside bay 
 window in the bed-room of the office wing. This affords a 
 most excellent view of the entire stableful of cattle. 
 
 The frame consists of common telegraph poles sunk into 
 the ground and placed as shown in diagram, twelve feet 
 high to eaves, and roof about one-third pitch. There are 
 two sets of 2x6 nail ties and a 4x4 plate for rafters to rest 
 upon. Four-light windows upon one side and double-hinged 
 doors upon the other afford light and ventilation. The 
 sides are common'barn boards, planed, painted, and battened. 
 The roof is of shingles and floor is dirt. A brush drain 
 extending the length on both sides serves the double pur- 
 X>ose of water conductor for roof and drain for interior. It 
 
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PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 75 
 
 is three and a half feet wide and two feet deep, and of course 
 has a proper fall and outlet. 
 
 The partitions, alleys, stalls, boxes, etc., are all about 
 three and a half to four feet high.' There is no loft, the hay 
 or fodder being hauled as needed, although the hay Boor at 
 end will hold quite a quantity. 
 
 Items of expense were as follows: Eighteen poles 15 ft. 
 long, 18 poles 23 ft. long, 9 poles 32 ft. long, say $35; 4,700 ft. 
 siding at $15— $70.50; 5,100 ft. rafters at $14—871.40; 7,000 ft. 
 sheeting at 11 cents— $77; 58,000 shingles at $5, laid— $290; 
 1,500 ft. stuff— nail ties, braces, etc., at 14 cents— $21; five 
 windows at $1 — $5; 5,000 ft. partitions, stalls, mangers, etc., 
 at 15 cents— $75; paint, $70; carpenters, $185; hardware, etc., 
 $50. 10; additional for office room, $150. Total, $1,100. 
 
 GEORGE E. BROWN & CO.'S BARN, AURORA, ILL. 
 
 The cattle barn in use upon the breeding farm of George 
 E. Brown & Co., Aurora, 111., is described as follows: 
 
 The frame of the cattle department consists of 2x6 stud- 
 ding 22 ft. high. There are two rows of posts and beams — 
 without braces— along the center alley at each corner of stall 
 (as shown in diagram) made of two pieces of 2x6 spiked to- 
 gether edge to side, and plates of same 2 in. apart and par- 
 allel. The joists of loft are laid upon these along the center 
 and upon the two sides of the building upon pieces spiked to 
 the studding, and as the joists are the same distance apart 
 as the studding they may also be spiked to each other. The 
 roof is supported by two sets of framework set upon the two 
 rows of posts and beams along the alley. 
 
 The frame of the balance — the floor department, etc. — 
 consists of 8x8 stuff with four rows of posts, etc., as in a com- 
 mon mortise and tenon frame. The cattle department is 7 
 ft. in the clear, and the balance is 8 ft. 2 in. in the clear. 
 The joists of loft are 2x8, 2 ft. apart; rafters 2x6, 2 ft. apart; 
 floor, 2x10 plank; floor of loft, unplaned boards. The sides 
 are of 12-in. planed boards, with cracks battened. Roof 
 should be about four-tenths pitch. 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARKS. 11 
 
 The eook-room and root cellar are basement rooms 5 ft. 
 lower than main floor, &i ft. in the clear, and there are large 
 grain and meal bins above these. 
 
 The doors into root cellar are 3x3. There is a large grain 
 box below the floor under trap door, into which oats and other 
 grain may be dumped and thence taken to bins in loft by 
 means of an elevator. There are chutes from these by which 
 it can be tapped as needed. 
 
 The tread-horse power is sunk below the floor, so that 
 there is no trouble or danger in putting on or taking off the 
 horses. 
 
 The feed-cutter, etc., are on loft floor just above the horse 
 power, and the cut feed falls into the bin below. There are 
 large hay doors at each gable, sliding down, and a window on 
 either side. 
 
 The estimated cost of the.barn is as follows: Excavating 
 160 yards, at 25 cents — $40; 98i perch stone foundation, at 
 $1.50— $147.38; 37,000 ft. stuff lumbar, at $14— $518; 2,500 ft. 
 matched boards, at $20— $50; 8,000 ft. boards for loft floor, 
 stalls, etc., at $16— $128; 8,000 ft. of siding, at $18— $144; 8,000 
 ft. battens, at $4— $32; 7,500 ft. sheeting, at $12— $90; 57 M 
 shingles, laid, at $5— $285; carpenters, say $500; paint, 944 
 square yards at 15 cents— $141.60; hardware, glass, etc., 
 $122.02. Total, $2,198. 
 
 J. N. LEE'S CATTLE AND HORSE BARN. 
 
 Mr. J. N. Lee of Vigo Co., Ind., sends the following con- 
 cerning the barn in use on his farm: 
 
 This structure was built in the summer of 1885 at a cost 
 of $3,000 for the purpose of accommodating our herd of 
 Short-horn cattle and other farm stock, and in it we can hold 
 nearly one hundred head of stock. It is 84x62 ft. with 24-f t. 
 posts. Over 25,000 brick were used in the foundation, which 
 is 16 in. at the bottom and diminishes until it is 8 in. broad 
 at the top. The frame is of 8-in. timber. Sixteen feet off 
 of the width (62 ft.) is a shed, as shown in the end view, 
 built thus for convenience of light and tying the building, as 
 
78 PRACTICAL HttrrS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 ties 62 ft. long are difficult to obtain. It is enclosed with 
 barn siding and the cracks are striped with concave battens. 
 It is roofed with gauge shingles (poplar) and the roof and 
 sides are painted red with the battens white. The lower 
 floor is oak, IJ in. in thickness. We think it will last better 
 than a double floor of 1-in. lumber. It is 8 ft. between floors, 
 the floor of the mow being of matched flooring. It is venti- 
 lated from below by means of tight boxes made from boards 
 1 ft. wide and extending through the mow to the roof. Hay 
 chutes (4x6 ft.) are directly above the junction of the feed- 
 
 LND ELEVATION. 
 
 ways and main passage, extending to near the top of mow. 
 All bins, rooms, etc., are in the east end, so arranged that 
 the stock in hot weather may catch the refreshing breezes 
 as they come from the Southwest or West. As the driveway 
 is in use but once a year we utilize this space by means of 
 box-stalls. This is accomplished by the use of doors, which 
 open as indicated in the plan. We set our mangers (which 
 are fastened with hooks and staples) to one side, and are 
 ready for harvest. 
 
 A space of 14x14 ft. is left in the drive as a place to curry 
 and harness; and from this place, by opening a pair of drop 
 doors, the hay is taken to the mow with fork and dead-lock 
 

 
 
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 GROUND PLAN— LfE'S BARxV. 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 81 
 
 carrier. A glance at the plan will show where the well, 
 stairway, etc., are located, as also the length, width, and 
 position of the stalls. The stalls are 3 ft. 6 in. high, with a 
 kind of laltice-work hetween them so high that stock cannot 
 fight over it. The feed-boxes are at the end of the mangers, 
 as seen in plan. The cattle stalls are double and the cattle 
 are haltered at each side of the stall. There are four pens 
 for loose stock. Doors are shown by a break in the double 
 lines, and how they swing by dotted lines. It will be seen 
 they open so as to close the passage, so a cow cannot help 
 but go where she is wanted. Outside doors are shown in the 
 plan to be at each feedway and passage. 
 
 CHARLES F. MOORE'S BARN, ST. CLAIR, MICH. 
 
 Mr. Charles F. Moore of St. Clair, Mich., has recently 
 built a very complete stock barn as follows: 
 
 ' It is 40x152 ft., with a 16-ft. floor in the center. Hay car- 
 riers from floor to either end — all hay and grain unloaded by 
 horses — 18 box-stalls at one end and 36 stalls at the other, 12 
 of which are for young stock. There is a water box for each 
 two stalls, so all cattle in this part can drink as they please. 
 Water furnished by the St. Clair City Water-Works. 
 
 The entire barn is sheathed inside and out with matched 
 pine lumber. Paper outside, then clapboards. The eleva- 
 tion is 8 ft., floor to ceiling, and 12 ft. loft, floor to plate, 
 making about a 22 ft, elevation. Roof about one-third pitch. 
 Windows are 24x44 in. at one end and 24x72 in. at the other. 
 There is a door at each gable 48x72 in. 
 
 The windows have blinds, hung slanting, bottom out, so 
 that when closed and the windows taken out, which is done 
 in hot weather, there is fine ventilation and the barn keeps 
 cool and dark so that flies cause no annoyance. The body of 
 the barn is painted white and the blinds green. It will hold 
 about 200 tons of hay and from 50 to 75 head of cattle, and 
 Mr. Moore considers it very nearly perfect. 
 
 The estimated cost is as follows: 52S cubic feet founda- 
 tion pillars, at 10 cents, $52.80; 46,000 ft. stuff lumber, at $J4, 
 6 
 
PLAKS OF CATTLE BAKNS. 83 
 
 $644; 12,600 ft. matched siding, at $18— $226.80; 6,500 ft. 
 matched flooring for loft, at $19— $123.50; 7,500 ft. boards for 
 stalls, etc., at $16— $120; 8,000 ft. roof sheeting, at $12— $96; 
 60 M shingles, laid, at $5— $300; 15 windows, at $3— $45; 20 
 windows, at $2 — $40; 1,056 square yards paint, at 15 cents — 
 $158.40; carpenters, $609; hardware, paper, etc., $84.50. To- 
 tal, $2,500. 
 
 THE LUTHER ADAMS BARN. 
 
 Mr. Luther Adams of Boston, Mass., who laid out an 
 extensive farm near Storm Lake, Buena Vista Co., la., fur- 
 nishes us the following description of the main cattle barn: 
 
 The great objects I- kept in view in building this barn 
 were economy in labor of handling, with due' regard to 
 health and comfort of the stock in a cold climate, no expense 
 being spared to make it warm and comfortable in cold 
 weather. The main body of the barn is 200 ft. long by 44 ft. 
 wide, with a 14-ft. lean-to on either side. For 60 ft. on each 
 end there are 18-ft. posts, above wall, and for 80 ft. in cen- 
 ter 24-ft. posts. The basement walls are 18 in. thick, 7 ft. 
 high, built of quarried stone laid in mortar. The cellar is 
 200 ft. by 56; the cellar bottom was covered with three inches 
 of sand and then three inches of Milwaukee cement. Sixty 
 feet in one end is partitioned off for a root cellar; the balance 
 of the cellar is used for steers and hogs, which run in and out 
 at will. 
 
 The difference in the length of the posts of this barn was 
 partially a matter of necessity, as I had an old barn to build 
 on to that was 60 ft. long and with only 18-ft. posts. As I 
 wanted more storage capacity than I could get in a barn with 
 only 18-ft. posts my architect suggested the idea of making 
 80 ft. in the center with 24-ft. posts, and 60 ft. on the other 
 end with only 18-ft. posts, to correspond with the old barn 
 and give the whole structure a uniform appearance. I was 
 pleased with the idea and adopted it at once, as it makes 
 a much better looking barn outside than it would have been 
 if the roof was at the same height the entire length; it 
 
84 PRACTICAIi HINTS ABOUT BABlir BUILDING. 
 
 breaks up that ropewalk look which so long a barn always 
 has. If I had the entire structure to build over I should 
 make only one change, in this climate, where large storage 
 capacity is convenient. I would add two feet to the posts all 
 round, making the ends 20 ft. and the center span 26 ft. 
 high. Where the hay is elevated by horse power it is just 
 as convenient to have a high mow. 
 
 The storage capacity for hay is about 300 tons, and it will 
 accommodate about 175 cattle, old and young, exclusive of 
 the cellar. 
 
 The two lean-tos tie up 100 head, with from three to four 
 feet of space allowed for each animal, the stock being graded 
 according to size, four feet being allowed in one lean-to and 
 three to three and one-half in the other. I tie with chains 
 for the greater comfort of the cattle. 
 
 The box-stalls are 10x14 ft. and are used for the breeding 
 cows and young things, and will accommodate about seventy- 
 five head. 
 
 The distance between lean-to floor and hay floor above is 
 6i ft. and over the driveway floor it is H ft. for 60 ft. at each 
 end, but for 80 ft. in the middle is dropped down to Hi ft. 
 The pitch-holes over the driveway are in the fifth bent from 
 each end; the driveway is 12 ft. wide and lean-tos 16 ft. 
 
 It requires but little labor to take care of the manure in 
 this barn; it is cleaned into the gutters behind the cattle 
 and shoved to the traps and dropp°d into carts set to receive 
 it, which are removed as often as they are filled and the ma- 
 nure dumped into a pile to be overhauled and rotted, when 
 it is used as a top dressing for meadow and pasture lands. 
 
 I have endeavored to make the water-works in this barn 
 and yards as near perfect as possible. I have adopted the ele- 
 vated railroad tank as a source of supply. The supply and de- 
 livery pipes are made frost-proof on the railroad plan of tight 
 dead-air spaces, by being boxed in with eight coverings of 
 matched boards and tarred paper, leaving a dead-air space 
 between each covering. I am assured by good authority that 
 this is sufBcient protection to the pipes in Northwestern. 
 Iowa if the tank is not allowed to run down too low. To 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BABNS. 
 
 85 
 
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PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDrnG. 
 
 guard against accidents I have connected the tank with two 
 wells and use windmills for power. 
 
 It will be seen in the plan that there are watering troughs 
 the entire length in front of the lean-tos; these troughs are 
 18 in. wide, 8 in. deep, with 3-in. pitch to drain the water 
 out through a 3-in. pipe to a cesspool. Where the pipe 
 enters the trough it is provided with a plug and strainer to 
 be used when the trough is filled and emptied. The trough 
 is not kept full except when it is desirable to water the cat- 
 tle, and it is designed more particularly for bad weather. 
 After using it it is emptied and used as a feed trough for cut 
 feed or grain. The cattle in the box-stalls are watered in 
 bad weather from troughs at the north end of lean-tos, as will 
 be noticed in plan. 
 
 It will also be noticed in plan that the room for cut hay, 
 mixing room, meal room, and water are all close together. 
 
 END SECTION. 
 
 The mixing troughs are set on wheels and are wheeled any- 
 where in the barn that is desired. The feed cutter is placed 
 on the scaffold over and directly in front of the cut-hay 
 room. The cut hay is dropped down into the room through 
 a chute. The power is brought about 100 feet from the en- 
 gine room by means of a chain cable. The two small rooms 
 shown at the left end of ground plan are grain, meal, and 
 feed rooms. 
 
 The herder's house, which is attached to the barn, is sup- 
 plied with a hot-water boiler which is at all times ready for 
 use. This house is a great convenience when cows are calv- 
 ing in the night or in cold or bad weather. 
 
 I have endeavored to make the root cellar frost proof; it 
 has a double wall, dead-air space, and is banked on the north: 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 87 
 
 it is walled and banked on the east and south, with double 
 windows; also a cross wall with double doors for entrance on 
 the west. The floor over the cellar is double, with tarred 
 paper between, then a three-inch dead-air space, then three 
 inches Milwaukee cement. 
 
 The walls of the lower story are sheathed, also the ceiling 
 over the box-stalls; the partitions in the box-stalls are of sur- 
 faced plank, tongued and grooved and set on end and capped 
 wiih four by sixes grooved. The mangers are also of plank. 
 
 All of the material used in this barn has been of the best. 
 I have not tried to see how cheap, but how good, convenient, 
 and practicable a barn I could build to handle cattle with 
 the greatest economy of labor and with thrift and safety to 
 the animals. 
 
 In this form of barn there is not a foot of waste room, and 
 for a stock barn I believe it will bear a rigid comparison 
 with any form of barn yet devised. I do not think that sim- 
 ply for storage of hay it would bear any comparison to a barn 
 built on the octagon plan, but for a stock barn I prefer it. 
 The whole building has been well painted, including the roof. 
 Total cost, including herder's house, about $13,000. 
 
 C. S. RICE'S BARN, DISCO, ILL. 
 
 Mr. C. S. Rice of Disco, III., in sending us the accom- 
 panying plan and description of his barn, says: 
 
 Allow me to present for the benefit of those who, like my- 
 self, have had no rich "dads" before them, and who, just 
 commencing, must practice economy, with the plan of a 
 cattle barn which I have just completed at a cost of $700. I 
 have endeavored in the diagram to make everything plain 
 as to the plan, and it only remains to say how it is con- 
 structed. 
 
 I first placed forty posts in the ground upon which the 
 building rests. These are arranged in four rows of ten each, 
 as shown in the diagram. Upon each of these four rows of 
 posts I spiked a 2x8 plank which has a mortise directly over 
 each post in the ground. The frame then consists of four 
 
88 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BCTILDING. 
 
 rows of poles, which stand directly over these posts in the 
 ground, each having a teiion to fit in the mortise ahove 
 spoken of. The outside or eave rows are eighteen feet. The 
 center rows are sixteen feet from the eave ones, and are 
 about thirty feet long, extending up to form the purlines. 
 Gains are then cut in these posts at top of first story, 2ixl0 
 in., to receive the four ronrs of girts. The same is done at 
 the eave and at the top of purline save that these ties are 
 only 2x8 and have a 2x4 spiked upon the top to give greater 
 strength. On top of these girts are laid the joists, two feet 
 
 END KLEVATION. 
 
 apart, and each one that comes to the post is securely bolted, 
 so that the building cannot possibly spread. The building 
 is tied at the eaves in the same way, only that here it is only 
 every sixteen feet. 
 
 It is then raftered, and so on, the same as any other barn. 
 A tight floor is laid in the mow and braces are placed 
 wherever it is thought they are needed. It is sided with 
 dressed siding, completely battened and nicely painted, and 
 makes as handsome an appearance as any barn in the coun- 
 try, and for convenience it has, I believe, no superior. One 
 
I'LANS OF CATTLE liABNS. 
 
 89 
 
 ir 
 
 B 
 
 ( 
 
 MAIN FLOOR. 
 
90 
 
 PKACTICAX HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 man (which is all I keep) can in a very short time bed and 
 feed every animal in the 240 ft. of stabling. The stalls are 
 not floored, but a tight floor is laid in all the entries. Each 
 bin, it will be seen, is independent of the other. I wish to 
 call attention to the hay holes. These are 4x4 and are sim- 
 ply boxes running from the eaves to the floor in the feed 
 alley — save the doors in the mow to throw in the hay — and 
 they are open from the mow down on the side that opens to 
 the feed alley; also to the places over each stable, which are 
 boxed above the same as the hay holes to allow the straw to 
 drop for bedding. My girts and joists were all of the best 
 seasoned oak. The building seems perfectly firm and is 
 pronounced a success by every one who sees it. I used over 
 five hundred half-inch bolts in its construction. 
 
 ANOTHER ILLINOIS BARN. 
 
 The barn illustrated herewith was designed by Mr. V. 
 Barber of Becatur, and is located on the Macon County (111.) 
 Poor Farm. The main feature in its construction appears to 
 be the immense storage capacity afforded for hay and straw, 
 
 END SECTION. 
 
 and in view of the vast quantity of forage of that description 
 wasted annually from lack of protection from the inclement 
 weather the question arises as to whether or not more atten- 
 tion should be given to that subject in the construction of 
 barns. 
 
 Mr. Barber's plan indicates a barn 50x70 ft., with cattle 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BAEKS. 
 
 91 
 
92 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BtTlLDING. 
 
 
 
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PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 93 
 
 Stalls and a three-foot alley on each side, the central space 
 and entire area above the stalls being devoted to the mowing 
 of hay and straw. The "end section" (page 90) is intended to 
 show this arrangement. 
 
 There are doors at the rear end of the barn the same as 
 in front, and over the main doors in the rear are two smaller 
 doors wide enough to admit the straw carrier of a threshing 
 machine, so that when threshing the machine dumps the 
 straw into the loft of the barn over the stack on either or 
 both sides by moving the machine. There is also a large 
 door 10x9 ft. for taking hay from the load by the horse hay 
 forks on a track running the entire length of the comb of the 
 barn, hauled up by horse at the other end of the barn. 
 
 Matelial of the following description is used: Sills, 6x8; 
 joists, 2x8; corner pests, 6x6; other posts, 4x6; braces, 4x4; 
 girts, 2x4; plates, 4x6; rafters, 2x4; sheeting, second fenc- 
 ing; shingles, 18 in., best; siding, 12 in. stock boards; floor- 
 ing, 2x8. 
 
 W. W. HAMILTON'S SALE AND CATTLE BARN, 
 LEXINGTON, KY. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Hamilton of Lexington, Ky., had a combina- 
 tion sale and cattle barn built upon a plan which will doubt- 
 less be of interest to breeders of pedigreed stock who hold 
 public sales. Those who make annual sales need a building 
 of some kind for this purpose as there are many annoyances 
 about a sale tent — getting it on the ground the day it is 
 wanted, putting it up, taking it down, etc. The diflBcuiiy 
 about the construction of such a building is the loss of space 
 when not used for sale purposes and the proper arrangement 
 of the stalls so as to be convenient and at the saire time not 
 to interfere with the sale plan. The building is 64 ft. wide, 
 80 ft. long and 20 ft. to the eaves. There are two rows of 
 box-sfalls — one at each end — 8x10 ft. square each; in the 
 center of the barn is the sale square (56x60 ft.), and in the 
 reiddle of this square is a sale ring 30 ft. in diameter. Be- 
 tween 500 and 600 persons can be seated comfortably. When 
 not used for sale purposes the sale square is divided into four 
 
94 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BASS BUILDING. 
 
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PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 
 
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96 PRAOnOAl HINTS ABOUT BASS BUILDING. 
 
 large calf sheds, with a capacity of twelve head each, all of 
 which will be readily understood by reference to the accom- 
 panying' diagrams. There are two passways (4 ft. wide each) 
 between the large square and the rows of box-stalls. There 
 are four large box-stalls in the corners of the large square; 
 two are used for calving and two for lai-ge bulls. The height 
 of the ceiling over the large square and two passways is 12 
 ft. and over the rows of box-stalls 8 ft. There are two corn- 
 cribs and chop-feed rooms over the stalls at each end of the 
 building, capable of holding 3,000 bushels of feed, with chutes 
 to drop the grain in receivers in each passageway; also ca- 
 pacity for 100 tons of hay. Every animal in the stable is fed 
 from the passageways. Each stall has a door opening out- 
 side for use in case of fire. This plan was drawn by Mr. 
 Hamilton himself, and it forms a strong, comfortable, and 
 convenient building, with plenty of light and ventilation at 
 all times. The heavy framing timbers are of oak; the box- 
 ing is poplar; the foundation Is stone laid in mortar. 
 
 T. S. MOBERLEY'S BARN, RICHMOND, KY. 
 
 A general description and plan is herewith given of the 
 barn of Col. T. S. Moberley of Richmond, Ky. As will be 
 seen by the elevation it is a bank barn and stands upon high 
 ground where the natural drainage is good. The size is 62x74 
 ft. and from basement floor to the wind-engine tower the 
 height is 56 ft., divided into four stories. The base- 
 ment wall is of limestone, 22 in. wide and 8 ft. high, and the 
 posts in the basement supporting the frame work are twenty 
 in number and are of oak, 12x12 in. The parts of the frame 
 are 10x10 in., 16 ft. high. The entire framework is of oak, 
 the shingles of poplar, and the siding of Northern pine. 
 There were used in the structure 100,000 ft. of lumber and 
 50,000 shingles, and the total cost was about $3,900, but at the 
 time it was built prices of both labor and material were much 
 higher than now. The diagrams of basement and main floor 
 are quite complete and need but little explanation. There 
 are two feed aisles, with a cross aisle and forty box-stalls for 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 
 
 97 
 
 grown animals, and the cross or calf aisle will accommodate 
 fifty calves. The feed descends through a chute from the 
 third story and two cars await to carry it down the aisles, 
 along which it is distributed to the stalls. The columns in 
 the second story, which extend upward and also form the 
 third story, are thirty-six in number and 10x10 in. in size. 
 The floor of this story is double, with pitched felt between, 
 which protects the animals below from the ones above. This 
 floor is inclined each way from the center sufficiently to 
 
 ELEVATION. 
 
 cause proper drainage. The entrance to this story is through 
 double doors, fourteen feet high, via an elevated macadam- 
 ized drive extending outward from each. Scales are placed 
 at one door, so that the grain is weighed by the wagon load 
 as it is taken into the barn. The wagon passes along the 
 aisle and out at the opposite door. A gigantic hay-lift 
 reaches down from above, takes up a load of hay and puts 
 it in any desired part of the third and fourth stories or hay 
 loft, which loft has a capacity of 500 bales. The second story 
 has fourteen calving stalls, as shown in diagram, which are 
 so arranged thai they can readily be converted in case of 
 
 7 
 
98 PBACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDnifG. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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PLANS OF CATTLE BARNS. 
 
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 DIAGRAM OF MAIN FLOOR. 
 
 — > 
 
100 PRACTICAL HIKTS ABOUT BABN BUILDING. 
 
 necessity into four stalls each, making room for fifty-six 
 cows. In the center or main aisle, twelve feet wide, there is 
 room for fifty calves. 
 
 This g-ives the barn a capacity of 196 animals, all sizes. 
 Col. Moberley's office is also on the second floor. Just outside 
 the building a cistern which holds 500 barrels furnishes the 
 water for the entire building through a system of pipes. 
 The third story contains the bran bin, corn boxes and cut- 
 feed room; also the large cutting box, the corn shelter and 
 the pumping machinery, which are driven by wind power. 
 With a brisk wind a boy of twelve or fourteen years can cut 
 enough grain in two hours to last a week or ten days; and 
 so complete is the arrangement in every particular that one 
 good man can easily feed, water and care for the stock and 
 keep the barn in order. 
 
 C. E. KING'S DAIRY BARN. 
 
 The accompanying plan of barn for a dairy farm was de- 
 signed by Prof. F. H. King of the Wisconsin Agricultural 
 Experiment Station for Mr. C. E. King, a dairy farmer near 
 Whitewater, Wis., and in its architecture as well as general 
 plan may be profitably studied by intending builders in con- 
 nection with the octagonal dairy barn of Messrs. Miller & 
 Sibley (pages 53 to 57). The design herewith given was, as 
 Prof. King informs us, "the result of a request for a plan of 
 a barn for a dairy farm which would accommodate eighty 
 cows and ten horses and which would permit of driving 
 behind the cattle in cleaning and in front of them in feeding 
 green fodder. A silo, a granary and storage place for dry 
 fodder sufficient for all the animals was desired, and the 
 whole was to be covered by the same roof, to be conveniently 
 accessible in all its parts, but not very expensive"; and of 
 its special features Prof. King writes as follows: 
 
 The plan of this barn is presented here, not as a novelty 
 in rural architecture, but because in several fundamental 
 features it embodies ideas which are believed to be worthy 
 of general imitation, and this particular plan is used simply 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BAEN8. 
 
 101 
 
 as a concrete illustration of the character of improvements 
 which at the present time are greatly needed to insure the 
 highest development of a large and profitable animal hus- 
 bandry in a climate of long cold winters. 
 
 It will conduce to clearness if the fundamental ideas 
 referred to are stated concisely at the outset and then ampli- 
 fied and illustrated. 
 
 1. Whatever other advantages or disadvantages a shelter 
 
 Fig. 1.— 'Cyllndrloal bam, Bhowlng main entrances to first and second stories. 
 From a photOKiaph. 
 
 for live stock may possess, it should in no way interfere with 
 the best performance of the animals housed. 
 
 2. The shelter should be so built that the heat neces- 
 sarily given off by the bodies cf animals housed shall be 
 sufficient to maintain the best stable temperature during 
 cold weather and at the same time admit of ample venti- 
 lation, while during warm weather the surplus heat may 
 readily escape. 
 
 3. The ooQstruction should be such as to admit the 
 needed amount of light to all the animals housed. 
 
 4. The construction of the shelter should be such as to 
 
102 PEACTtCAl ttlNTS ABOOT fiAftK BPlLCmO. 
 
 reduce the labor of caring for the animals to the smallest 
 amount which will admit of the largest yearly net profit. 
 
 0. The form and arraagement of the buildings should be 
 such as to necessitate the least first cost and the smallest 
 maintenance expense compatible with the necessary accom- 
 modations. 
 
 A perspective view of the barn, from a photograph, is 
 given in Fig. 1 (page 101 ), showing the main entrances to the 
 two stoi'ies,. while figs. 2 and 3 are bird's-eye views of the 
 interiors of the first and second stories designed to show the 
 construction of the barn and the arrangement of its interior. 
 Tt will be seen that in form the barn is cylindrical, covered 
 with a conical roof, which is surmounted by a cupola of the 
 same form. The barn is 92 (t. in diameter and 28 ft. from 
 sills to eaves. A cylindrical silo 24 ft. outside diameter and 
 34 ft. deep, having a capacity of 14, 126 cu. ft., occupies the 
 center. Around this silo in the first story ninety-eight adult 
 cows are accommodated in two circular rows facing a com- 
 mon feeding alley 9 ft. wide, and behind each row of cattle is 
 a wagon drive 6 ft. wide for clccining the barn which leaves 
 and returns to the common single broad entrance. 
 
 Extending entirely around the silo in the second story 
 is a barn floor 18 ft. wide, from the outer edge of which, 
 through chutes leading to the feeding alley in front of the 
 cattle, green fodder can be delivered to them from the 
 wagon or dry fodder from the storage space above. This 
 floor also permits of driving around the silo and out at the 
 entrance after unloading, even when the ensilage cutter is 
 being run to fill the silo. 
 
 On the outside of the barn floor, on the right of the en- 
 trance, is stable room for ten horses, 16 It. from front to rear, 
 34 ft. frontage on the barn floor and 55 ft. from end to end at 
 the outside. On the left of the main entrance is a workshop 
 and granary whose combined floor space equals that occu- 
 pied by the horses. In the rear of the silo is a space 16 ft. 
 deep for farm tools, having 82 ft. frontage on the barn floor 
 and possessing a floor space the equivalent of 16x40 sq. ft. 
 Between the tool room and the horse barn on one side and 
 the granary on the other are two hay bays which, together 
 
Fit;. 2.— Showing; arrangement and construction of flrat story. A, A, A, A, 
 wagon drives for cleaning barn; B, B, feed manger; G,C, platform for cat- 
 tie; 2, 2, 4, showing method of ventilation; 5. showing method of placing 
 joists. 
 
 Fig. 3.~Showlng arrangement and construction of second story. A, A, bam 
 floor; B, hay bay; T, tool room; 0. workshop and granary: 1, 1, purllne 
 plates and method of placing them ; 2, 2, showing method of placing rafters ; 
 H, entrance drive. 
 
104 PBACnCAL HIKT8 ABO^T BARK BUILDIXG. 
 
 with the space above the barn floor, tool room, granary, and 
 horse barn, furnish ample storage space for dry fodder. 
 
 The silage is delivered to the cattle barn from the silo 
 through a triangular chute shown in Fig. 2, extending up 
 the inside of the silo; in one side of this chute there are doors 
 and attached to the other is a fixed ladder by which any 
 desired level in the silo may be reached. 
 
 The foundation of this barn consists of four concentric 
 stone walls, the inner one carrying the walls of the silo and 
 through them the central portion of the floors and roof, the 
 two middle ones carrying the stationary uprights of the 
 stanchions, and through them the floor, main posts, purline 
 plates and roof, while the outer one supports the walls of the 
 structure. The laying of the walls to a circle and leveling 
 them was a simple matter and accomplished with the aid of 
 a straight-edge, one end of which was fixed to a post in the 
 center, with the lower edge at the level desired for the top of 
 the walls. The movable end of the straight-edge rested on 
 a ring of boards tacked to stakes driven in the ground out- 
 side the wall being built. The inner wall was first built and 
 the straight-edge lengthened as necessary. The frame of 
 the barn consists almost wholly of two-inch stock and the 
 only long timbers are the eleven posts carrying the purline 
 plates. No mortise and tenon work was used in its construc- 
 tion, all work being done with the hammer and saw. The 
 first story sills of the barn are single 2x10 in. plank sawed 
 in 4-f t. sections and bedded in mortar on the walls, the sec- 
 tions having been sawed on a bevel determined by the 
 direction of the radii of the barn. On the sills 2x10 in. 
 studs are set 2 ft. apart and constitute the outer frame of the 
 basement; 2x12 in. studs set flatwise on the two middle walls, 
 at the right distance apart to serve as the uprights of the 
 stanchions, and 2x12 in. studs in the walls of the silo, as 
 shown in Fig. 2, constitute the vertical supports for the 
 second story.. The sills of the second story consist of short 
 pieces of 2x10 in. plank spiked down upon the ends of the 
 three outer circles of studding, as shown in Fig. 2, and of 
 three thicknesses of 6-in boards bent around the upper ends 
 of the silo studding and resting on the shoulders sawed for 
 
PLAKS OF CATTLE BARNS. 105 
 
 them. Two thicknesses of plank rest on the stanchion sup- 
 ports, but the outer sill is single; upon these 2x10 joists are 
 distributed, as shown at 5, Fig. 2, and these carry the floor of 
 the second story. 
 
 Each of the posts carrying the purline plates rests on four 
 2x10 in. joists spiked together and resting on the sills carried 
 by the two rows of stanchions, the particular stanchion up- 
 rights where these posts come being strengthened by 2x6 in. 
 studding spiked to them at the edge not occupied by the 
 cows. On the tops of these posts short pieces of 2x10 in. 
 plank are spiked, as shown at 1, 1, 1, Pig. 3, and upou them 
 the purline plates rest, spikes being driven upward into 
 them to hold them in place. 
 
 The rafters and studding for the second story are 2x6 in. 
 stuff, the latter being set three feet apart, and the lower 
 ends of the rafters are carried by two layers of 2x6 in. pieces 
 spiked to the tops of the studding, the upper layer breaking 
 joints with the lower. Fig. 3 shows the manner of placing 
 the rafters. 
 
 The rafters were cut so that their ends when in place 
 were vertical and the fascia was formed by springing a board 
 to them. The lower one or two rows of roof board were 
 sawed in short sections, reaching from rafter to rafter, and 
 then fencing was used, full length, and sprung to the rafters 
 over the remainder of the roof. It was not necessary to cut 
 shingles in laying, except on the cupola, and in laying them 
 each man was provided with a horse, made by driving spikes 
 through one edge of a short piece of two-inch plank, which 
 served as legs and prevented sliding. A mark was filed in 
 the edge of the shingling hatchet at a distance from the 
 nailing face equal to that which the shingles were laid to the 
 weather, and this served as the only guide in placing them, 
 which was done rapidly and readily, the men following one 
 another round and round. 
 
 This barn is covered outside with drop siding sprung and 
 nailed to the studding so as to break joints, and on the inside 
 of the cattle barn, horse barn and granary with shiplap. 
 
 In the construction of the silo, 2x6 in. studding was used 
 above the basement, these being spiked side by side to form 
 
106 PRACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BtTltDmO. 
 
 tbe eleven long ones, which extend to and help support the 
 roof. Tbe lining of the silo consists of three layers of half- 
 inch lumber, formed by ripping common fencing in two, and 
 between these ate two layers of tarred paper. The same 
 kind of lumber forms the outer covering of the silo and the 
 spaces between the studding act as ventilating flues for the 
 cattle barn. 
 
 The large doors slide open and are made of matched fenc- 
 ing nailed to cleats having the same curvature as the sides 
 of the barn. These cleats are made by springing the boards 
 into the desired curvature and then fastening them securely 
 together while in that attitude. When this is done they 
 remain bent as if they had grown in that form. 
 
 The feeding mangers in the cattle bams are made by 
 forming the earth in the shape of a shallow, round-bottomed 
 trough in front of each row- of cattle, raising the earth be- 
 tween them into a broad rounded ridge. This earth after 
 being thoroughly firmed was plastered with a coat of water 
 lime and has thus far proved very satisfactory. 
 
 Some advantages of the plan are: 1. Effective Venlilation. 
 — When it is known that air once breathed, unless diluted 
 with that which is fresh, cannot support higher animal life; 
 that one-fifth of the weight of materials taken into our bodies 
 daily is oxygen from the air, and that we must breathe 346 
 cubic feet of air to get it; that on the average our live stock 
 consume more air per capita than we do, and that horses 
 have died from suffocation while being shipped in box cars, 
 it should be evident that, coupled with our efforts to secure 
 warm barns, there should also be those to provide ample 
 ventilation. The plan here described possesses a very simple, 
 cheap and effective method. It will be seen from Figs. 2 and 
 3 that the thirty-two spaces between the studs in the walls 
 of the silo, being open at tbe floor of the cattle barn and also 
 at the top. constitute so many ventilating flues, each 34 ft. in 
 length. The heat given to these flues by the silage in the 
 silo, the warming of the air in the basement by the cattle, 
 and the suction produced by the wind blowing through and 
 around the cupola, all combine to maintain a strong current 
 of air out of the barn through the cupola and in through the 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BAfi»S. 107 
 
 gangs of augur holes in the outer walls shown at 2, 2 in Fig. 
 2. It will be seen from the arrows in the cut that provision 
 is made for fresh air to enter the barn from all sides, which , 
 rising between the studding and flowing along the space be- 
 tween the joists, falls between the two rows of cattle, but is 
 first mingled with the warmest air of the barn while the 
 coldest and most impure air. is constantly drawn out from 
 along the floor. A very important feature in this method of 
 ventilation is that pure air comes direct to all animals alike, 
 while the impure 'air is drawn out in a uniform sheet all 
 around the silo. It will be seen that this ventilation ia se- 
 cured without sensibly affecting the cost of the building, 
 while at the same time the walls of the silo are kept dry and 
 thereby protected from decay. 
 
 2. Contivl of lemperatwe.— The temperature of a barn 
 whose plan of ventilation is the one here described is under 
 as good control as is possible where arliticial heat is not em- 
 ployed, because the cold air is introduced at the warmest 
 part of the barn, while it is the coldest and most vitiated air 
 in the barn which is being removed. Then when the barn is 
 too warm the doors to the feed chutes may be opened, thus 
 providing a direct escape of the over-heated air from the 
 ceiling. 
 
 3. Economy of Construction. — The bai n here described was 
 built with lumber averaging about $15 per thousand for a 
 little less than $2,400, including everythiag except board, 
 or at the rate of $22 per head for the animals it will shelter 
 and store feed for; and this, when the driveways for cleaning 
 the barn, the very large barn floor which admits of giving 
 green feed to all of the animals from the wagon, the tool- 
 room and the space which may be converted into three large 
 box-stalls are considered, is relatively very cheap. The di- 
 rections in which the economy occurred are these: By com- 
 bining everything under the single roof, by adopting the 
 cylindrical form, which requires the smallest amount of sid- 
 ing, roofing and paint, and which admits of the cheapest and 
 least lumber for the frame, and by distributing the lumber 
 so as to make it perform two or more functions. 
 
 Another great advantage which the conbolidated barn 
 
108 PBACTICAl HINTS ABOUT BAEX BUILDIITG. 
 
 possesses over several small, scattered structures, and es- 
 pecially where the feeding is done from a central point, as 
 it is in the plan in question, is the large saving of time which 
 it makes possible in feeding and caring for the animals. 
 
 The great economy of the circular plan for farm buildings 
 over other types of structure diminishes as the size of the 
 building decreases, but it is nevertheless well adapted to 
 some of the smaller structures such as horse barns and sheep 
 barns. In any case where an octagonal barn is desired the 
 circular type will always be found cheaper and more stable. 
 
 Where a silo is to stand separate from other buildings 
 there is no other type of structure which can be built so 
 cheaply as the circular one, even if its diameter is not greater 
 than 12 to 16 ft. 
 
 R. S. STEVENS' DAIRY STABLES, SILO AND 
 DAIRY HOUSE. 
 
 Among the most complete, elaborate and conveniently- 
 arranged dairy establishments in the United States is that 
 of Mr. R. S. Stevens, near Attica, N. Y., a bird's-eye view 
 of which is herewith given, together with a description of 
 the method of construction and drawings illustrating the 
 main barn as kindly furnished by Mr. Stevens for this work. 
 
 The main barn, which will readily be recognized in the 
 illustration on page 110, is 40x125 ft., with 20-ft. posts and 
 hip roof, framed and supported as shown in "Section 
 Through Barn," on page 111. The basement walls are of 
 quarried stone and are two feet in thickness and eight feet 
 nigh, plastered on the inside with Portland cement and 
 painted a light color (almost white). A driveway runs the 
 entire length of basement, on each side of whiuh is a row of 
 iron posts supporting the cross sills above. The cows stand 
 on each side of this driveway facing from it, with room 
 enough in front of mangers to run feed-cart. The cattle are 
 fastened with Newton's .patent cow tie and there are no 
 posts in basement except the iron ones above mentioned. 
 Ventilators run from this basement along the sides of the 
 
PLANS OF CATTLE BARiTS. 
 
 109 
 
 main posts of barn above and open under the eaves, giving 
 good ventilation without dralt. The basement is ceiled 
 overhead with matched pine and painted white. All win- 
 dows in basement are three feet square and hung so that 
 they can be tipped at any angle desired. 
 
 The barn proper is divided as shown in the diagram here- 
 with given: Two driveways, 14x40; one bay, 48x40, with 
 9-ft. granary aJong one side; one bay, 24x40, with covered 
 passage from one driveway to the other (and which can be 
 used as granary if desired), and one bay, 25x40. The drive- 
 ways are floored with matched pine (2-in.) and the bays with 
 same material li-in. All bins in granary have spouts lead- 
 ing to the basement. 
 
 The frame is of hemlock (sawed); sills, 10x12; joists, 3x12; 
 beams, 10x10; outside posts, 10x10; inside posts, puriine posts 
 and beams, 8x8; plates, 8x10; braces, 4x4; rafters, 2x6. All 
 barns on the farm are sided with pine boards twelve inches 
 
 BAT. 
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 FI.OOB. 
 lew 
 
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 FLOOB- 
 
 BA.T. 
 
 MID 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ORUITBKX 
 
 
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 wide (dressed) and battens of the same three inches wide 
 with edges beveled, and all painted, a light drab (almost 
 white). The roofs are all of the best pine shingles (sawed). 
 Roofs are all painted with a fire-proof paint (reddish brown 
 in color. 
 
 The other principal barn is 30x100, with 20-ft. posts and 
 hip roof, material same as that above described, but without 
 basement. The stables are above ground and arranged same 
 as in No. 1. All -the barns have tracks for horse-fork car 
 running their entire length, spring water in all buildings 
 with a natural pressure of seventy-five pounds to the square 
 Iroh. 
 
PLAITS OF CATTLE BAEKS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 SECTION THROUGH K. S. STEVENS' BARN. 
 
112 PRAOTICAI, HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDIKG. 
 
 The silo walls are of stone-work, 2 ft. thick and 16 ft. 
 high, surmounted by a wooden building the posts of. which 
 are 6 ft., making the pits 22 ft. deep. They are 10 ft. wide 
 and 40 ft. long inside, opening at the end into the stable. 
 The inside is finished with Portland cement and is water- 
 tight. 
 
 The main barn accommodates sixty-eight head and the 
 second one fifty-eight head, or 126 head in the two barns. 
 In addition to the above there are thirty box-stalls 10x14, 
 arranged so as to open into barnyards which are graded and 
 graveled. 
 
 The addition or '"L," showing in front of the main barn, 
 contains office, shop, store-room, and sleeping-rooms. 
 
 The building is heated by a Triumph boiler (hot water 
 pipes), which also heats water conducted through pipes to 
 troughs in the barnyards in winter. The other buildings 
 shown are barn for machinery and tools, storehouse for 
 lime, salt, plaster, etc., wagon-shed and hen-house. 
 
 The dairy-house is a two-story building 24x48, the lower 
 story being of brick and the upper one of wood. The lower 
 story is finished throughout with Portland cement and 
 painted. The floors are of cement and each one drains to 
 the center. Connected with the dairy-house is a cold-storage 
 and ice-house 24x40. The lower story is divided into four 
 rooms. At one end are the receiving-room 6x12 and the en- 
 gine-room 12x18; next is the main working-room 24x24, con- 
 taining separator, churn, power-worker, vats, etc., and last 
 is the packing-room 12x24. The upper story is divided into 
 shop, storeroom, sleeping rooms, and hall. The whole build- 
 ing is heated by steam. 
 
HORSE BARNS. 
 
 Much of what has been said on the preceding pages of 
 this volume concerning general farm barns and cattle barns 
 will apply with equal force to barns particularly designed 
 for horses; and especially is this true with reference to 
 dryness of location, thoroughness of ventilation, and abun- 
 dance of light. The horse, more than any other of our do- 
 mesticated animals, is in a state of nature a creature of 
 almost restless action. When not sleeping or feeding he is 
 actively galloping and coursing over the grassy plains, 
 drinking in with his eager nostrils the pure air of heaven 
 which expands his lungs and sends his blood coursing 
 through his veins with all the vigor born of health and rest- 
 less energy. How important, then, when this noble animal is 
 enslaved and made the servant of man that the conditions 
 under which his servitude must be endured should conform 
 in the greatest possible degree to those upon which his 
 native health and vigor depend. If he must perforce be de- 
 prived of his freedom to race and romp and play at will in 
 the open air of a genial climate, let bim at least be supplied 
 with an abundance of pure air, reasonable opportunity for 
 exercise, p^-otection from the rigors of a cold climate which 
 is so foreign to his nature, and in the name of humanity let 
 him have plenty of light. A whole volume might be written 
 upon the bad effects ot illy-ventilated and badly-lighted sta- 
 bles for horses. It is no unusual thing among our more expen- 
 sively constructed horse barns to find them so close and dark 
 in winter for the purpose of excluding the cold and in sum- 
 mer to exclude flies that the effluvia arising from the liquid 
 excrement almost takes away the breath of one entering 
 from the open air. Brood mares are confined in these fetid 
 dungeons and the owner wonders and bewails his bad luck 
 when abortion becomes epidemic among thejnl Stallions 
 
 8 
 
114 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDINQ. 
 
 and race horses are confined in these stifling equine prison 
 pens and surprise is expressed at the resultant blindness, 
 pneumonia, and general debility! Why not mEike use of a 
 little common sense in such matters']' If the writer hereof 
 had the whole horse-breeding fraternity of Great Britain 
 and America for an audience he would preach them a ser- 
 mon from the text: "And God said let there be light." 
 Any system of stabling or any style of architecture in stables 
 for horses which ignores the needs of the horse for an abun- 
 dance of light and pure air is faulty; and the owner of horses 
 so housed will most surely suffer a penalty fop his cruelty, 
 carelessness, or ignorance. Light may he admitted in abun- 
 dance by means of glass windows without any sacrifice of 
 Warmth in winter, and files may be cheaply and easily ex- 
 cluded in summer by means of wire screens at doors or win- 
 dows without resorting to stifling darkness. Wire screen 
 doors with eelf-closing springs are so cheaply and easily 
 made and wire netting may be so cheaply obtained and so 
 easily tacked over the windows and other openings that it is a 
 matter of surprise that it is so seldom used where any intel- 
 ligent regard whatever is had for the health, comfort, and 
 thrift of the animals confined. 
 
 •The light should always be admitted from the rear of the 
 horses or from above them rather than in front or at one 
 side; and the means of ventilation should be such that 
 draughts will not strike directly upon the horses. 
 
 No horse-breeder can afford to ignore the fact that 
 an abundance of light, pure fresh air and exercise are 
 absolutely essential to the healthy development of the young 
 horse, and this, leads up to the suggestion that every man 
 who breeds or rears horses should make convenient provision 
 in his stable economy so that every animal may have the run ■ 
 of a good-sized paddock in the open air every day when not 
 being worked or otherwise exercised. Several of the plans 
 which follow in this volume, it will be noticed, pay ample 
 attention to this in the arrangement of stalls, yards, etc., 
 hut whatever plan may be selected this feature should never 
 be lost sight of; 
 
 As to internal construction it may be stated in a general 
 
PLANS OF HORSE BARNS. 115 
 
 way that the liniDgs of all hoz-stalls and partitions of other 
 Btalls Ehould be made as smooth as possible, with no project- 
 ing nail-heads, knots or splinters to- catch and pull out the 
 hairs of the mane or tail, and no projection under or against 
 which the horse may rub off his mane. The top part of the 
 ^ manger should always be of hard, well-seasoned wood, so 
 that the horse will not be tempted to bite it, and if the entire 
 manger and feed-box is so constructed (as may easily be 
 done) that there will be no part of it that the horse can 
 grasp with his teeth the habit of "crib-biting" will never be 
 formed and in its incipiency may be cured. Iron feed-boxes 
 and iron for tops of mangers are often used and liked by 
 many, but others dislike them, especially ia very cold climates. 
 A room in which the harness may be neatly hung up and 
 kept clean and in good order is an indispensable adjunct to a 
 well-ordered stable and smoking should always be strictly 
 prohibited. 
 
 Many valuable suggestions will be found in connection 
 with the plans presented and the most elaborate among them 
 may perhaps be studied with profit by one contemplating the 
 construction of a very cheap building. 
 
 M. W. DUNHAM'S BARNS. 
 
 We present herewith a view and diagram showing the 
 ground plan of a portion of the bams of the well-known 
 Percheron and Coach horse breeder, M. W. Dunham' of 
 Wayne, 111. Our view and plan includes only about one-half 
 of the establishment, but the portion giren shows the general 
 plan and method of construction of the whole. These stables, 
 with their connecting yards, are regarded by many as among 
 the moft complete of their kind that have been built any- 
 where, and they may well serve as models for other breeders 
 to pattern after. There are few who will need so elaborate a 
 series of buildings as this, but one beauty of the plan is that 
 it can be adapted to the wants of anyone, whether he keep 
 ten horses or hve hundred. From the detailed description 
 and the diagrams given any good mechanic can construct a 
 
116 PBACTIOAl HUTTS ABOUT BASS BUILDIKG. 
 
 stable after this plan adapted to the necessities of any given 
 case; and with slight modifications it may be adapted to any 
 variety of live stock. 
 
 Barn No. 1 is 160 ft. long by 52 ft. wide, with an awning 
 adjustable 10 ft. wide, to raise and lower. The foundation is 
 of stone, laid below frost; bottom of wail 16 in., top one foot 
 in thickness. The wall is laid on east, north and west sides, 
 and one vrall of same dimensions is laid 16 ft. from north wall 
 and parallel to it. Cross walls 10 in. thick support the par- 
 titions of the box-stalls. The south outside foundation con- 
 sists of piers 20 ft. apart, 4 ft. square on bottom and 20 in. 
 square on top, with cap of cut stone 20 in. square on bottom 
 and 12 in. square on top to receive the post. Sixteen feet 
 north and parallel to this line of piers in another line built 
 in the same manner. The building is constructed (as will 
 be seen by position of wall) with four rows of posts, the two 
 central rows standing 16 ft. from outside and 20 ft. from each 
 other, both ways, extending to the purline plate and supports 
 the same. The outside posts are 20 ft. long and on north 
 side are 16 ft. apart. All the posts are 8x8 in. and are con- 
 nected by beams 8x10 in. and 10 ft. from the bottom, upon 
 which are laid 2x12-in. joists. The two center lines of beams 
 running lengthwise of building are additionally supported 
 by a cast-iron angle bolted on the post under the end of each 
 beam and running down the post and out on under side of the 
 beam 12 in. The beams are also trussed on the top, making 
 a solid and safe support for the joists, which run crosswise 
 of the building. The roof is one-third pitch and formed with 
 gables and dormers and surmounted by a cupola as shown in 
 elevation. The outside is girted with 6x6 pieces four feet 
 apart and boarded with matched and dressed lumber. The 
 positions of windows can be seen in elevation. In the second 
 story there are four doors on the north side, with transoms, 
 and on south side eight of same kind. In each end, as high 
 as can be made in the gable, is a door twelve feet high and 
 ten feet wide, through which the building is filled with hay. 
 From each door to the center is erected a hay-carrier, as 
 near the ridge as possible. The building is supported by the 
 usual cross-beams and braces. The roof is covered with the 
 
PlyANS OF HORSE BARKS. 117 
 
 very best dry pine shingles, boiled in West Virginia oil. (A 
 vat of sheet-iron ' 20 in. deep, 2i ft. wide and from 2 to 4 ft. 
 long, according to extent of the job. Set the bunches in and 
 have oil enough to come up to the band; let boil five minutes, 
 take out, place on an incline with tight bottom, and drip 
 back to the vat; in half an hour the other end of bunch can 
 be dipped and returned on incline. In .one hour they will be 
 dry.) The cost is less than $1 per M, and when prepared in 
 this way they will, with an occasional coating of oil, last in- 
 definitely, aa the water will not penetrate them in the least. 
 The squares indicated in plans are box-stalls, 16x16 ft. 
 square, with one door, double thick, 4 ft. 6 in. wide and 8 ft. 
 high. Latch, a straight piece of Jxl-in. iron, 1 ft. long, 
 mortised into center edge of door, end protruding 1 in. to 
 catch latch hook. An iron plate, with slot for latch to play 
 in, is screwed on the edge and an inch hole is bored under 
 latch to raise with. There is a window, twelve lights, 12x16, 
 on outside, and one nine-light window, from stall to alley, 
 for each stall, covered with No. 9 wire screening. The out- 
 side window is grated with inch refuse gas pipe, set three 
 inches apart (cost about $30 per ton). Windows hang on 
 weights. The 'north and south sides of the stalls are sealed 
 with 2-in. matched plank 5 ft. high, and from there to top 
 with 1-in. matched stuff. 
 
 The partitions . between the stalls are made by setting 
 2x4-in. studding flatwise, 6 in. apart on sill and extending 5 
 ft. high; both sides are then sealed with common matched 
 and dressed flooring even with top of studding, and an oak 
 cap 2x6 in. spiked on top. The top of this cap has li-in. 
 holes, 4 in. from center to center and 1 in. deep, in which 
 inch gas pipes 3 ft. long are inserted and capped with another 
 oak cap firmly set at both ends. The floors are made of clay 
 and gravel; an alley 6 ft. wide runs the entire length of barn, 
 with manger on opposite side from stalls. 
 
 The hay chute is built in the outside corner, with 2-ft. 
 run and extends 6 ft. above the upper floor, and has a slide 
 door on long side that can be raised, leaving an opening in 
 chute on a level with floor, when desired. The bottom of 
 chute is grated with gas pipe 3 ft. 6 in. long, set on incline 
 
120 PEACmCAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BUILDING. 
 
 from corner to outside of bottom of chute, which is 6 ft. from 
 floor to stall. These pipes are set 6 in. from centers at top 
 and one of them moves in a slot, so as to double the distance 
 when required. 
 
 Under the chute is a manger made of oak, with a side run 
 of 3 ft. 6 in.; its height is 3 ft. 6 in. and sealed in front to 
 bottom of stall. In opposite corner is the grain feed box 
 opening into alley by slide door 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 6 in., hung 
 on weights. Feed box is made same as manger, only smaller. 
 
 The large space with posts in center is divided by mov- 
 able plank partitions 5 ft. high, the end bars of which run 
 as high as the beam and are hung to the same with a hinge. 
 These partitions can all be raised to the ceiling and are held 
 there by four wooden hooks with the lower parts beveled. 
 When the partition (or door) is raised the hook is thrown 
 back until the door enters the notch (or hook), which falls 
 over it and holds it. By this means the whole south portion 
 of the building can be thrown into one great shed or divided 
 into small stalls, and when the awning is down everything is 
 perfectly protected. The yard fences are also made movable 
 by sockets tamped into the ground to receive the posts, which 
 are tapered and can be taken out with perfect ease and the 
 hole plugged. Tlie bins for feed are made in second story 
 and are located directly over the hydrant, at which point a 
 box is located for mixing feed.' 
 
 Barn No. 2 consists entirely of box-stalls, made on same 
 plan as those described above and open into yards to the 
 south. It is 16 ft. high at eaves, with loft for fodder. 
 
 Barn No. 3 is 40x80 ft., 26-ft. posts, with 96-ft. extension 
 10 the south. All boxes are same as described. The single 
 stalls are 5 ft. wide and made on the usual plan, with plank 
 floors, hay being fed in chutes from above. The upper part 
 is' reached by an embankment and bridge. A hay-carrier is 
 also rigged in it, door opening to the north. Large feed- 
 bins are located over north end of the alley, where water is 
 marked in dingram and a mixing box filled from spouts from 
 bins is placed beside the hydrant. 
 
 No. 4 is an open shed facing south, with yard in front. 
 
 No. 5 is 50x100 ft., with stone basement, the walls 26 in. on 
 
PLANS OF HORSE BABNS., 121 
 
 bottom and 16 in. on top. The building rests entirely on the 
 outside wall. The sills are 8x10 in., the posts 20 ft. long and 
 about 14 ft. apart. The girths are 6x6 in. and 4 ft. apart. 
 The roof is a truss roof of the strongest kind. (See elevation 
 for location of windows, cupola, etc.) The boarding is of the 
 best dressed and matched flooring. On north side and center 
 is a cutting-room, 20x24 ft., cutter standing on a level with 
 second floor (see elevation). The basement is divided by 
 three S-ft. alleys, nmning north and south, connected by one 
 4-ft. alley running east and west along the north side. On 
 each side of each alley are four box-stalls about 12x14 ft., 
 with plank partitions 5 ft. high and doors opening fiom one 
 to the other to the outside. Hay comes from third story 
 through chutes opening in the alley and is fed in mangers. 
 The second floor is divided entirely into single stalls, as will 
 be seen on plans, with an alley in front of each row for feed- 
 ing grain and watering. Hay comes from above in chutes, as 
 in other stalls. The floors are 2-in. matched plank, tarred 
 and then covered with paper, two thicknesses. On top of 
 this is laid 3-in. plank, boiled in oil and keyed together 
 every five feet. Between the two floors is an iron gutter, 
 just at the back end of the stalls, with iron outlets running 
 down the basement into the drains. The stalls are 5i 
 ft. in the clear and the partitions are 3-in. plank, doweled 
 together 4i ft. high, and the front rises in an oval shape 
 and is barred. The stall posts are 6x6, oak; 3xl2-in. joists 
 run from stall posts to outside building and 2-in. matched 
 plank is used for floor above, so that the space over the 
 horses' heads is perfectly smooth. The ceiling over the floor 
 back of the horses is 12 ft. high and 20 ft. wide, with a 14-f t. 
 slide door at each end. Over each stall is a finished panel 
 set with pictures of Percheron horses. The stalls and ceil- 
 ing are painted in nicely contrasting colors. The entire 
 water system is suppUed from a 2,000-barrel reservoir or 
 cistern (constructed on a hUl sixty feet higher than the 
 barns and 100 rods away) built of stone laid in cement and 
 completely covered from the frost. The water is forced into 
 this reservoir by wind power, aad is drawn by a 24-in. main 
 
122 
 
 PEACnCAI, HINTS ABOUT BAEN BTTILDUfG. 
 
 to the buildings and distributed through them by li-in. and 
 l-in. pipes laid 5 ft. under ground. 
 
 The wagon house has a self-supporting roof and the entire 
 front is composed of sliding doors. Carriage houses and 
 straw sheds are ordinary frames. All yards are graded and 
 graveled in such manner that they are perfectly free from 
 mud at all times of the year. 
 
 The arrangement of the yards can be seen from the 
 diagram. All the manure, except from barn No. 1, goes to 
 the elevated track indicated and in winter time is dumped 
 into wagons and hauled out. The total length of front shown 
 in the diagram is 600 ft. 
 
 M. W. DUNHAM'S COLT STABLES. 
 
 Mr. Dunham has recently added to his establishment a 
 series of stables, located in his several pastures, as shown 
 in diagram herewith presented, which he regards as of es- 
 
 pecial value with reference to the development of young 
 horses. He describes these stables as follows: 
 
 They are situated in line east and west, about forty rods 
 from building to building. The strip of land used is sixty 
 rods wide. This gives a pasture 20x30 rods for each field 
 and each affording abundant pasture for two animals the 
 year round. Of course in the winter a certain amount of 
 hay is necessary. Each stable contains stall room for 
 eight animals, with the partitions in (see page 124), so 
 
126 PBACnOAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 that four animals are in the fields and four in the stable 
 alternately. In the summer time the doors are left open 
 and are provided with a canvas fastened at the top, 
 fitting the doorway closely. This excludes the light and 
 protects the animals when in the stable from the flies. In 
 the angle of each stall, which combine to form the centre of 
 the stable, is a hydrant to which is attached a float valve 
 which controls the supply of water, except in the intense 
 cold weather in the winter, when the float valve is removed 
 and the tub filled with water from the hydrant as required. 
 
 The grain is also fed from the centre, directly over the 
 water tub. The feed bih is about six feet square and of suf- 
 ficient height to hold about two hundred bushels of oats. 
 The bottom of the .bin tapers to the centre at an angle of 
 about sixty degrees and is closed by a circle of sheet-iron 
 with eight boles of sufficient diameter to hold two quarts of 
 oats, and projects to within two inches of the bottom of the 
 feed trough. Another sheet-iron plate, fastened in the centre, 
 with holes corresponding to the pipes, is placed flat upon its 
 top surface, to which is riveted a lever. The slot in which 
 this lever works is long enough to allow the opening and 
 closing of the holes in the lower plate by the movement of 
 the lever. By this device the movement of the lever per- 
 mits the filling of the pipes with oats and the reversal shuts 
 off the supply, giving each animal two quarts, or any quan- 
 tity the pipes are made to hold — the grain filling the pipes — 
 and is eaten from the bottom. This method of feeding has 
 the advantage of rapidity, uniform quantity, prevents waste 
 and secures slow feeding, consequently better mastication. 
 The fences enclosing the pastures are seven feet high, the 
 upper two feet being made of woven wire. 
 
 The necessity for natural development of young horses in 
 the open air and on green feed in order to secure the highest 
 usefulness when grown has led me for many yeai-s to pasture 
 my young stallions in the summer; and the losses incurred 
 by accident where numbers were kept together prompted the 
 devising of the plan just (described. The pro rata ex|>ense 
 of providing a building for eight animals, including fence 
 for the pastures, is about $liii5 per head. 
 
PLANS OF HORSE BARNS. 127 
 
 I have found that the use of these buildings and pastures 
 is of great advantage. Where the animals are put in in a 
 healthy condition there is almost entire immunity from dis- 
 ease. By this means health and natural growth are secured 
 and accidents and unsoundness are rare. Duriog the past 
 year my man in charge of the stock kept in this way tells me 
 that he has not given a single dose of medicine to the colts 
 that have been so stabled. 
 
 Mr. Dunham's idea is fully illustrated in the engravings 
 herewith submitted. 
 
 W. M. FIELDS & BBO.'S BARN. 
 
 The illustration herewith given is that of one of the barns 
 of Messrs. W. M. Fields & Bro., Cedar Falls, la., which 
 architecturally is regarded as one of the finest structures of 
 the kind in the State. Only the main-floor plan is given. 
 The basement plan should be nearly identical with it if de- 
 voted entirely to box-stalls for horses, or it might be — as the 
 Messrs. Fields have heretofore used it — cut up into stalls for 
 cattle and horses. The hay chutes will in any case bring 
 the hay from the loft, aad at the same time afford excellent 
 ventilation. 
 
 Size of building, 40x100 ft. Walls of stone 2i ft. up to 
 main floor and 2 ft. thick above that. Gable walls 18 in. 
 thick. Interior frame of 8x8 stuff, with posts extending to 
 and supporting the roof. Joists 2x8 and 18 in. apart. Floors 
 of 2-1 n. plank. Floor of loft 8-in. shiplap. The lt)lt extends 
 over all except the intersection of the two hallways. Grain 
 and feed bins in the loft above stairways. Boof about four- 
 tenths pitch. Eaves and gables project 2i ft. Sides of 
 stalls and hallways of matched shiplap. Partitions are solid 
 6 ft. high, with grating of 2x4 scantling above that to joist 
 above. The water is pumped into a tank by windmill; the 
 overflow should run into the basement tank. 
 
 Expense iiems follow: 1,318 small perch stone walls and 
 foundation 3 ft. wide and 5 ft. deep, at $1.75— $2,306.50; 28,000 
 stuff lumber, at $19— $532; 10,000 shiplap, at $27-$270; 55 
 
128 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKN BUILDING. 
 
 hhmB 
 
PLAITS OF HORSE BARNS. 
 
 129 
 
130 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDIlfG. 
 
 M shingles, at $4.50— $247.50; 7,000 sheeting, at $16— 6112; 
 carpenters, 57-J days at $7 — $400; hardware, glass, paint, pip- 
 ing, etc., say $300. Total, $4,168. 
 
 This does not include the expense of fitting up the base- 
 ment, which would vary probably from $350 to $500 addi- 
 tional, according to the plan adopted. The prices for lum- 
 ber are about such as prevail in that section. The exact 
 cost of the barn is not known, but the above figures approxi- 
 mate it. 
 
 E. STETSON & SONS' STALLION BABN. 
 
 The stallion barn built not long since by E. Stetson & 
 Sons of Neponset, 111., is regarded by many as a model of 
 convenience, although there is nothing ■^ry pretentious in 
 its architecture, neither is it an expensive building. Dr. 
 Stetson has favored us with the following details of its con- 
 struction: 
 
 Fig. 1 represents the south elevation of barn and shed 
 connected with same. No. 2, basement with box-stalls, and 
 No. 3, the plan of the yards and distribution of water. Nos. 
 4 and 5 explain themselves. The barn (40x70 ft.) is located 
 on the south, and near the top of a gentle ridge running east 
 and west. It is constructed partly on the side-hill, or base- 
 ment plan, the north wall being only full height of base- 
 ment, and this wall is all above ground except three feet, 
 which gives room for large windows. All other founda- 
 tion walls are on a level and extend but a few inches above 
 the ground floors, which are of earth in the boxes as well as 
 in the driveway of basement. Foundation walls and frame- 
 work of basement correspond with the main framework of 
 the building. The framework, consisting of live 14-f t. bents, 
 gives the space of 28x40 ft. on each side of the driveway on 
 the second floor. This driveway is reached from the north 
 side of. the building. A stone wall 2U ft. long and parallel 
 with the building, 14 ft. distant, gives foundation for a drive- 
 way. Against this earth is graded, forming an easy ap- 
 proach to the second floor. 
 
PLANS OF HOESE BAKNS. 
 
 131 
 
 r 
 
 
 FIG. 1.— ELEVATION OF STALLION BAEN. 
 
 FIG. 2.— GROUND PLAN OF MAIN STALLION BAKN. 
 
f,82 PBACnCAL HINTS ABOUT BABW BXJIlDnjfQ. 
 
 €> 
 
 ^Rucrvoii*. 
 
 j;H»rtr.' 
 
 Q)o^> 
 
 Vai-d 
 
 '^z'lt tV 
 
 Yard 
 
 .58 ftrt." 
 
 sh<a 
 
 YaoL 
 
 Snm bt StiuiMiriiin. 
 
 a3t. fttf. 
 
 FIG. 3.— DIAGRAM OF YARDS, SHOWING WATER SYSTEM. 
 
 FIG. 4.— RESERVOIR. 
 
PLANS OF HOKSB BAKNS. 133 
 
 The watering arraugemeDts in particular have proved 
 highly satisfactory. The reservoir, or cistern, is located on 
 the highest ground obtainable, and this not being as high as 
 desired a portion of the arch is built above the natural level 
 and heavily banked with earth. It is bricked up from the 
 bottom with an eight-inch brick wall laid in cement, and 
 the mortar well flushed against the earth bank and finished 
 with a heavy coating of cement on the inside of brickwork. 
 The pipes should be laid at the same time the cistern is 
 built. The diagram (see Fig. 4) shows the manner of con- 
 structing the arch. A post is firmly set in the center of the 
 cistern to a height at which the arch is designed to com- 
 mence. A hinged rod is attached to the top of this post, 
 which is swung round by the workman as his work proceeds 
 and enables him to form a perfect arch. 
 
 Inch-and-a-quarter gas pipe is laid from cistern to hydrant 
 in barn basement, and also to yards and pastures as desired. 
 
 The diagram representing stock-waterer (included in dia- 
 gram Fig. 3) shows two barrels set side by side, connected by 
 a short piece of gas pipe, D. The water enters the barrel. A, 
 from the bottom, £, to a height controlled by a float con- 
 nected by a copper wire to a hinged valve. This allows the 
 water to stand in the barrel to just such a height as desired 
 and no higher. As the barrels, A and B, are filled to the 
 same height any water taken from the drinking-tub, C, is 
 quickly replaced. We use for a drinking-tub one-half of a 
 beer barrel set in the end of a kerosene barrel, which is the 
 best use to which an empty beer cask can be put. 
 
 MILLER & SIBLEY'S BARNS. 
 
 Messrs. Miller & Sibley of Franklin, Pa., have originated 
 a system of barns, stables, and exercising track which has 
 frequently been spoken of in such high commendation by 
 breeders and trainers of trotting horses that we illustrate 
 the same herewith for the benefit of such of our readers as 
 may wish to adopt some of the features which have been so 
 successfully used in this establishment: 
 
!||i!!.!i 
 
136 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 The ground plan of the main horse barn is in the form of 
 an ellipse flattened at the poles and the whole building is 
 under one roof. The exterior circumference is 900 ft., the 
 extreme length 374 ft., and the extreme width 168 ft. The 
 extreme height of the building is 56 
 ft. A space 10 ft. in depth, extend- 
 ing clear around the building, is par- 
 titioned into forty-eight box-stalls, 
 10x14 ft., whic.h are warmed by steam 
 pipes passing through them. The 
 space over them extending to the roof 
 is used for storing hay and'straw. At 
 either end of the barn are copUng 
 rooms. Immediately inside the box- 
 stalls is a tanbark track for training 
 purposes and for exercising brood 
 mares. It is 14 ft. wide and one- 
 seventh of a mile in circumference, 
 and being entirely inclosed horses 
 can be given steady work in an even 
 temperature regardless of weather. 
 Inside of this track is. a circuit of 
 sixty-eight smaller box-stalls, 10x7 
 ft., leaving a .wide passageway at 
 either end. Inside of this is a cov- 
 ered court 296 ft. long and 90 It. wide, 
 in the center of which is a colt-track 
 one-thirteenth Of a mile long. The 
 building is ventilated by means of 
 skylight windows controlled from 
 the ground and is lighted by electric 
 lamps. 
 
 The stallion barn is 56 ft. square, is 
 built of brick, with slate roof, and is 
 practically fire-proof. There are six box-stalls in this barn 
 11 ft. 6 in.xl4 ft. 6 in., and between the stalls and the out- 
 side wall is an aisle 8 ft. wide extending clear around the 
 barn. Flues from near the bottom of each stall- lead to 
 the furnace in the outside wall and the building is thus 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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PLANS OF HOESE BARNS. 137 
 
 thoroughly ventilated. The circular brood-mare barn is 80 ft. 
 in diameter and contains fifteen stalls 15 ft. long and 14 ft. 
 wide at one end and 9 ft. at the other. The space above 
 these stalls is used for storing hay and straw. 
 
 H. C. JEWETT & CO.'S BABN. 
 
 At the Jewett Stock Farm, the property of Henry C. 
 Jewett & Co., Jewettville, Erie Co., N. Y., may be seen a 
 series of baros especially designed for the accommodation of 
 a breeding stud of trotting horses, which is regarded by 
 many as the most complete thing of the kind in the country. 
 The engravings herewith given show the plan and mode of 
 construction of the principal barn, which is 432 ft. long with 
 projecting wings 48x48 ft. on each side. The material em- 
 ployed in its construction was as follows: 
 
 Bill of lumber, barn 432 ft. long and 48 ft. wide with wings 
 48x48 each side; 2,450 lin. ft. 8x8 sills; 2,450 lin. ft 6x8 plates; 
 84 posts, 8x8, aO ft. long; 88 posts, 8x8, 34 ft. long; 44 beams, 
 8x8, 22 ft. long; 44 beams, 6x6, 22 ft. long; 84 beams, 6x8, 12 
 ft. long; 640 girts, 4x4, 12 ft. long; 16 giits, 4x6, 22 ft. long; 
 206 girts, 4x5, 14 ft. long; 1,560 joists, 2x8, 12 ft. long; 125 
 brace pieces, 4x4, 14 ft. long; 15,000 ft. (surface measure) 
 matched pine, I in. thick, hay-loft floors, etc.; 28,000 ft. (sur- 
 face measure) matched pine, i in. thick, ceiling the inside of 
 the outer walls of box-stalls, etc.; 22,000 ft. (surface measure) 
 10 ft. long, Norway pine, 2 in. thick, box-stall partitions; 
 30,000 ft. ] in. hemlock roof boards; 225 M 16 in. clear pine 
 shingles XXX; 25,000 ft. barn boards |xl2, D. I. S.; 25,000 lin. 
 ft. 1x3 cove battens; 2,200 lin. ft. cornice, 1x15, 1x12, 1x5, 4i 
 crown molding; 5,000 ft. (surface measure) Norway, ceiling 
 up and in tower; 4 posts, 8x8, 8 ft. long; 6 beams. 8x8, 22 ft. 
 long; 18 joists, 2x8, 22 ft. long; 56 studs, 2x4, 14 ft. long, 4 
 posts, 4x4, 14 ft. long; 28 rafters, 2x5, 12 ft.; 750 ft. li-in. 
 pine flooring; 88 lin. ft. cornice, 1x6, 1x8, 4i crown; 88 lin. ft. 
 balustrade; 12 posts for balustrade, 6x6 in.x3 ft. 6 in., turned 
 top; 10 window frames and glass sash, 12x32, 4-light, 5i jam; 2 
 O. S. sash, doors and frames, 2 ft. 10 iu.xSft., 4-light, 5i jam; 
 

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140 PKACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDIXG. 
 
 T 
 
 SECTION THROUGH LINE AT A. B. 
 
PLANS OF HOESE BABNS. 
 
 141 
 
 SECTION OF FRAME. 
 
142 PKACnCAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDIKG. 
 
 400 ft. 1x12 bam boards; 400 ft. cove battens; 4 ornamental 
 gables; 1 large finial; 125 lin. ft. Iixl2 stair stringers; 56 
 rises, ix7i in., 2 ft. 10 in. long; 55 steps, 11x10 in., 2 ft. 10 in. 
 long; 90 lin. ft. hand-rail, 2x3i pine; 80 box-stall window 
 frames and glass sash, 8x14, 18 lights; 4 mull window frames 
 and glass sash, 8x14, 24 lights; 4 mull window frames and 
 glass sash, 8x14, 16 lights; 88 mull window frames and glass 
 sash, 8x14, 18 lights; 14 single window frames and glass sash, 
 8x14, 12 lights; 2 pair barn doors on rollers, 12x12 ft.; 2 pair 
 barn doors on rollers, 10x10 ft.; 64 box-stall doors, 8 ft. 6 iD.x8 
 ft.; 64 box-stall ventilator window frames, 3 ft. 6 in.xS ft. 
 
 J. P. GOODSON'S BABN. 
 
 This very convenient, cheap and handsome horse barn 
 recently erected by Mr. J. F. Goodson of Carrollton, Mo., is 
 described by him as follows: 
 
 I herewith send you a sketch of a horse barn that I have 
 built, and would especially direct attention to the fact that 
 the posts stand upon stone pillars without sills, and also to 
 the long timbers without mortises or tenons. If the braces 
 are put in properly the building stands perfectly firm and un- 
 shaken, and costs much less than the usual plan of framing. 
 
 No mortise nor tenons; gain into post and spike strong. 
 Get lumber long enough to reach past one post and to the 
 next. Where it is possible spike pieces, say four feet long, 
 over the splice. Ground floor dirt; second floor matehed 
 inch boards; third floor for hay to be rough boards. No sills; 
 posts set on heavy stone; ground raised, say one foot, or near 
 the top of stone pillars. Posts 8x8x20 ft.; stringers 2x6x20 
 ft. (break joints on every post); rafters 2x4; purltne posts 6x6; 
 two 2x6 pieces spiked together, braced from bearing to 
 center between posts. Size of stalls between x>osts, 10x14; 
 total size of barn, 48x64. 
 
 This barn cost $900. It holds sixty tons of hay. In corner 
 over back stall on left side is a corn-crib 10x14x12. Adjacent 
 to upper hallway or feed-room, and in the space where no 
 feed-holes are necessary, are the bran and oat bins, with 
 
PLANS OF HOESE BABNS. 
 
 145 
 
 chutes to be used below when necessary, and side holes to use 
 in feed-room. Feed -grinder, corn-sheller, and feed-cutter 
 are all run by shafting on this floor. On both sides are box- 
 stalls 10x14 ft. with movable swinging bar in each to sepa- 
 rate two horses when necessary. The hay-rack is open at the 
 top, closed tight in front, and slatted on sides over trough, 
 and on back over trough in hallway. Thus four horses eat 
 hay out of one manger on right and two out of one on left. 
 
 J. F. goodson's barn— frame work. 
 
 The bottom of the manger is level with the top of trough 
 and slightly open to let seed through into seed-box below. 
 
 Everything is fed from above through openings left in the 
 floor the entire length of barn. The openings to feed-trough 
 are hooded over three feet high. The hay is thrown over 
 hooding into feed-room. Any hay bin can be left empty for 
 cut feed. Thirty-six horses can be fed here without going 
 down. I have used this barn for three years and like it very 
 much. It is cheap, strong and convenient. 
 
 J. P. BUNDLE'S BARN. 
 
 Mr. J. P. Rundle of Birmingham, Mich., has a very com- 
 plete little horse barn which although not so large as many 
 of the same cost yet is exceedingly tasty, well arranged, and 
 
 10 
 

148 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 substantially constructed. It is built of brick, 32x45, with 
 mansard, slate, and tin roof, and wide, projecting cornice 
 and frieze. He states the cost to have been about $1,200, 
 estimated as follows: 45 perch stone foundation, at $2— $90; 
 42,000 brick, at $7.50— $315; 1 ,694 ft. slate roof, at 7c.— $118.68; 
 20 windows, at $5— $100; 9,000 ft. stuff lumber, at $13— $117; 
 3,000 ft. sheeting for roof, at $12— $36; 12 squares tin roof, at 
 $8.50— $100; 1,400 ft. matched flooring, at $20— $28; 3,000 fl. 
 lumber for stalls, etc., at $16— $48; doors, $30; paint, $30; 
 carpenters, seventeen days ;it $7 — $119; hardware, etc., $68.42. 
 Total, $1,200. 
 
 NEBRASKA HOBSE-IMPORTING COMPANY'S BARN. 
 
 The horse barn built by the Importing Draft-Horse Com- 
 pany of Lincoln, Neb., is probably one of the finest and most 
 substantially-built stallion barns in the country. 
 
 It will be seen from the accompanying diagram of ground 
 plan that the interior arrangement in the main consists of a 
 wide driveway (24x152) with a row of boxes on either side. 
 This splendid driveway affords a place for exercise every day 
 in the year, being of such dimensions that the horses may be 
 taken on a gallop if desired from one end to the other — and 
 all horsemen understand the value of such a place when the 
 inclemency of the weather prevents out-door exercise. 
 
 Another special feature is the construction of the boxes. 
 The partitions between the. boxes and abutting on the hall 
 consist of a solid 4-in. wall of pine, made of 2x4 pieces laid 
 like brick, one on top another, with a cap-piece of oak 5 ft. 
 up. Above this for 3i ft. more there is a grating of gas-pipe 
 i in. in size, outside measure, and 4 in. apart. To provide 
 means of speedy egress in case of fire there is an outside door 
 to every stall. 
 
 The foundation consists of a solid 18-in. wall 18 in. deep; 
 piers and interior posts are 18x18 in. and 3 ft. deep. The 
 frame is a mortise and tenon; 8x8 stuff for posts, sills, and 
 cross-beams; posts 22 ft. high. The first floor is dirt, and 
 the second floor over boxes is matched flooring, and over hall 
 common boards. Joists 2x10; 16 in. apart over stalls, 12 in. 
 
PLANS OF H0K8E BARNS. 151 
 
 apart over hall. Sides 5i-in. patent siding. Rafters 2x8, 2 
 ft. apart, with 2x8 ridge-pole. Shingle roof, with eaves pro- 
 jecting 24 in. Stall windows have nine lights, and slide to 
 
 one side. The hall and office 
 
 m- , , ^.^ .. ...™ ..«. 
 
 G: 
 
 10x18, and second floor win- 
 dows have twelve lights 10x14. 
 The inside doors are of three 
 ^KIS '/ I ^^ H thicknesses of l-in. matched 
 flooring. There is a cellar nine 
 feet deep under feed-room for 
 
 ■>von / I carrots. The sides and ceiling 
 
 of offlce-room are matched ceil- 
 sEooND I'LooB FLiN OF oFFioE i^g of pine, and in the second- 
 '^i^o- • floor room lath and plaster. 
 
 The large ventilator is 10x10 ft., and handsomely propor- 
 tioned. 
 
 The cost of this barn was probably between $8,000 and 
 $9,000, the proprietors apparently having spared no expense 
 in making it a singularly substantial, roomy, and well-venti- 
 lated stable. 
 
 M. RICH'S BARN. 
 
 The horse barn, plans and specifications of which are 
 herewith given, was built by M. Rich of Flanagan, 111., who 
 says that he would not change it in any particular were he 
 to rebuild it, and that it has been duplicated by his neigh- 
 bors. The estimated cost is $575, although Mr. Rich thinks 
 it cost somewhat more. 
 
 The foundation is of blocks of stone about four feet apart 
 laid on top of the ground, except about the box-stalls, where 
 it is solid wall. Frame consists of 6x8-in. by 18-ft. posts with 
 8x8-in. sills and 6x8-in. plates and girts and two middle posts 
 of 8x8-in. stuff, all braced and stayed. Joists are 2x8 in. and 
 one foot apart. Floors are 2-in. plank. Floor of loft and 
 floor and sides of grain-bins are of matched pine and the floor 
 of boxes is dirt. Rafters are 2x6 in. and 2J ft. apart. Roof 
 one-third pitch. Sides of barn are boards planed and bat- 
 
M. rich's BABN — SIDE ELEVATION. 
 
 \ / \ / 
 
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 9x 1$. 
 
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 /2 X le 
 
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 1)20-1; TlMir 
 
 
 
 5'y<j'c 5''»-'l 
 
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 M. rich's barn— ground floor. 
 
 
PLANS OF HOUSE BAENS. 153 
 
 tened. The body of barn is painted red with, white trim- 
 mings. 
 
 The expense items were as follows: Barn boards, 5,200 ft. 
 at $19—698.80; stuff lumber, 11,000 ft. at $16— $176; matched 
 lumber, 1,800. ft. at $20— $36; sheeting-, 2,100 ft. at $14— $29.40; 
 shingles, 15,000 at $3.50— $52.50; piping, $12.50; carpenters, 
 hardware, glass, and paint, $120; one car-load of stone from 
 Joliet, $27; 3,200 ft. battening, at $5— $16; incidentals, $16.80. 
 Total, $575. 
 
SHEEP BARNS, FEEDING RACKS, ETC. 
 
 WISCONSIN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STA- 
 TION'S SHEEP BARN. 
 
 The plan of sheep barn in use for experimental work at the 
 Wisconsin State Agricultural College is believed to embrace 
 many features worthy of being generally adopted by practi- 
 cal sheep-breeders and several points that are vitally essen- 
 tial to successful sheep husbandry are brought out. The 
 plan, which is mainly the work of Leslie H. Adams and 
 herewith illustrated, is described by him as follows: 
 
 The erection of a building for the accommodation of sheep 
 at the station farm was commenced in the fall of 1889; im- 
 portant additions having been made during the fall of 1891. 
 It is believed that a description of the building now, embody- 
 ing as it does improvements suggested by two-years' expe- 
 rience with the part first erected, will not be without inter- 
 est to many. 
 
 The building (see Fig. 1) consists of a main part 24x30 ft. 
 two stories high, under the whole of which is a root cellar 
 and two wings reaching out at right angles from it. The 
 east wing is 125 ft. long, 18 ft. wide, and one story high. 
 Only a part of this is shown in the cuts. 
 
 The south wing, to which we will now confine our descrip- 
 tion, is' 100 ft. long, 18 ft. wide, and two stories high. An 
 alley or passageway four feet wide is partitioned off along 
 the entire west side of the building by means of a low fence- 
 like partition (see Fig. 2). This leaves a space 14 ft. wide 
 and a little over 83 ft. in length, exclusive of a lambing-room 
 which will be described further on, that may be occupied by 
 the flock as one large room, or it may be divided into any 
 desired number of pens up to ten by means of a light but 
 strongly-fashioned panel that rests in grooves made for it at 
 
SHEEP BAENS, FEEDING EAOKS, ETC. 
 
 155 
 
156 PEACTICAl HINTS ABOUT BAKU BUILDIirG. 
 
 each end (see Fig. 3). These panels are easily managed and 
 when placed in position are entirely secure without fasten- 
 ings of any kind. 
 
 -*na£:6«^_ 
 
 ov 
 
 
 B 
 
 'A. 
 
 '' V 
 
 'Y 
 
 'V 
 
 VN-'N^Nt^ 
 
 
 Flu. Z. 
 
 Since it has been explained how all the space in the shed 
 may be used as one room, we will from now on consider the 
 building as it is when divided into ten parts. Each pen is 8 
 ft. 4 in. wide and is entered from the passageway through a 
 
 FIG. 3. 
 sliding gate (see Fig. 3) that is suspended from a 2x4 scant- 
 ling which is fastened in a horizontal position to the upright 
 pieces of the passageway partition. 
 
 Each pen is provided with a low flat-bottomed trough for 
 
SHEEP BARNS, FEEDING RACKS, ETC. 157 
 
 FIG. 4. 
 
 FIG. 5. 
 
 FIG. 6. 
 
158 PEACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 the feeding of grain, and also a large hay or fodder rack (see 
 Figs. 4 and 5). This hay rack is made with a tight front 
 which prevents chaff and dust from falling into the eyes and 
 fleece of the sheep while feeding, and is also adjustable so 
 that not only the angle of the front but the width of the 
 opening at the bottom where the sheep throw the feed out 
 may be changed to meet the necessities of the feed that is 
 being used. The feeder dr trough that is below the opening 
 where the feed is drawn out serves an admirable purpose in 
 catching all the finer parts of the hay or fodder that would 
 otherwise be trampled under foot and wasted . This hay rack, 
 as illustrated In Fig. 6, is made to suit the conditions nec- 
 essary for our experimental feeding, but it can be easily 
 changed so as to meet the requirements of ordinary feeding 
 by making it so that sheep can feed from both sides and long 
 enough to reach across the shed. It may serve the double 
 purpose of feed-rack and partition. 
 
 We now come to a point in the description of the build- 
 ing upon which I wish to place a good deal of emphasis, viz., 
 the arrangement of outside doors and windows. Experience 
 has taught that adequate ventilation must be provided in all 
 sheep buildings if trouble in their management would be 
 avoided, and it appears that the building that is best adapted 
 to the successful care of a flock is the one that may be the 
 most readily and completely changed from an open to a closed 
 shed according as the weather makes one or the other of the 
 conditions essential. In recognition of these necessities re- 
 ferred to each pen has double doors that when opened out 
 into the yard make an opening that only lacks thirty-eight 
 inches of being as wide as the pen. The manner in which 
 these doors are ox>erated and fastened may be seen in Fig. 3. 
 One door is bolted securely at the top and bottom by bolts 
 operated by a lever as shown in the figure, and the other one 
 fastened to it by means of an ordinary thumb-latch so that 
 one or both doors may be opened at will. A slight upward 
 movement of the lever allows both doors to swing open and 
 when pushed shut a similar downward movement locks them 
 safely. 
 
 Over these double doors are windows that are the same 
 
SHEEP BARNS, FEEDINQ BACKS, ETC. 159 
 
 width as the doors and two feet high. These windows are 
 hinged at the top and are opened and closed from the pas- 
 sageway hy means of a rope that runs over two small pulleys. 
 The windows are provided with a fastening device (BM.g. 6) 
 that works automatically. A pull on the rope from the pas- 
 sageway unlocks the window and raises it at the same time. 
 When the rope is released the window closes and locks itself. 
 Since the windows are operated from the hallway time is 
 saved and annoyance and confusion to the sheep prevented. 
 
 From what has heen said it is easy to see how residily the 
 barn may be converted into an open shed. If the weather is 
 stormy but not cold the flock can be kept in the barn with 
 the closed doors and the large windows left wide open, which 
 will insure the admission of an abundance of fresh air with- 
 out the bad results following the exposure to a draught 
 directly upon their bodies. Should it become necessary to 
 close the barn tight we still have ventilation by means of 
 shafts that are constantly carrying off air from near the floor 
 of each pen. These shafts (see Fig. 3) are simple wooden 
 boxes that start a foot from the floor and extend up through 
 the roof as high as the peak. They are made by nailing two 
 eight and two ten-inch boards together. Near the bottom on 
 one side of the shaft is an opening for the admission of air, 
 the flow of which can be regulated by a door that is hinged 
 at the bottom and pushed into the shaft. 
 
 A lambing-room occupies the space of two pens in the par- 
 tition adjoining the main barn. It is 14x16} ft. This room 
 is inclosed by tight walls on all four sides, with an outside 
 door and a door leading to the shepherd's room. The wall 
 next the alleyway and that next the first pen are provided 
 with wide hanging doors hinged above extending horizon- 
 tally which reach from about two feet below the ceiling to a 
 point four feet above the floor. In cold weather they are 
 fastened down, at other times they are swimg to the ceiling, 
 leaving the pen light and airy. By means of movable parti- 
 tions this will accommodate six or eight ewes at lambing 
 time. 
 
 The second story of this barn is arranged for sheep also. 
 The floor is constructed of one-inch matched material with 
 
160 PEACnCAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 a coatiTig of gas tar mopped on while hot. There are "no per- 
 manent partUions of any kind up-stairs. The space is divided 
 by means of light fence panels to suit the ever-changing con- 
 ditions and requirements of our experimental work. The 
 sheep in going to and from the second story pass up and 
 down through a chute at the end of the barn (Figs. 1 and 2). 
 
 Before passing to a description of the main part I will add 
 that the east or one-story wing has a 4-ft. passageway along 
 the north side which leaves a room 14 ft. wide by 125 ft. in 
 length. This may be occupied as one room or divided into 
 any number of pens up to fifteen, which is the maximum. 
 The gates and panels are similar to those described in the 
 south wing. 
 
 A reference to Fig. 2 will show that the main barn is ar- 
 ranged to be convenient for both wings. The scales are 
 located in the corner where the passageways from the wings 
 meet. By this plan the sheep may be let out from any pen in 
 either wing and driven along the passageway to the scales. 
 The shepherd's room is in the southwest corner and by means 
 of small windows in the partition a view of the whole interior 
 of both wings may be had. A door from this room opens di- 
 rectly into the lambing-room and if necessary the lambing- 
 room can be warmed from the shepherd's room. 
 
 The dotted lines beside the shearing and inspection floor 
 in Fig. 2 represent a railing three feet high that forms the 
 passageway partition, and the space between this railing and 
 the shepherd's room is used both as a shearing floor and an 
 inspection room for the use of students while studying or 
 judging animals. Feeding bins and stairways leading to the 
 second story of the south wing and to the root cellar below 
 occupy the balance of the space on this floor as shown in 
 Pig. 2. 
 
 C. HILL8 & SON'S BARN. 
 
 Mr. C. Hills of Delaware, O., who has a well-established 
 reputation for rare good judgment in all his farming opera- 
 tions, has furnished us with the accompanying plan of base- 
 ment sheep barn, which has for several years past been in 
 
SHEEP BARNS,' FEEDING BACKS, ETC. 161 
 
 HILLS & SONS BARN— UASEMENT. 
 
 I ■^-!'iSr'.°-'- 
 
 ■3c*-y. 
 
 Tji 
 
 \ 
 
 
 J:lf« 
 
 
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 JJ...^ 
 
 
 HILLS & son's BAKN— second FLOOR. 
 
162 
 
 PEACTICAL HISTS ABOUT BARIT BnU^DING. 
 
 use on his farm and has g^ven good satisfaction. The illus- 
 trations fully ezplainthe plan and t he building specifications 
 are as follows: 
 
 Walls to be of stone up to joists of main floor eighteen . 
 inches thick and of suitable depth and thickness below the 
 ground. Frame to be of 8x8 stuff (except plate beams, which 
 may be 7x7], put together with mortise and tenon and stayed 
 with braces; girders between sill and plate beams. Besides 
 the four corner posts there shall be one post at the center of 
 each end and two on each side (as Shown in plan) with cross 
 
 HILLS & son's BARN— side ELEVATION. 
 
 beams connecting the latter. Baiters to be of 2x6 stuff, two 
 feet apart, projecting two feet at eaves and gables. Joists of 
 main floor to he of timbers hewn on two sides to six-inch 
 thickness and three feet aparte Joists of loft to be of 2x6 
 stuff eighteen inches apart. Sides to be of 12-in. barn 
 boards planed on one side. Flooring of barn floor and lamb 
 pen to be of two thicknesses of one-inch oak, lapped and 
 matched. Floor of bay to be of tnatched flooring. Floor, 
 sides and ceiling of wool-room to be of matched lumber. 
 Floor of loft to he of matched flooring. Backs to be one foot 
 ^rom floor, twp feet higph and spaces for sheep to feed in six 
 
SHEEP BAENS, FEEDING BACKS, ETC. 163 
 
 inches wide and six inches apart. Roof to be one-third pitch . 
 Basement elevation 6 ft. 6 in., floor to joists. 
 
 Bill of expense: 94 perches of stone, at $1.50— $1.41; ex- 
 cavating 111 cubic feet., at twenty-Qve cents— $27.75; 800 ft. 
 rafters, 532 ft. loft floor, 3,072 ft. beams, 267 ft. beams, 128 ft. 
 braces, 350 ft. girders, 956 ft. hard-wood floors, 1,162 ft. 
 matched lumber, 2,643 ft. barn boards, 360 ft. racks— 10,270 ft. 
 at $16— $164.32; 13,875 shingles at $4— $55.50; carpenters, lOi 
 days at $7— $71.75; 1,440 ft. sheeting, etc., $33; 13i M shingles 
 at $1.50— $20.63; nails, glass, hinges, etc., say $86.05; total, 
 $600. 
 
 These prices for material and labor are those at the time 
 ruling in Central Ohio; and by altering the same to conform 
 with figures obtaining in other given sections of the country 
 an exact estimate of the cost of reproduuing the building 
 can be had. 
 
 E. M. BEES' BARN. 
 
 Mr. E. M. Rees of Franklin, 111., a flockmaster of much 
 experience, describes the sheep barn which has been in use 
 upon his farm for some years past so clearly that no illustra- 
 tion is needed to make it perfectly plain to any one of aver- 
 age intelligence. His barn is especially designed for Cots^ 
 wold sheep, which require about one-thir'd more space than 
 the smaller breeds. The barn is described by him as follows: 
 
 Our barn is 32x30. In the centre there is an alley, four 
 feet wide, the length of the building; on either side of the 
 alley there are small pens, say 4x5 ft., with doors to each 
 that will reach across the alley, making a stoppage at each 
 pen. The pens are each provided with a rack for hay and 
 box to feed, also a movable box for watering, hung at any 
 desired height by two small hooks that slip over the edge of 
 the partition planks, which need not be nearer than three 
 inches, so the lambs will not mix. We place the ewes in the 
 pens before they drop their lambs, and keep them there 
 until they get old enough to take care of themselves or 
 until we want to use the pens for another set of ewes. We 
 then put them in one of the divisions, which is 8x32, keep- 
 
164 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BASS BUILDING. 
 
 ing them in nights and etormy weather, gfiving them the 
 run of a warm, sunny lot in the day time. On either side of 
 the lambing pens there are two separate apartments, 8x32, 
 with racks and troughs in the centre of each. The hay 
 comes down from above, falling directly into the racks. 
 The racks are made with three-inch slats, three-inch space, 
 four feet high, and stand perpendicular in front of the sheep, 
 which keeps the hay seed from getting into the wool. There 
 is a trough six inches sq^uare at the bottom of each rack 
 to feed grain. Each division will accommodate about twenty 
 ewes; but they are somewhat crowded. They require about 
 2xS ft. space, which will give the shepherd room to pass be- 
 hind them while they are eating to examine their udders, 
 thus enabling him to draw out any that should go into the 
 lambing pens. 
 
 The outside of the building is 44 ft. wide by 32 long, and 
 inclosed with dressed boards battened and painted. Each 
 division has a door in each end to close up in cold or stormy 
 weather, with a gate to confine the sheep in good weather. 
 There is a passageway from one division to another, enabling 
 us to feed or change the sheep from one department to any 
 other without going out of doors. There are five slide win- 
 dows in each end and four in each side. There are no parti- 
 tions more than four feet high, which leaves the space all 
 open above to the loft. There are four feet taken off one 
 end of the lambing pens for a feed bin. This holds 400 
 bushels of shelled corn or oats, which generally feeds the 
 ewes during lambing time. The lambs are fed separately as 
 soon as they get old enough to nibble, and are weaned about 
 the 1st of August. 
 
 WILL R. KING'S SHEEP YARDS. 
 
 Mr. Will R. King of Marshall, Saline Co., Mp., has an ex- 
 tensive sheep farm, the divisions of which into yards and the 
 arrangement of the stables upon the same are well shown in 
 the accompanying diagram. It is arranged to accommodate 
 about 350 head of sheep of the long-wooled breeds. 
 
8KEEP BAItNS, FEEDING RACKS, ETC. 
 
 165 
 
166 PRACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BTJILDHTG. 
 
 The buildings are neatly and substantially built oC the 
 best material and well painted. In building No. 1 there are 
 twenty-four breeding pens 4x7, 4 ft. hall between the two 
 rows, the gates of pens reaching across the hall. At each 
 end of the building there is a room to receive the ewes as 
 they enter and leave the pens. Building No. 2 is in two 
 rooms, one open to the south and the other half closed by doors 
 sliding up and down. A stationary rack and trough extends 
 full length on north sidfe and movable racks with troughs are 
 placed through the center. Buildings 3 and 4 are bay and 
 straw barns. Building No. 5 is a ram bafn with six stalls. 
 No. 6 is a rat-proof granary. No. 7 cistern. A number of 
 dog-proof lots surround the barns. 
 
 DEVICE FOR DIPPING SHEEP FOR SCAB. 
 
 Mr. Arthur O- Fox of Oregon, Wis., who has had large 
 experience as a practical flock-master, describes the device 
 in use on his farm for dipping sheep to cure or prevent scab 
 and other skin diseases as follows: 
 
 Pig. 1 is the dipping-tank, made of 2-in. plank. 
 
 Fig. 2 is a cross-section of same. 
 
 Fig. 3 is the dripping-floor, made of matched flooring. 
 
 In Fig. 1 it will be seen that the tank is to sink into the 
 ground about 12 to 18 in. or it may be set on top of the 
 ground and an elevated platform built about it to make it 
 the right height for men to stoop over the edge of the tank 
 conveniently and to admit of driving the sheep from the 
 crowding-yard or pen at H into the approach of tank at A. 
 The crowding-pen and approach A should be on the same 
 level. B represents the tank proper, which should be filled 
 up nearly to a level with the approach A. C represents the 
 exit from tank onto the dripping-floor D, which should be 
 set at an incline to the tank so as to drain back readily into 
 the tank. 
 
 The dripping-floor D (Fig. 3) is divided by a partition 
 with a swinging gate at the end next the tank, so hung as to 
 swing to either corner of the tank. By the use of this little 
 
H 
 
 rig. I 
 
 
 12' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 e 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 Pig. Ill 
 
 
 
 ''f^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 ,E.3^'-' 
 
 c 
 
 B 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 ^v^^-^ 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 Tf 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 D 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
168 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARBT BUILDnirG. 
 
 gate one side of the dripping-floor is filled with twenty sheep 
 or more which stand and drip while the opposite side is 
 being filled. The first pen filled is then turned out into the 
 sheep-yard L and refilled with fresh sheep from the tank 
 while those in the opposite side are dripping, and so on. 
 
 F and G are the exit gates by which the sheep are put 
 into the sheep-yard I. £' represents a gate opening into the 
 crowding-pen H from another sheep-yard which holds the 
 undipped sheep awaiting their turn. 
 
 This crowding-pen should not be over 12 to 16 ft. square 
 for ordinary flocks of several hundred. 
 
 SHEEP CORRAL AND SHEARING P!ENS. 
 
 The arrangement herewith described and illustrated has 
 been found well adapted to the needs of sheep "ranchers" on 
 our great Western plains and mountain ranges, and a gen- 
 tleman of large experience furnishes the following descrip- 
 tion of its use as well as of the method of shearing and tak- 
 ing care of the wool generally practiced: 
 
 The panels used in building corrals are made of pine lum- 
 ber twelve feet long and six inches wide. Five planks are 
 used to the panel with three cross-pieces, one at each end 
 and one in the centre, the panels when completed standing 
 four feet high. To set them up, stakes are driven into the 
 ground and the panels tied to the stakes with a small rope. 
 The "shepherd's knot" is the best knot for this purpose. 
 
 Referring to the diagram the chute E Fia eighteen inches 
 wide, and is about thirty feet in length. At the end is the 
 "dodge gate," which is hinged to the post at a and swings 
 against a post at b or c. The post to which the gate is 
 hinged (a) should be in the line of the fence and not in the 
 centra of the chute. The majority of the sheep run through 
 ' the straight chute. The dodge gate is made to swing easily 
 and is about five feet wide. The gate-keeper stands in cor- 
 ral A, and if the sheep are unused to a chute he is concealed 
 by a wool sack hung on the panel of the chute. He cuts out 
 unshorn sheep until the corral A holds, a su£Bcient number 
 to last the shearers until 11 o'clock. 
 
SHEEP BABSrS, FEEDIITG KACKS, ETC. 
 
 169 
 
 The corral A leads to the lane £ by removing the panel 
 * ft. The lane is run full of sheep. It is six feet wide. 
 
 The shearing pens, of which O may be taken for explanar 
 tion, are twelve feet square (the length of one panel). A 
 platform, m, n, Z, r, is made nearly on a level with the 
 ground and is five feet wide and twelve feet long. Two 
 shearers occupy each pen. The panels forming the lane do 
 hot overlap but are set end to end. When the sheep in a 
 pen are shorn they can be turned from the pen across the 
 lane out upon the range-. They are counted as tljey run out 
 by the "party of the second part" as opposed to the shearers 
 who count the strings with which each fleece is tied. 
 
 SHEEP CORBAL AND SHEABINO PENS. 
 
 The shearer has two or three pairs of shears which he 
 keeps very sharp, whetting after each fleece is tied. His 
 shears while not in use are placed in a can of water which 
 cuts the yolk of the wool from their blades and thus keeps 
 them from being gummy. He catches a sheep by the hind 
 leg, pulls it back to the platform, and with a slight push with 
 his right hand near the sheep's saddle turns it over on its 
 side, then a pull by his other hand turns the sheep on its 
 back. Then letting loose the hind leg the shearer lifts the 
 sheep by its front leg to a sitting posture and stands behind 
 it; his left hand on the sheep's nose bends its neck back and 
 it rests over the shearer's left leg. He makes a flourish 
 with his right hand, in which the shears are held (if he has 
 admirers watching him), and then begins. 
 
 He cuts from the sheep's front (right) shoulder-blade up- 
 
170 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BUILDIKG. 
 
 ward to behind the right ear. He continues his strokes, be- 
 ginning down and running up, until the under part of the 
 neck is sheared. Then the shearer changes the position of 
 his right leg so as to stand astride of the sheep's right front 
 leg. By this meahs the sheep is turned slightly and the 
 man is now in position to shear the left side. Beginning 
 where he left off he cuts successive swaths, which may be 
 termed horizontal, around the sheep's body, and which be- 
 gin so as to include the legs and end at an axial line drawn 
 down the back. Then the man stands on the sheared side of 
 the sheep and bending it over his knee completes the shear- 
 ing in a similar manner. He then folds the fleece, the 
 sheared side being the outside of the folded fleece, and ties it 
 with a stout twine. The tags he sweeps into a heap and piles 
 them in a corner. They are afterward placed in a sack by 
 themselves and the sack so marked. He catches another 
 sheep, seizes another pair of shears from the water-can, and 
 begins anew. The shearer receives seven cents for each 
 sheep shorn. He shears from 100 to 150 sheep a day, the 
 number depending on the kind of sheep sheared. Merino 
 rams of pure blood are the most difficult to shear on account 
 of the wrinkles and the closeness of the wool. The men eat 
 dinner at 11 o'clock and then work until 5 o'clock, when they 
 eat supper and after supper continue work for two hours. 
 The sheep are brought in at noon and the lane again filled 
 with enough sheep to last the shearers the remainder of the 
 day. 
 
 Each fleece is thrown by the shearer into a pen next to 
 the shearing-pens. The wool is kept off the ground. The 
 sacker then takes the fleeces and throws them up to a plat- 
 form, but I will first describe the arrangement for holding 
 the sack. A platform four feet square, made of stout planks, 
 is set on legs about nine feet above the ground, and a circular 
 hole cut in the platform, the diameter of which is an inch less 
 than the diameter of the sack-ring. The sack-ring is made 
 of iron about three feet in diameter, and the cross section of 
 the iron would be a square with sides a half inch in length. 
 This ring will rest on the edge of the round hole in the plat- 
 form. The wool-sack has a bunch of wool, or two walnuts 
 
SHEEP BARNS, KEEDIKG, RACKS, ETC. 171 
 
 would be better, tied in the lower corners to serve as handles 
 when the sack is full. The sack is then soaked in water until 
 thoroughly wet. Then the ring is slipped in about an inch 
 from the upper end of the sack and the edge folded under 
 the iron. It is not sewed or tied in. 
 
 When the sack is hung in position the Backer throws in 
 several fleeces and gets in and jams them down. He then 
 puts in three fleeces, or as many as the sack will cbambei', 
 and treads down the outer edge, putting a fleece in the mid- 
 dle as required. Thus he continues until the wool is on a 
 level with the ring. It is then full enough. He lifts the 
 sack six inches by means of two ropes, which fastened in a 
 hole in the platform pass down under the sack and up again 
 to the platform, where they pass through holes and are 
 wound on top of the platform on a windlass. The Backer lifts 
 the sack without having to descend and holds it there by 
 placing a pin in the axle. He then unfolds the ring and sews 
 up the end of the sack, beginning at the middle seam and 
 using a ''surgeon's" stitch, by which contiguous stitches hold 
 independently of each other. He puts about 300 lbs. in a 
 sack. 
 
 ANOTHER DEVICE FOR DIPPING SHEEP. 
 
 A device ' for dipping sheep for scab and other skin 
 diseases, differing somewhat from that described on pages 
 166 and 167, and which is extensively employed on the 
 large sheep ranches of the Western plains, is herewith given, 
 together with the mode of procedure as described by a West- 
 ern flock-master of large experience. 
 
 Sheep are dipped soon after shearing in the spring or in 
 the autumn, and sometimes in midwinter when the scab is 
 bad and the weather is mild enough. The method of Aip- 
 ping here described is the one used where it is necessary to 
 boil the dip. For cold-water dips the mixing vats are differ- 
 ently arranged, but all the remainder is the same. 
 
 The lane L is one panel, 16 ft. wide, and is long enough 
 to hold 500 sheep. Its length is not given in the diagram for 
 
172 PEACTICAIi HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 want of space. The large corral A which leads to the lane 
 by the gate m n has one side in continuation of the fence m 
 6. The undipped sheep are held in this corral. The corral 
 C has a plank floor which slopes at an incline of 10 per cent 
 from its outer edge down to the floor bed, which is level. 
 This inclination is of great assistance in the handling of the 
 sheep. The vat is protected by a planked wall, as shown in 
 elevation at 6 d. The vat Fis 50 ft. long, 8 ft. wide in the 
 clear at the bottom, 18 ft. wide at the top, and 5 feet deep. 
 The dip in it is kept 4 feet deep. At the farther end, at r s, 
 the sheep walk out on an incline with strips nailed across for 
 footing. At g is hinged a "dodge" gate which turns the 
 sheep as they walk out of the vat either into the corral D or 
 D. From either of these corrals the sheep are turned into 
 the large corral B through the gates hinged at I. The cor- 
 ral D D has a plank floor, strips nailed as shown and is parti- 
 tioned by the panel gf h. The corner of this corral at i is 
 three feet higher than the corner at s. The dripping sheep 
 stand on the floor 2) and the dip runs back into the vat. 
 
 The boilers are of the dimensions given. JFis drained by 
 a pipe leading to the bottom of the vat Fand provided with 
 a stopcock. It is important to conduct the boiling dip into 
 the vat at its bottom in order to quickly heat the dip in the 
 vat when the dip becomes cool, to make it of uniform 
 temperature and to prevent scalding the sheep. O contains 
 boiling water which is led into the lower boilers by means of 
 wooden troughs * (. A water ditch leads to the top of the 
 boiler Q. The head of water required above the bottom of 
 the vat F is, as shown, about 7 ft. 4 in. — and the stream 
 should not run less than three gallons a minute. In each of 
 the boilers FF, on the inside, nails are driven or other marks 
 made to denote the height when 100 gals., 200 gals., etc., and 
 convenient fractions thereof, are reached by the dip. The 
 chemicals are mixed in these boilers only and the upper 
 boiler is used for keeping boiling water always ready. 
 
 The vat being ready and a glowing fire under the furnaces 
 the sheep are run from corral A into the lane and into cor- 
 ral C until both are full. Then the gate at m (consisting of 
 a panel) is closed against the posts and that at a also. Two 
 
SHEEP BARNS, FEEDING EACKS, ETC. 
 
 173 
 
174 
 
 PEACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDmO. 
 
 men in C throw the sheep into the vat. A sheep is caught 
 by the right hind leg below the hock, lifted up until straight, 
 then the man walks to the vat, the sheep walking on its 
 front legs, then by a push by his right hand above the 
 sheep's flank the man throws it against the wall h d, when- 
 its feet being no longer supported it falls head first into the 
 dip and immediately swims toward the other end. A man 
 along the vat between T'^and d thrusts its head under again 
 with a forked stick as it passes him, and another between 
 V and r treats it in the same manner. These two men 
 exchange places with the two in the corral C every hour, 
 since the labor of throwing sheep in is severe. . One man 
 attends to the fires and keeps the dip always ready and at 
 proper temperature. Five men are necessary and usually 
 run through 2,500 sheep a day. The sheep, though badly 
 frightened, are not hurt if the liquid in the vat is never al- 
 lowed to become too hot. 
 
 SHEEP-FEEDING RACKS. 
 
 The device herewMih illustrated has been extensively used 
 in the great sheep-raising districts of Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio and is very much liked. It was at one time secured by 
 
 SECTIONAL VIBW— OPEN. 
 
 8BCTIONAI/ VIEW— CLOSED. 
 
 a patent and a considerable royalty was exacted for its use, 
 but the patent has expired and it may now be made by any- 
 one. The diagrams explain it fully. It is so constructed 
 that when closed one can pass through the rack arid dis- 
 tribute the gfrain in the triangles, preventing a few of the 
 
SHEEP BAEN8, FEBDIKG SACKS, ETC. 175 
 
 stronger sheep crowding after, bunching and gobbling the 
 grain, as they will do when poured into an old-fashioned V 
 shaped trough. After the grain is placed in the troughs the 
 wings, which are hung upon pivots, are turned down, and 
 the sheep all pass to their grain at once, each one getting an 
 equal portion; the wings which then slope together form the 
 hay-rack, the sheep drawing the hay from an opening at the 
 bottom. 
 
 There are no stanchion slats to wear the wool from the 
 neck and shoulders, no chance for chaff to work into the 
 wool, nor for the sheep to waste their hay. A small door, 
 hinged at one end of the rack, makes it easy to sweep the 
 dirt out of the troughs. Height of xrasts, 31 in.; size, 2x3 in. 
 Length of arms, 30 in.; size, 2x3 in. Width of boards on 
 arms, 27 in. Width of frame, 30 in.; width of trough, 10 in.; 
 
 T5F" 
 
 BIDE TIEW OF SHEEP-BACK. 
 
 width of walk, 10 in.; depth of trough, 4 in.; distant from 
 short end of arm to center of bolt, 13 in. The bolt should be 
 one inch from top of posts. Width of board on sides, 7 in. 
 
 Another rack quite similar to the preceding one was 
 patented by a citizen of Wisconsin several years ago, and 
 this patent has also expired, so that the plan which we illus- 
 trate herewith has become public property. As will be seen 
 from the illustrations herewith given it has its roof and divi- 
 sion boards hinged or pivoted in such manner that the frame 
 can be opened and placed so as to shield the trough when 
 the device is to be used as a cattle-feeding rack, and so that 
 the roof may be closed and the division board thrown up, 
 thereby affording free access to the troughs, when the device 
 is to be used as a sheep-feeding rack. 
 
 By referring to the drawings, which represent cross sec- 
 tional views, it will be seen that the troughs are connected 
 by a horizontal bottom board running lengthwise along th^ 
 
176 
 
 PKACTIOAIi HIKTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 rack. To the bottom are hing'ed two division boards or 
 doors. These are shown in Fig. 1 as thrown up toward the 
 center of the device, and in Fig. 2 as let down to cover the 
 troughs. 
 
 To the sides of the frame are pivoted two boards, which 
 constitute the roof when it is used as a sheep- feeding rack, 
 as shown in Fig. 1, and as additional sides when the device 
 is used as a cattle-feeding rack, as shown in Fig. 2. 
 
 It will be noticed that when the device is adapted for 
 feeding sheep the pivoted boards form the roof, and the divi- 
 sion strips, hinged to the bottom board, constitute the back 
 
 riG. 1. PIG. 2. 
 
 of the troughs, they being thrown inward on their hinges 
 toward the center of the device. On the other hand it will 
 be seen that when the rack is adapted for feeding cattle the 
 roof boards are thrown up along the side of the device so as 
 to increase the capacity of the bin for holding hay, and yet 
 not extended high enough to prevent the cattle from reach- 
 ing over. The pivoted trough boards are then thrown out 
 against the sides of the rack so as to enclose and shut off the 
 troughs. 
 
 A very convenient device for sheltering and feeding 
 sheep, upon which letters patent expired in February, 1885, 
 is herewith illustrated. It may be easily made by almost 
 anyone. The ^belter consists of a light framework of wood 
 of a size adapted to the number of the flock, and is con- 
 structed and put together in sections. The shed is mounted 
 upon runners for the convenience of moving it from place to 
 place for the purpose of feeding the sheep. It will be seen 
 
SHEEP BARNS, FEEDING RACKS, ETC. 177 
 
 that the racks are arranged along each side of the shed and 
 open on the inside. The troughs are on the outside of the 
 shed and are covered with a drop cover, thereby protecting 
 the provender given the sheep from the storms of rain and 
 snow. 
 
 By this arrangement of the racks and troughs the ani- 
 mals while feeding ai'e sheltered from storms and kept in 
 better health and condition by being thus comfortably 
 housed. As the feed is given them from the outside of the 
 
 shed the flock is not disturbed by the presence of those car- 
 ing for them, it being a matter of much trouble and incon- 
 venience to pass in among a flock if it is large. 
 
 The shelter being made in sections it may be easily taken 
 down and placed upon a wagon for transportation; or the 
 sections may be used for other purposes, as fencing, etc., 
 when not in use. 
 
 By removing the light roof sunshine can be let in upon 
 the flock in fine weather when they are required to be kept 
 confined for the purpose of fattening, sorting, and the like, 
 
 A PLAIN HAY-RACK, 
 
 A very convenient, plain, and easily-made hay-rack for 
 feeding sheep is shown herewith, and is made as follows: 
 Four pieces of scantling 3 ft. long for corner posts, two boards 
 12 
 
178 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKS" BUILDIXG. 
 
 1 ft. wide and 16 ft. long for the bottom, and two 6 in. wide 
 and 16 ft. long for top, with 6-in. boards 2i ft. long, placed 
 8 in. apart, perpendicular; the space between the top and bot- 
 tom boards on each side is 18 in.; the width of rack should be 
 2i ft. "When the hay is properly put in this rack the sheep 
 eat from the top of it, avoiding the falling of dirt into the 
 wool on the neck. The upright strips keep the sheep from 
 crowding, and knowing this a sheep takes its position and 
 keeps it until through feeding. The following diagram may 
 
 aid in getting a correct idea of this simple rack, (a, corner 
 post, 3 ft.; 5, bottom board, 12 in.; c, top board, 6 in.; d, 8-in. 
 spaces; e, 6-in uprights.) It will- answer for a partition 
 fence and can be elevated daily as the litter and manure 
 accumulate. 
 
S^VINE PENS. 
 
 The whole subject of pens and devices ior breeding and 
 feeding svrine is eo thoroughly and exhaustively gone over 
 in connection with the various plans herewith submitted 
 that any remarks of a more general nature by way of intro- 
 duction are entirely superfluous. It is no more than justice, 
 however, to state that a considerable number of them are 
 from designs originally furnished or suggested by that expe- 
 rienced practical breeder and close observer, the late Phil 
 M. Springer of Springfield, 111., who was for so many years the 
 eflflcient Secretary of the American Berkshire Association. 
 Prof. L. N. Bonham of Ohio, so well known in Poland-China 
 breeding circles, has also furnished several plans and devices 
 which will be found herein, and the experience of many 
 other swine-breeders of note in various parts of the country 
 from Pennsylvania to Nebraska has been utilized in the 
 preparation of what it is hoped will be found an invaluable 
 assistant to every swine-breeder who may consult this vol- 
 ume. 
 
 STREET & SON'S SWINE PENS. 
 
 The accompanying plan, which was designed by and is 
 used by Messrs. Street & Son of Hebron, 111., is considered 
 by many persons one ot the very best pens for swine in the 
 country. The building is 30x64 ft., with 9-ft. posts. The 
 ground plan is divided into eight apartments each. The 
 first or front space is intended for a water tank, which is 
 supplied from a well. In the same space is a stove for heat- 
 ing purposes. A 4-ft. alleyway runs the entire length of the 
 building. At the rear end is the corn-crib. There are six 
 peins on each side of the alleyway, each pen having a nesting 
 place of 6x6 ft. Size of pen, including nest, 8x13 ft. The 
 
180 PBA.CTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUU^DIlfrG. 
 
I'LAKS OF SWINi) PEltS. 
 
 181 
 
182 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOtJT BAEN BUILDINCt. 
 
 floor of nest is raised 2 in. above the floors of pens. The ends 
 of nest connecting the small doors are enclosed with swing- 
 ing partitions; the front is open; all other partitions are 
 made so that they can be swung up to make large or small 
 pens as the occasion may require. The small doors in pens 
 are 2x3 ft. 6 in. The inside is lined up as high as the first 
 girt with good tight 1-in. boards; height of girt, 4 ft. 
 
 There is a floor laid over the top of pens for the purpose 
 of stowing bedding and for making it warmer in winter. An 
 opening should be left in this floor directly over each nest, 
 so that the straw can be pitted down. This floor is 7 ft. from 
 first floor. The outside of tliis building is covered with stock 
 
 Tia. 3.— END SECTION. FTG. 4.— SWINGING GATES OVER TBOITGHS. 
 
 boards 12 in. wide; battened, 2Hn. battens. The corn-crib 
 is built in the usual manner. In the cupola there is a slide 
 that covers the opening for ventilation, which can be opened 
 or closed by cords from tne first floor. There are two win- 
 dows in the end of the building that are 8x10 ft., with twelve 
 lights. The side windows have six lights, 8x10 ft., hung 
 with hinges. 
 
 The plans explain themselves. They embrace ground 
 plan, elevation, and end section, showing the manner of plac- 
 ing the joist and staying the roof. Three pairs of rafters 
 stayed in this manner will keep the building in proper shape; 
 one in center and one between this and the ends. A rib 
 should be let into the posts to take the bearing off the joist; 
 rib to be 2x6. The height of partitions in pens is 3 ft. 6 in. 
 
tLAlfS OF SWINE PENS. 183 
 
 The swing partitions that bang over the trough have a latch 
 that drops as you swing it back at any time when you want 
 to feed, so as to keep the hogs back as you are feeding. 
 These partitions are made open, as per sketch (see Fig. 4), of 
 4-ln. fencing; all other partitions are made close. 
 
 Explanations of plan: A — alley; C — corn-crib; D — door; 
 P — front hallway; N— sleeping places; P— pens; T— feeding 
 troughs. 
 
 The lumber bill was as follows: 4 sills 8xS, Gi ft. long; 4 
 sills 8x8, 30 ft. long; 48 joists 2x8; 20 ft. long; 42 pieces for 
 studding 4x4, 18 ft. long; 25 pieces for studding 4x4, 16 ft. 
 long; 78 joists 2x6, 14 ft. long; 16 girts 2x6, 16 ft. long; 7(i 
 pieces for girts 2x4, 16 ft. long; 70 pieces for rafters 2x6, 20 
 ft. long; 6 pieces of fencing 1x6, 20 ft. long; 100 ft. of 16-ft. 
 fencing; 4,000 ft. of 2-in plank, 16 ft. long; 6 pieces of plank, 
 12 in. wide, 16 ft. long, for trough; 6 pieces of plank, 10 in. 
 wide, 16 ft. long, for trough; 1,000 ft. of good common boards, 
 16 ft. long; 18 M shingles; 3,000 ft. of roof boards (culls); 2,000 
 ft. of common boards for floor over pens; 3,000 ft. of stock 
 boards (dressed), 12 inch wide, 16 ft. long; 2,000 ft., lineal 
 measure, of battens, 2i in. wide, O. G.; 400 ft. of fencing for 
 corn-crib; 100 pieces of 4-in. fencing, 16 fl . long. 
 
 Nails: 150 lbs. of twenty-penny; 300 lbs. of ten-penny; 
 100 lbs. of three-penny; 100 lbs. of eight-penny. 
 
 A WISCONSIN HOG HOUSE. 
 
 The accompanying plan was designed by Prof. L. H. 
 Adams of the Experiment Station of the Wisconsin State 
 Agricultural College, and concerning which he writes as 
 follows: 
 
 It will be borne in mind that this hog house is arranged 
 especially for feeding experiments; the practical breeder 
 and feeder can introduce such modifications as will meet his 
 requirements. By referring to the ground plan it will be 
 seen that the dimensions of the building are 70x24 ft. out- 
 side measurement, with 16-ft. studding. It should be placed 
 with its greatest length east and west, with sleeping rooms 
 

186 PEACTICAIi HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 and yards on the south side for sunshine and warmth. At 
 one end of the building' a weighing and store-room is entered 
 through a door sufficiently wide to admit a swill cart; this 
 room is 13ix24 ft., and is provided with a chimney and all 
 the facilities for heating water, weighing hogs, etc. A feed- 
 ing alley four feet wide leaves this room and extends the 
 entire length on the north side of the building. In the plan 
 as here given there are seven pens, each 7 ft. 9 in. wide in 
 the clear; a tight partition reaching to the ceiling, 6 ft. 11 
 
 Hinged 
 
 Elms. 
 
 ■S£CT I Oti 
 
 Ttiougx 
 
 FIG. 3.— CBOSS SECTION OF FEEDING LOT. 
 
 in, back from the feeding alley, divides these pens into two 
 apartmenti>, the feeding and sleeping rooms. This partition 
 also serves to support the joists for the upper floor. 
 
 It will be observed that no more space is given up to the 
 feeding rooms than is absolutely necessary, as the hogs are 
 driven back into the sleeping rooms after each meal through 
 small doors (designated by dotted lines in Fig. 2) that slide up 
 and down in grooves and are operated from the feeding alley 
 by means of ropes that run over two small pulleys screwed 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 187 
 
 into, the ceiling. A large entrance to each of the Bleeping 
 rooms from the feed rooms is also provided, so that an attend- 
 ant may enter any pen without disturbing the occupant of 
 the adjoining ones. The partitions that separate the feeding 
 rooms from each other are three feet high. A series of 
 doors three feet wide through each division aSord a satis- 
 factory means of handling the hogs, either on the scales or 
 when loading them into wagons at the opposite end of the 
 building. 
 
 A very convenient device for keeping the hogs back from 
 the trough when pouring in swill (see Fig, 3) needs only to 
 be seen to be understood and appreciated. It is a simple door 
 hung over the center of the trough that swings and catches 
 on either side of it by means of a wooden bar that raises up 
 and down through iron staples. A 4x4 is sufficiently strong 
 to support these doors; in the cut it is represented as 4x6 
 through mistake. 
 
 We now come to the sleeping rooms, and as these are 
 where the hogs spend most of their time it is important that 
 they receive careful attention. These rooms are H ft. 5 in. 
 by 7 ft. 9 in. inside measurement and occupy the south por- 
 tion of the building. Each room is ventilated by means of a 
 shaft two feet square that reaches from the small door that 
 is left open all the time unless the weather is very cold, so 
 that all droppings may be deposited outside of the building; 
 this will be done if the yard is not allowed to become clogged 
 up with litter and filth. The outside fence of this yard is 
 made permanent with a substantial gate hinge at each end 
 (see Pig. 1); the division fences are made so that a ten- 
 foot panel may be lifted out to allow a wagon to pass through 
 and gather up the manure. It is not advisable to have these 
 yards reach back more than sixteen feet, on account of the 
 extra work in keeping them clean and gathering up the 
 manure. 
 
 Mr. Theodore Louis, a prominent and successful swlne- 
 breeder of this Stale, has suggested that these yards be 
 floored with plank laid in water-lime in order to keep out 
 •vermin and reduce the loss of manure to the minimum. 
 
i88 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAJttK BUiLDlNG. 
 
 Now a word about the height of the building: our fat mere 
 are coming to learn that the foundation, floor, and roof of a 
 'stiucture are the expensive portions, and as storage capacity 
 is always in great demand on the farm why build a one-story 
 hog hoiise when a little more outlay for boards and studding 
 gives such a large upper room for bedding? or if not wanted 
 for that it will be an excellent place for storing farm tools 
 away for the winter — plows, harrows, cultivators, and those 
 tools that are only used for a short time in the summer. 
 
 To sum up, the features of this building which we wish to 
 emphasize are: 
 
 1. The manner of separating the feeding and sleeping 
 rooms, which insures a clean, dry place to feed. 
 
 2. The facilities for ventilation and light. 
 
 3. The system of yards by which the sleeping rooms are 
 kept clean and the hogs permitted to have exercise at will. 
 
 4. The details of the interior arrangement, such as the 
 width of pens, disposition of doors, etc., may be varied to 
 meet the requirements of the builder. 
 
 A. C. MOORE & SON'S SWINE PENS, CANTON, ILL. 
 
 The'pen is 100 ft. long by 25 ft, wide and fronts the south. 
 The illustration shows a front view. The foundation is made 
 up of stone pillars laid up 2 ft. high and 6 ft. apart, on which 
 are placed three rows of lOxlO-in. oak sills. After sills are 
 on the foundation 2x8 oa.k stringers are mortised in the sills 
 2 ft. apart and reach from each outside sill to the center one. 
 A piece of oak timber is also laid lengthwise of pen under the 
 center of these stringers and blocked up with stone to make 
 them more solid. 
 
 The north half of low part of pen is 3 ft. high at back and 
 10 ft. high at front, so that a 16-ft. rafter covers it and makes 
 the roof about half-pitch. The high parts of pen are 15x25 
 ft., and are 12 ft. high at the eaves, and the roof has same 
 pitch as (he roof on the low part. These parts are used for 
 strawabove and feed- rooms and granaries below. The whole 
 pen is floored with pine boards and covered with shingles. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PKNS. 
 
 189 
 
 f 
 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 d 
 
 a 
 
 13 
 
 > 
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 _ _ 
 
 _ : 
 
 ■ ta 
 
 i iia 
 
 4 ^ 
 
 S\HUJ\ 
 
190 PRACTICAL HIKTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 It has a hall 4 ft. wide the whole length of pen which is 
 taken off of north half of pen. The remaining 8 ft. on low 
 part is divided into breeding pens 5 ft. wide with a door in 
 front part of each pen. The south partition of the hall over 
 the middle sill is boarded up half-way, and the rest of the 
 way is shut up by light doors made of siding and hung on 
 hinges to swing in so they can be drawn back and fastened to 
 let the sun in back pens or shut down to keep out the storm. 
 
 The floor in front of low part, which is 12x70 ft., is also 
 divided into pens 5 ft. wide, with movable partitions and a 
 door in the back part opposite the door in the breeding pens, 
 and the doors are fastened together when open and form a 
 partition for each sow separate, so she can come out on front 
 floor to.eat and keep her bedding clean and free from cobs. 
 
 We have no permanent roof over the front floor, as young 
 pigs must have plenty of sunshine to do well. 
 
 The sows and pigs are kept in these pens till pigs are about 
 four weeks old, when the movable partitions on front floor 
 are taken up and all allowed to go together out on grass. 
 
 When pigs are old enough to eat soaked corn and slop 
 the sows are kept off this floor and the pigs allowed to go in 
 and out as they choose, and are fed on the floor separate from 
 the sows. Should the sun be too hot some loose boards are 
 laid up over the floor to make a shade. 
 
 In building a hog pen we use oak lumber for foundation, 
 studding, etc., if we can get it, as it lasts much longer; but 
 always use a pine floor, as it does not get so slippery as oak 
 and pigs are less liable to strain themselves. 
 
 We build all our pens to front the south to enable us to 
 get the full benefit of the sun on pigs in the spring by having 
 the raised parts of pen extend across the feeding floor. We 
 have a wind-break on three sides of it, so it makes a nice 
 warm place for hogs to eat. The water is raised by wind 
 power into an elevated tank so it can be run in any part of 
 the pen, 
 
PLA.KS OF SWINE PENS. 191 
 
 A NEBRASKA PIGGERY. 
 
 The following illustrations show the breeding: pen of Mr. 
 John L. Martin of Stanton Co., Neb.: 
 
 It is 200 ft. long and 20 ft. wide, tbe sills are 6x6, sup- 
 ported on brick piers, and is floored throughout with 2-in. 
 plank, which slants from the center toward the outside 
 walls, having a fall of two inches in ten feet. The passage- 
 way through the center of the building is 4 ft. wide and 
 each pen is 5x8 ft. The troughs are placed across the width 
 of the pens just inside from the passage, and a horizontal door 
 swings in over each trough and covers the trough while 
 the food is being put in it. To protect the young pigs from 
 being lain on and killed by the mothers there is placed 
 against the inside of the pens, about six inches from the 
 floor and parallel with it, a board about five inches wide, 
 under 'which the little pigs can run for protection. The 
 outside walls are 4 ft. high and the roof has a ventila- 
 tor running its whole length, with windows which can be 
 opened and shut by cords, which are fastened to the po.3ts 
 in the passageway. The construction of the roof and venti- 
 lator is shown by the drawings. Each pen has a separate 
 yard or run 5x8 ft. The two end doors are divided hori- 
 zontally in the middle, so that the upper halves can be 
 opened for ventilation. With these doors aad the windows 
 in the long ventilator, and the doors into the . pens open, 
 pure air is at all times secured by means of the cross cur- 
 rents, and it is always cool enough inside even on a very 
 hot day. 
 
 This building contains pens for eighty brood sows and is 
 separated from the cook-house at one end by the passage- 
 way into the feed-yard. The cook-house, 16x20 ft., contains 
 a fifty-gallon Profit boiler, with a well under the house and 
 the pump inside the building, so that water can be pumped 
 directly into the boiler or into barrels which stand outside. 
 The rest of the space is occupied with bins for feed. There 
 is a horse grinder just outside this house and we grind our 
 

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 nuimnniiiiiml 
 
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 FIG. 1.— SECTION OF PIGGEBY. 
 
 c 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 
 Ye 
 
 rds 
 
 8x6 
 
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 h 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 P< 
 
 rs < 
 
 3.^ 
 
 , eac 
 
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 B 1 
 
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 B 1 
 
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 Passage . 4 ft wide , 2 oo ft 1 ong 
 
 PeiN 8n.), 
 
 ;ach. 
 
 Yards i»x&,ea<;>} 
 
 PIG. 2.— GROUND riiAN OF PIGGERY. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 193 
 
 own feed. Mr. Martin eupplements the foregoing descrip- 
 tion by the following statement of his methods: 
 
 We aini to have two crops of pigs a year — in April and 
 October — and as we have plenty of milk we havo been fairly 
 successful in that undertaking. After weaniag our young 
 pigs we divide them, according to size, in pens having shade 
 and a grass run and- feed them milk and bran and potatoes 
 and shorts cooked, giving less of the milk and more of the 
 solid food as they grow older. They get a good deal of green 
 stuff during the summer— fodder corn, the thinnings from 
 the rutabaga and mangel-wurzel patches and all the extra 
 garden stuff. When they weigh about seventy-five pounds 
 we turn them into a large pasture with shade and running 
 water and feed them corn and green stuff. When they weigh 
 about one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds we turn 
 them into the feed-lots to-foUow steers and when fat we ship 
 them to Chicago. 
 
 Were we to build another piggery we would make our pens 
 6x8 ft. instead of 5x8 ft. With this alteration we think the 
 building entirely satisfactory. 
 
 MICHAEL RICH-S BARN. 
 
 Mr. Michael Rich of Flanagan, 111., has a litde hog barn 
 that has been frequently spoken of as one of the most com- 
 plete things of its sort in the country, and its cost is certainly 
 very moderate. 
 
 The peculiar feature of the widows at apex of roof is 
 especially commended, as it serves to admit, in the early 
 spring, the warm rays of the sun upon the north row of pens, 
 the south row being lighted by the lower tier of windows, 
 thus affording a sun-bath to all the occupants, the value qf 
 which in swine culture is well known. 
 
 The foundation is made of blocks of stone which are laid 
 about four feet apart. Sill beams are of 6x8 lumber. Frame 
 consists of 2x6 scantling placed 2 ft. apart and which are 7 ft, 
 high. There are two rows of 4x4 posts — one on each side 
 %he alley, 6 ft. apart, extending to and supporting the roof — a§ 
 
 13 
 
194 PRACTICAL HIXTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 195 
 
196 
 
 PfiACTICAL HIKTS ABOUT BAEJST BUILDDfTG. 
 
 shown in diagram. Girts of 2x6 across every 6 ft. Plate 
 beams consist o/ a 2x6 and 2x4 spiked together. Rafters are 
 2x4 and 2 ft. 6 in. apart. Boof is one-third pitch and made 
 of sheeting and shingles. Sides of "drop-matched" 6-in. 
 siding. Eaves and gables project 13 in. . Floor joists are 2x8 
 and 2 ft. apart. Floor of 2-in. plank. Windows are 2 ft. by 
 2 ft. 3 in. Those above are made to slide sideways and the 
 
 HOG BARX— FBAHE. 
 
 lower ones up and down. All the partitions are movable 
 "drop partitions" except those adjoining south side of alley, 
 and also the middle cross partition. 
 
 Expense items were as follows: 4,400 ft. stuff lumber at $16 
 —$70.40; 1,250 ft. drop siding at $2o-$31.2o; 1,500 ft. sheeting 
 at $14— $21; 1,250 shingles at $4.50— $5.63; carpenters seven 
 days at $7— $49; paint, hardware, glass, etc., $22.72; total, 
 $200. 
 
 A PENNSYLVANIA SWINE PEN. 
 
 Mr. C. P. Waugh of Independence, Pa., has a hog house 
 which is described as follows: 
 
 The ground plan shows the building 24 ft. long and 16 ft. 
 wide, divided the long way into three parts, the middle part 
 4 ft. wide and the others 6 ft. each. The partition along 
 ;the north side of the middle division or alley is Si ft. high. 
 
PLANS OF SWIKB PENS. 
 
 197 
 
 It is made in three sections and can be raised up to the ceil- 
 ing so as to make the feeding floor 10x24 ft. if desired. The 
 posts along this partition are 4x4 inches. Heavy inch pieces 
 are nailed on top and bottom, with a good piece of hard wood 
 spiked on the outside of these blocks so as to allow the par- 
 tition sections to slide up or down. 
 
 The troughs under this partition are also made in three 
 sections to fit between the posts. These troughs stand about 
 
 ELEVATION. 
 
 two-fifths of their width in the alley for convenience in put- 
 ting in the feed. When the. feeding floor is enlarged by 
 raising the partition, as above mentioned, the troughs may 
 be removed. The long section on the south side of the alley 
 is divided by the partitions B B into three pens for sows and 
 pigs. These partitions are also movable, so as to throw all 
 three pens together if desired. At C there is a slide door. 
 When the house is not needed for sows and pigs, but is in use 
 for fattening hogs, they pass under the stairway and through 
 this slide door from the feeding floor to the pens for sleeping 
 •quarters. D D D are doors hung at top to swing both ways. 
 
198 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BtnLDIlfG. 
 
 allowing the hogs to pass either way and at the same time 
 keeping the chickens out. At south side are three open 
 yaxds, as shown. Three windows, W W W, light the house 
 from the south side. There should be three on the north 
 side to correspond with these. At the west end of the feed- 
 ing floor there is a door through which the manure is thrown 
 into a pen outside. The door D on the north side and near 
 the west end is for the passing in and out of the hogs. 
 
 The house is two stories high — ^the lower story 7 ft. and 
 the upper 5 ft. to the square. It is enclosed with siding, all 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 •- 
 
 ' ^ 
 
 Ik 
 
 It 
 
 
 " X 
 
 c* 
 
 
 
 
 I. XT.!»ek X 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 GBOUND PLAN. 
 
 hut the upper story on the south side. This is of slats, up 
 and down, like acorn-crib. The upper story is for storage 
 of corn and other feed. The roof is of shingles and the floor 
 is ot inch boards, double, with the joints broken. The lower 
 story is lined up 3i ft. from the floor, except in the pens for 
 the sows;_ here the lining commences 8 in. from the floor. 
 This is to keep the sows from smoothering the young pigs. 
 The elevation plan shows the east end. There should be a 
 door in the middle below and one above. Corn thrown into 
 the chute, which extends the length of the buUding, falls to 
 
PLANS OF SWIITE PEKS. 
 
 1&0 
 
 the feeding floor below. Striking the slanting board beneath 
 it is made to scatter over the floor, thus saving much time 
 otherwise required in carrying and scattering the corn. 
 
 A PORTABLE PEN. 
 
 The pen herewith illustrated is 8 ft. long, 6 ft. wide, 6 ft. 
 high at the front, and 4 ft. high at the back. See Fig. 1. 
 The front, supposed to face the south, is made of two upright 
 corner posts of 2x4 in. stuff — each 6 ft. long— into the edges 
 of which are let and securely nailed four 6-in. fencing boards, 
 each 8 ft. long. If a closed front is desired five boards, or 
 boards of greater width may be used; but we find that four, 
 as here shown, answer very well except in stormy weather. 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
 and then further protection is readily added as needed at the 
 time. 
 
 Pig. 2 shows the inside of the north wall of the pen. It 
 consists of two corner posts of 2x4 in. stuff, each 4 ft. long, 
 connected at top and bottom by two 6-in. fencing boards, each 
 8 ft. long. These are let into and nailed to the north edges 
 of these corner posts and then to them are nailed upright 
 boards of inch stuff twelve inches or more in width. 
 
 Pig. 3 represents the west end of the pen as seen from the 
 outside. It is made of wide boards nailed to two pieces of 
 
200 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT JBAKN BUILDIKG. 
 
 fencing, the ends of which are made to project three inches 
 beyond the wide boards so as to come against the inside of 
 the corner posts of the south and north sides when these 
 sides with the ends are set up to be fastened together. 
 
 The fastening of the corners is by means of four screw- 
 rings at each corner, two above and two below. That is, near 
 the top and bottom of each corner post there is a screw-ring. 
 Those in the south posts are on the north sides of the posts, 
 and those in the north posts are on the south sides of the 
 posts. For these last see a, b, c, d, in Pig. 2. Corresponding 
 rings are screwed into the east and west ends of the pen 
 — see e, /, g, h, in Fig. 3— so that the rings at o and 6, in Fig. 
 
 H J ' -' : , "V . ! i« | 
 
 .. ^ I I 11 I I I i 
 t . . ' i ■ ' , . * 
 
 2, shall match those at e and /, in Fig. 3. A wooden pin, six 
 inches long, dropped half its leogth through the rings a. Fig. 
 2, and e. Fig. 3, and another wooden pin through the rings 
 b, in Fig. 2, and /, in Fig. 3, will securely fasten the north- 
 west corner of the pen. Each of the other corners is fastened 
 in the same way. 
 
 The roof is made of square-edge weather-boarding, bat- 
 tened and fastened on with hooks. For convenience in hand- 
 ling the roof is made in four sections, and before being ex- 
 posed to the weather it should be well painted. 
 
 The position of the rings with the wooden pins through 
 them, whereby the corners are fastened, is shown in Fig. 1, 
 at t, t, t, t. 
 
PLAKS OF SWINE PEKS. 
 
 201 
 
 A MODEL HOG HOUSE. 
 
 The hog house herewith illustrated is 16 ft. wide, 20 ft. 
 long, and 12 ft. high to the plates. The north and west sides 
 are boarded up close, with a door in the middle of the north 
 side. The south and east sides are boarded up close to within 
 seven feet of the floor, the lower parts being enclosed with 
 G'in. fencing boards, varying from 3 to 6 in. apart, so as to 
 admit sunshine and insure good ventilation. 
 
 The ground plan is shown in Fig. 2. There are two pens 
 on each side of the passageway which extends through the 
 middle from north to south. This passageway is 4 ft. wide 
 
 PIG. 1.— ELEVATION. 
 
 and each pen is 8 ft. square. The partitions at a a. Pig. 2, 
 are movable, so that when needed two pens can be thrown 
 together. The two partitions across the passageway at 6 b 
 are also movable for convenience in assorting hogs or pigs. 
 The feed-troughs are at c c c c and the lifting gates opening 
 from the pens into the passageway are a,t d d d d. 
 
 The loft is used for storing feed and is easily reached 
 from the passageway. In each end there is a window for 
 light and ventilation and beneath the window in the west 
 end there is a door through which corn or other feed is un- 
 loaded from a wagon driven along the end of the house. The 
 entrance to the house is through the north door. The yard 
 for the hogs is on the south side, and they pass out and in at 
 
202 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEK BUlLDIirG. 
 
 the south end of the passageway. They are nerer admitted 
 to the north end of the passageway except when it is found 
 convenient to bring them in through the north door or to 
 pass them from the northeast to the northwest pen, or vice 
 versa. At the east side of the northeast pen in the house 
 . from which this description is taken there is a chute for 
 loading or unloading hogs. 
 
 A better arrangement of pens for general use and for 
 assorting and handling stock could scarcely be devised. If 
 only one lot of hogs is kept the partitions at a a, Fig. 2, and 
 the south gates at dd can be taken out, thus throwing all 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 ] 
 
 ¥1G. 3.— GKdUNI) PLAN. 
 
 four pens together. Then by taking away the south parti- 
 tion in the passageway the hogs can have the run of the yard 
 on the south. These pens are useful also in the weaning of 
 young pigs and in the marking and trimming of shoats, or 
 older hogs, as well as in ringing them. 
 
 On nearly the same plan as this house one of any greater 
 length desired may be built. If lengthened to the north or 
 south the slope of the roof should be changed so as to throw 
 the water to the east and west. The width might in this 
 case be reduced to 18 ft., making the pens 8x7 ft. instead of 
 8x8 ft. If preferred, the length of the building may be east 
 and west and the slope of the roof to the north and south. 
 By this arrangement there would be one row of pens on the 
 south or open side, and one row on the north or closely- 
 
■PLANS OF SWIKE PEKS. 203 
 
 boarded side. Thus a house 80 ft. long would have ten pens 
 on the north and ten on the south side of the passageway. 
 Those on the north could be used for brood sows in the early 
 spring, and later those on the south could be occupied by 
 the sows and their pigs, and from them the latter could be 
 allowed to run in adjoining yards on the south; or the sows 
 and pigs could all be turned into the yards together a part 
 of the time every day if desired. 
 
 If a house of 40 ft. or more in length is built it will be con- 
 venient to have a track from end to end of the passageway 
 on which a small truck can be run for- carrying feed to the 
 pens. It would be well also, in a house of considerable 
 length, to use the space of one of the pens as a room for mix- 
 ing feed and for keeping the fixtures that would be required 
 in an establishment of the kind. 
 
 CHEAP AND CONVENIENT PENS. 
 
 The pens shown in the accompanying figures 1, 2, and 3 
 come as near answering the requisites of convenience and 
 cheapness as any we have seen. Eive pieces of oak or other 
 durable wood 4x6 and 14 ft. long, laid on fiat stones, form the 
 foundation. On these the flooring planks, 2-in. pine 14 ft. 
 long, are securely spiked. This floor, or platform, 14 ft. 
 square, on which the pens are to be built, should slope a 
 little to the north, just enough to carry off the water that 
 falls from the roof onto the floor of the uncovered pens at the 
 rear. The dotted lines across the ground plan (Fig. 1) show 
 the five cross-pieces on which the floor is laid. 
 
 Pine scantling, 2x4, are used for corner posts and middle 
 studs. The former (corner posts) are cut 3 ft. 10 in. long, 
 placed in position, and toe-nailed to the floor. Two 2x4 
 scantling 14 ft. long and two 10 ft. long are then spiked on 
 top of these, making a frame 4 ft. high, 14 ft. long, and 10 
 ft. wide. The middle studs are next put in and the south 
 front run up, the studs for this being 3 ft. 8 in. high. On top 
 of these is spiked another 2x4 scantling 14 ft. long on which 
 to rest the south ends of the three rafters, as shown in Pigs. 
 
tOi PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABK BtTtLDING. 
 
 
 
 ^oot 
 
 1>.^L 
 
 :b«a- 
 
 j3ooc 
 
 7 ^ '10 
 
 7 X /tf 
 
 M.. 
 
 ■^ 
 
 riG. 1— GROUND PLAN OF BOTTBLE PEN, FACING SOUTH. A, A, TROUGHS. 
 
PLAITS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 205 
 
 FIG. 2.— SOUTH FRONT OF DOUBLE PEN. 
 
 FIG. 3.— END VIEW, SHOWING CTNCOTBKED PEN AT KBAB. 
 
206 PKACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 2 and 3. Across these three rafters are laid three 14-ft. fenc- 
 ing boards to receive the roof. The east and west ends are 
 -then boarded up close, and for winter can be battened. The 
 upright dotted lines in Pis'. 3 show how these boards reach 
 from the rafter to the g-round, being nailed to the rafter at 
 top, the cross-piece below, and the edge of floor near the 
 bottom. The north side is also boarded up close and the 
 doors in this side cut out. 
 
 The roof is made of good common pine boards 12 ft. long 
 laid 2 in. apart and the spaces corered with boards of same 
 quality. A partition 4 ft. high through the middle from 
 south to north divides both the covered and the uncovered 
 parts, so that on each side there is a covered pen VxlO and an 
 uncovered one 4x1. The latter is intended for the manure, 
 and if the pigs are allowed to have their own way they will 
 be sure to leave their droppings there and never in the large 
 or front pen. A wind-break about 3i ft. high and of the 
 same length extends south from the door along the bed. 
 
 Fig. 2 shows the south front with the lower part inclosed 
 by three fencing boards; though for use in winter it should 
 be boarded up close. The upper parts have battened doors 
 hung so as to swing in and fasten up beneath the roof, thus 
 admitting sunshine to the pens in winter; or they can be 
 swung out to form an awning along the front for shade in 
 summer. These pens can be made almost or q-uite frost- 
 proof when occupied in winter by nailing inch boards to the 
 studding around the inside and filling in the two or four- 
 inch spaces with dry straw. The troughs are placed at A A, 
 and may be of any pattern, and be reached with the feed in 
 any way the builder may decide. Where the saving of all 
 the manure is important the small pens at rear may have a 
 separate roof over them; in which case they must be cleaned 
 out regularly instead of depending on the rains to wash them 
 out. But even without a root the manure as it is worked 
 out on the north side should be frequently gathered up and 
 hauled away. 
 
 The two lower boards in the'outer ends of these rear pens 
 are battened together so that they can be slipped out, thus 
 serving as doors by which the pigs are let in or out oi the 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 207 
 
 pens. As it is not best to keep pigs on board floors all the time, 
 two yards, not shown in the ground plan, are made, onei to the 
 east and the other to the west pen. These yards may be of 
 any desired size, only they should not extend around to the 
 north where the manure from the floor is to be reached and 
 taken away. We have built a pair of these pens for our 
 stock boars and find them very convenient. They answer 
 equally, well for brood sows and also for weanlings and 
 older pigs. 
 
 The lumber for a suite of such pens was bought in Cen- 
 tral Illinois for $20. In this case, however, inch boards 
 were used for the floor and the oak cross-pieces beneath 
 were 3x4 instead of 4x6. 
 
 A CHEAP HOG HOUSE. 
 
 What the average farmer wants most is a good warm place 
 in which sows can have early pigs in March and April. The 
 accompanying illustration shows a single breeding pen that 
 
 A CHEAP HOG HOUSE. 
 
 can be built for $4. It is portable and can be made in a few 
 minutes, and in it there is no danger of the sow lying on her- 
 pigs. The pen should be made 8 ft. long, 9 ft. wide, and 6-J 
 ft. high at the center. Nail sides on 2x4, 8 ft. long, and then 
 
208 
 
 PEACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BITILDtNG. 
 
 nail OD ends. Put in a door and window and strips over all 
 cracks, and then with a little open lot on the south you have 
 a nice cheap breeding pen. 
 
 N. COLEMAN'S PIGGERY. 
 
 Prom the description given by Mr. N. Coleman of Nemaha 
 Co., Kan., of a hog-house the accompanying illustrations 
 are made. They agree in most particulars with Mr. Cole- 
 man's plan. 
 
 Sills, 6x6; floor joists, 2x6, placed full on top of sills; front 
 of the main building 8i t^., rear 5 ft. Before laying the flocr 
 spike a 2x4 on the floor joists on line of the partition between 
 alley and pens. On this at every 10 ft. set a 2x4 upiight J2 
 ft. high. Baiters, 1x4, placed 16 in. apart. Roof, good sid- 
 ing, 4 in. to the weather. Let rafters rest at top against a 
 1x4 strip set on the 12-ft. upright. The long ralters at mid- 
 dle rest on a 2x4 as shown, and this on end of a 2x4 tie reach- 
 ing to beneath the plate on which the lower ends of the short 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .7>^-i ^ ■ ?■» « in 
 
 -- .->' 
 
 .Aa,y *./, ..... "-'" II 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 /■fti fail 
 
 o o o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 i 1 
 
 1 1 ; . . ' 1 ; ■• ! 1 ' ■ 
 
 rafters rest. This tie is gained in at the middle and spiked 
 to the 12-ft. upright. Spike 2x4 horizontally between the 2x4 
 uprights to form the top of partitions along alley. The dot- 
 ted lines across pens in elevation show height of partitions 
 between pens, the same as along the alley or passageway. 
 
 Place a 2x4 every 5 ft. at the rear of pens, also midway 
 between each of the 12-ft. uprights along the alley. To 
 these and to the 12-ft. uprights the ends of the movable par- 
 titions are to be fastened. Our experience teaches that pens 
 5x8 are too small for general use, and in building we should 
 
210 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BT7ILDING. 
 
 leave most of the peas 8x10 and put in other partitions when 
 needed. Make close partitions across the outside platform 
 to correspond with those inside, thus giving to each sow a 
 separate outside pen also. 
 
 The meal-room is a lean-to or offset to the front of the 
 main house, and should be made of flooring. The building 
 should front north or west, so as to give the pigs the benefit 
 of the sunshine. Paint roof and all with water-lime and 
 skim-milk. Use a wide brush and keep well stirred, as it is 
 inclined to settle. Throw away the settlings after using a.s 
 much of the mixture as will spread well. 
 
 Mr. Coleman says he gets his water from a spring 350 ft. 
 distant and higher than the floor of the hog-house. It is 
 brought from the spring by a three-quarter gas-pipe, and 
 comes into the house on the plan of a syphon, with a stop- 
 cock at the house. 
 
 A MOVABLE PIG-HOUSE. 
 
 Mr. L. N Bonham of Ohio highly recommends a mova- 
 ble breeding pen which he has used and concerning which he 
 sends the following: 
 
 I.have a hog-house opening out onto a floor 16 ft. wide and 
 as long as the hog-house. This floor is divided into pens 
 lOxlR, and from each pen a door opens out onto a stone floor 
 25x40. From this the hogs can pass, by gates at each end, to 
 blue-grass lots or have the range of a small lot. They will 
 generally keep the floors clean and use the lot for droppings. 
 This arrangement was made for saving manure and for con- 
 venience in handling brood sows and their litters in the early 
 spring, and for feeding fat hogs in the fall. I find it handy, 
 easily kept clean,, and furnishing a deal of comfort to our 
 pigs. It is arranged to keep off the north and west winds 
 and to admit freely the sunshine from the southeast. 
 
 But with this arrangement we often have more brood sows 
 and pigs than' can be accommodated there at farrowing time. 
 Then, too, having all the sows and pigs come to the same 
 house for sleep and feed brings too many together for the 
 
PLAKS OF SWIN15 PENS. 211 
 
 best sanitary conditions. When men and animals are kept 
 herded long in close quarters disease of some kind soon ap- 
 pears unless there is extraordinary care to secure cleanliness 
 and abundance of pure air and sunshine. Impressed with 
 the importance of securing these three essentials, to the 
 highest state of health I have devised a cheap, comfortable 
 pig-house which can be set up in any lot or grove or pasture 
 field where we may for a short lime give a favorite sow or 
 litter the attention desired. By this device I can place the 
 sow and her young litter on land and sod that has never been 
 detiled by the presence of others for generations past, which 
 cannot be done about our permanent hog-houses. 
 
 I have often found, too, that the sow at farrowing time is 
 nervous and disturbed by the noise and cries of young pigs in 
 the next pen, and she has for this reason alone often jumped 
 up and lain down to the injury of her litter, and oftentimes 
 the death of the choice pig follows. To save the young pigs 
 is the breeder's first care. At least 50 per cent of the pigs 
 farrowed in the country perish before weaning time. This 
 loss can be cut down to 10 per cent by careful management. 
 In the use of our portable houses I have reduced the loss to 
 the minimum and have enjoyed the thrift and comfort 
 secured there for our sows and pigs. I have found these 
 movable pig houses convenient not only for sows and pigs, 
 but handy to set in a lot to give shelter to a choice ram or 
 boar, or even to accommodate a few fancy chickens that we 
 have wished to separate from the rest of the flock for a sea- 
 son. 
 
 Provide four scantling 2x2, 12 ft. long; two scantling 
 2x4, 12 ft. long; 50 ft. flooring for roof, and 75 ft. flooring for 
 sides and ends. Let the flooring for tbe roof be the best; 
 free from knots and windshakes. Cut four rails, or nail ties 
 2x4, 6 ft. long, for the back and front (Figs. 2 and 3). Now 
 cut siding enough for the back 3 ft. long, and then two 
 boards 1 ft. wide, 4i ft. long, for .the front. Nail two of these 
 boards to the flat side of two of the rails above named, let- 
 ting the outer edge of each board project one inch past the 
 ends of the rails, and have the rails flush with the ends of 
 the boards; taking care always to put the siding square with 
 
212 PEACTICAL HDfTS ABOUT BABK BUILDnfTG. 
 
PLANS OF SWIKE PENS. 213 
 
 the rails. The bottom rail, on edge, keeps in the bedding, 
 and is not too high for sow or pigs to get over easily. For 
 the back (Fig. 2) nail the 3-ft. boards to the 2-in. face of the 
 rails, letting the top rail be at the end of the boards, and 
 project 1 in. at the ends of the rails, and the bottom rail be 
 8 in. from the other end of siding, which when set up allows 
 the bottom rail to prevent the sow from crushing her piga 
 against the side. 
 
 After the siding is nailed on as above make mortises IxS 
 in. just under the rails of the back and 2 in. from the edges 
 of the boards. In the front (Fig. 3) make the bottom mortise 
 ]z2 just above the bottom rail and the top mortises opposite 
 those to the back. The front (Fig. 3) and the back (Fig. 2) 
 are now complete. 
 
 Cut four rails 2x2, Si ft. long, and make a tenon 1x2, 3 in. 
 long, by cutting into the rail 1 in. and ripping back to the 
 shoulder, which makes the tenon on one side of the rail. 
 Draw-bore these tenons with a five-eighth bit and put them 
 into the mortises of the back and front so the outside of the 
 rail is flush with the siding at the front and back; put in the 
 draw-pins and the frame is complete. 
 
 Now cut the siding for the two ends (Fig. 4) and nail it to 
 the rails as they stand and you will have no trouble in tak- 
 ing apart and putting up again. Draw a line from top of the 
 front to the top of the back and saw to it for slope of the roof. 
 This done cut three slots 2x2 for rafters to rest in, as in 
 Fig. 4, one notch 6 in. from the front, one 3 in. from the 
 back, and the other notch half-way between these two. 
 Take the three rails 2x2, 6i ft. long, that were left after 
 cutting the four side rails, and lay in their notches so they 
 project 3 in. at each end. Saw the roofing to project 8 in. at 
 the rear and 3 in. in front. Lay this flooring for the roof 
 carefully and paint each joint as laid. When done, paint 
 the roof well. It will pay also to paint the house with oil 
 and Prince's Brown, which is cheap and lasting. The front 
 of this house is now open 4 ft. wide and 4 ft. high, less 8 in., 
 the width of the rails. The closed sides should set north 
 and west to exclude cold winds, and the open front face the 
 east and south to admit sunshine. 
 
214 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDXirG. 
 
 We have a movable front and swinging door to close all 
 up if a sow is to farrow there in early spring. The movable 
 front is made by having the battens project bne inch at one 
 side, so as to catch within the siding. On the other end of 
 the battens we have a button on each to catch the upper and 
 lower rails. By swinging a dooi- in the remaining space, as 
 shown in Fig. 1, the house is closed and there is complete 
 protection against storms. We use these movable fronts in 
 early spring until pigs are old enough to endure the cold, 
 when the front is taken off and laid away. If the house is 
 set up on a dry spot where the water will not run under, 
 or if a trench is cut behind for the drip of the roof to run off, 
 the inmates will be more comfortable than in any of our big 
 hog-houses. 
 
 Each spring and fall we take these houses down and white- 
 wash inside, and never have anew litter begin life in the old 
 fllth of its predecessors. With a clean bouse on a clean, fresh 
 sod the young things start life without being handicapped by 
 disease. The sow should become accustomed to the house 
 two weeks before farrowing, and the swinging door should 
 be kept open. The night she is to farrow it may be closed, 
 and then the pigs are safe from any storm we ever have in 
 this latitude. 
 
 A handy man can make two of these bouses in a day, and 
 the cost of material does not exceed $2.50. 
 
 The above description is for a house without the skylight 
 shown in Fig. 1. The sash and lights cost about $2. In 
 bright, cold, or windy days, in March or April, the glass 
 lets the sunshine pour into the bed, which the pigs enjoy. 
 We cannot get too much sunshine for the pig in the spring 
 of the year. 
 
 These movable pig-houses will be found most convenient 
 on small farms where permanent hog-houses are not pro- 
 vided. To the tenant who wishes to give his pigs better 
 care than the quarters of the rented farm afford they will 
 be found of especial value, as he can move them as he does 
 his implements and stock. To move one from one lot to 
 another a sled may be slipped under, or the house can be 
 taken down by removal of the pins and placed in a wagon. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 215 
 
 or carried piece by piece by one person. On flat land, where 
 drainage is poor, it will be well lo make a floor of inch boards, 
 cut so that the pen sets down over it. This keeps the floor 
 pei-fectly dry. The floor should fit the house, so that there 
 will be no danger of a pig's foot or leg being caught between 
 the floor and house. 
 
 In order to prevent killing the grass and destroying the 
 sod we do not allow the house to stand long in one spot. 
 Move often to keep the soil and grass fresh. 
 
 With clean beds, in clean houses, on clean sod, we may 
 hope to raise healthy pigs if fed judiciously and bred for 
 constitution rather than color and fat. 
 
 SWINE-PEN, CORN-CRIB, AND WAGON-SHED. 
 
 A combined swine-pen, corn-crib, and wagon-shed built 
 and used by S. R. Chapin of Prophetatown, 111., and which 
 has proved highly satisfactory, is described by him as follows: 
 
 The main building is 28x32 ft. with a 9-ft. shed on side lor 
 wagon. The pig-pen shown on right is 6 ft. h igh in the clear. 
 
 
 r^ 
 
 ^\ 
 
 
 
 
 Vutu> Crlf, 
 
 3x Si 
 
 oi>.oni-it«i-ii,<i 
 
 fig r'-n 
 
 b-D— tr— n— ' 
 
 D— D — C 3 — 1 
 
 
 Line No. 2, top of door, 7 ft. in height. Line No. 3 is floor 
 over driveway, 10 ft. from ground. The corn-crib on left of 
 driveway is 8x24 ft., 8 ft. being taken off at one end for 
 meal-room and swill-barrel. The cost of this building was 
 between $225 and $250. Our illustration shows an end sec- 
 tion of the building. 
 
216 PEACTICAL HIKTS ABOUT BAEK BUILDING. 
 
 A FROST-PROOF SWINE PEN. 
 
 A frost-proof pen is not so hard to make as many suppose. 
 One great fault with the most of them is that they are too 
 high. A pen 9 ft. long north and south, 7 ft. wide, 3 ft. from 
 floor to roof at the north end and 6i or 7 ft. from floor to roof 
 at south end is a comfortable and serviceable size (see Figs. 
 
 1 and 2). Buy good inch lumber 12 ft. long for the floor. 
 Saw off the 9 ft. and this leaves 3 ft. from each piece tor 
 siding up the north end. The east and west sides are boarded 
 up close from floor to roof. The south end is boarded up close 
 to the height of 3 ft., the same as the north end. The upper 
 half of the south end is closed by a banging front that can be 
 swung in to admit the sunshine in the winter or out as a 
 shade from the sun in the summer. 
 
 This pen can easily be banked around with stable manure 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 217 
 
 and coarse litter up to the eaves at north end and still 
 higher at the sides; and then if needed straw may he thrown 
 on top in case of severe cold for a few days. Besides the pen 
 may be lined on the insides and the spaces A A (see Pig. 2) 
 
 filled with straw. A door is made at D on the south front 
 and a movable trough stands at T. The length of the roof is 
 12 ft. By building two such pens together, making the front 
 14 ft. wide instead of 7 ft., the expense of siding one end is 
 
218 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 saved. The lumber for a double one cost us $14. This was 
 without the lining'. 
 
 Blankets are recommended for use in protecting the sow 
 and litter from the cold, but unless some one is at hand 
 almost constantly they are worse than too much bedding. 
 If they are to be used it is well to accustom the sow to be 
 handled and blanketed for a week or more before farrowing. 
 
 WARM PENS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM. 
 
 Good shelter for the pigs during winter saves feed, helps 
 to keep them in good growing condition and prevents an im- 
 mense amount of suffering and often actual death from ex- 
 posure and cold. 
 
 Ordinarily a pig pen is a terribly cold place, even when 
 made of inch lumber and the cracks are battened. Such a 
 pen may afford shelter from the harsh winds that whistle 
 over the farm during the winter months, but is little protec- 
 tion from the silent, biting cold that sends the mercury far 
 below zero. If inclosed on the south as well as the other 
 sides the light and warmth of the sun during the day are 
 shut out and the pigs suffer more than if they were in an 
 open shed facing the south. 
 
 Without warm pens for sows that are to farrow during 
 the latter part of the winter or early in the spring it is 
 almost impossible to save the young pigs from being chilled 
 to death. 
 
 A portable pen, good and warm, 12 ft. long and 7 ft. wide, 
 may be made at a moderate cost as described below. It may 
 be of any other dimensions preferred, or if this size it may 
 be divided by a partition across the middle so as to have two 
 pens, each of them 6x7 ft. The description here given is to 
 show chiefly how the sides are made to keep out the cold. 
 
 Take two pieces of 2x4 pine scantling, each 4 ft. long. 
 Lay them flat on the ground parallel with each other and 12 
 ft. apart, outside measure. On them lay four pine boards 
 each 12 ft. long and 1 ft. wide. Be sure that the 2x4 pieces 
 come even with the ends of the boards and that these ends 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 219 
 
 are square, so that when the boards are nailed to the 2x4 
 pieces the work vpill be exactly square across both ends. 
 Place a third 2x4 piece across the middle on the same side 
 with the end pieces and nail the four boards to this also. 
 
 We now have a platform 4 ft. wide and 12 ft. long, which 
 when set upon edge will form the north side of the pen. But 
 before being set up saw through each of the 2x4 pieces be- 
 tween the two middle boards and thus cut the side into two 
 parts, each part being 2 ft. wide and 12 ft. long. Take one 
 of these parts, lay it on the ground, with the two 2x4 pieces 
 
 FIG. 1. PIG. 2. 
 
 uppeimosi, and then hail to these two more boards, each 12 
 ft. long and 1 ft. wide; or, if more convenient, use narrower 
 boards and more of them, but let their combined width be 2 
 ft. Do the same with the other part. 
 
 If now one of these parts is set up on edge we have a 4-in. 
 wall 12 it. long and 2 ft. high. Placing the other part on 
 top the wall is made 4 ft. high. The only object in making 
 the wall in two parts is (hat it may be more easily handled; 
 otherwise it would be better if made in one piece. 
 
 The end walls are made the same as the north side, only 
 the lower half is 3 ft. high, while the upper is 1 ft. high at 
 its north end and 3 ft. at the south end. The south wall is 
 also in two parts, each 3 ft. high. This gives a 2-ft. slope 
 for the roof. In the south wall are double doors, one swing- 
 
220 PEAOTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDIKG. 
 
 ing in and the other out. To one side ot these, and in the 
 upper half of the wall, a window frame and sash are fitted 
 for light and sunshine during the day. 
 
 Pig. 1 shows how the corners are formed and how they 
 are fastened by iron bolts. Or if these cannot be had, small 
 ropes may be run through the holes in the 2x4 pieces, agree- 
 ing with holes in the end boards and in the upright strips on 
 the outside. - See also Fig. 2. 
 
 It will be seen that the inside boards of the ends are 8 in. 
 shorter than the outside boards, because the latter cover the 
 thickness of the north and south walls. The upper parts 
 are kept in place by strips nailed to the 2x4 pieces of the up- 
 per halves, so as to reach down into the two-inch spaces of the 
 lower halves, and there fit against the lower 2x4 pieces. Fig. 
 2 shows one corner before the upper and lower halves are 
 brought close together. After the jwn is set up the two-inch 
 spaces in the walls are filled with clean, dry straw. 
 
 The pen could be made warmer and dryer by covering the 
 inner surface of the outer wall with tar paper, well tacked 
 down with common laths before the inside boards are nailed 
 on. One objection to the use of straw or other filling is that 
 it may form a harbor for vermin or for the germs of disease. 
 To avoid this it can be renewed as often as seems necessary. 
 Instead, however, of danger from this source, the straw, if 
 used without the tar paper, can be the means of applying the 
 most effectual of all disinfectants and vermin-exterminators, 
 viz., fire. 
 
 It is the practice with many poultry-keepers to use mov- 
 able boxes for hens' nests, and when a nest needs renewing 
 burn the old nest in the box in order to kill any vermin that 
 may have gathered there. So in these portable pens; the 
 most of the straw is taken out of the walls and burned, but 
 enough left to make a good run of fire and smoke through 
 them. Some care must of course be taken not to fire too much 
 space at once, else the servant (fire) in this case may become 
 the master and the pen destroyed. 
 
 The best roof we have found for a pen of this kind is made 
 of common pine lumber laid close and then well covered with 
 straw weighted down with poles tied across from front to back. 
 
PLAKS OP SWINE PENS. 221 
 
 The floor is made of pine boards nailed to 2x4 pieces, the 
 latter with their flat sides resting on the ground. This 
 brings the floor so close to the ground that with a little 
 banking up around the sides no frost will enter from be- 
 neath, and for a winter pen there will be no danger from the 
 air not circulating under the floor. We should not use a 
 floor of this kind for a pen that was built to remain at one 
 place. In such a pen the floor should either have no air at 
 all below or it should be so arranged as to allow of good ven- 
 tilation when needed. 
 
 FARROWING PENS. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Shepard of the flrm of Shepard & Alexan- 
 der, so widely known among the fewine-breeders of the 
 United States, in an article contributed to the Breeder's 
 Gazette makes some observations on the subject of farrow- 
 ing pens in connection with the plan herewith given that are 
 well worthy of a place in this volume, and from which we 
 quote as follows: 
 
 Of all the domestic animals the sow is the only one that 
 makes and prepares for herself a comfortable or in fact any 
 bed for use in bringing forth her young. Other animals may 
 and usually do separate themselves from the herd, but only 
 the sows seeks seclusion, quiet, and comfort. A very large 
 proportion of all animals are delivered of their young during 
 the night, which would seem to indicate an emphasis from 
 Nature that saclusion and quiet are important elements for 
 successful birth. When, therefore, the sow at liberty always 
 separates herself from her companions and goes to some 
 remote spot and constructs for herself a comfortable bed, and 
 if possible near a stream of water, as the time for delivery 
 approaches, is it not an interpretation that instinct demands 
 of her, or for her, three things, viz.: seclusion, quiet, and 
 comfort? Following, then, the instructions thus interpreted, 
 it is the duty of the herdsman to conform as nearly thereto 
 as practicable. To my mind such promptings of -the sow are 
 emphatic protests against the large hog-house with its mul- 
 
222 PEACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 tiplicity of pens and crowded condition. Observation has led 
 the writer to avoid the use and therefore the construction of 
 large hog-houses tor a number of reasons, among which are 
 the following: first, the noise resulting from the moving 
 about of hogs in other pens in the same building makes the 
 farrowing sow restless, irritable, and uncomfortable. Second, 
 it is impossible for the herdsman to go into the large house 
 to feed or give the occupants of the other pens therein special 
 attention without creating a disturbance and commotion 
 among the occupants, be he ever so careful. Third, if any 
 sow in the large house accidentally steps upon the foot or 
 otherwise injures one of her young, causing it to squeal, 
 every sow in the house is liable to get up and become more 
 or less excited. For several days after farrowing the sow 
 that has undergone the ordeal should be kept as quiet as pos- 
 sible so that the new-bOrn claimants for pedigrees may nurse 
 often and accumulate strength to enable them to keep out of 
 the way of the mother when she gets up and walks about. 
 The noise and commotion of the other animals in the house 
 prevent the new mother from remaining quiet; on the con- 
 trary it makes her restless, uneasy, irritable, and reckless; 
 and the result is that the little, weak, awkward, staggering 
 fellows are, or at least a large per cent of them, trampled 
 under foot and either crippled or killed. Fourth, the large 
 hog-house cannot be made as warm as a small one without 
 great expense. Fifth, the large house is more expensive 
 than the same number of farrowing pens constructed sepa- 
 rately. Following is an illustration of a system of small 
 lots and the location of the sleeping and feeding pens, to- 
 gether with place for cribs, well, etc. 
 
 The illustration almost explains itself, and but little need 
 be added except to give dimensions, mode of construction, 
 etc. In size it is 250x500 ft. The widths as they center on 
 the feeding circle are 25 ft. The dotted line is designed to 
 show how the entire pens may be made in the form of a half- 
 circle. If the square form is used each lot contains nearly a 
 half-acre, Nos. 2 and 5 being a little over and the others less 
 than a half-acre. The two larger lots can be used for the 
 two largest litters. The feeding half-circle has a diameter 
 
PLAKS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 223 
 
 of 125 ft., and the radius is 62i ft. This gives room for 
 a large crib or grain-room and for a well. P, P, P, P, P, 
 P, arc the sleeping pens, 6x8; F, F, F, F, F, F, are feeding 
 floors, 10x12 ft.; S, S, S, 8, 8, 8, are places for shade if there 
 be no natural shade in the lots, and may be constructed as 
 follows: Place four forks or posts in the ground, leaving 
 above ground three to three and one-half feet, and on these 
 posts or forks place rails or poles, and on top of them about 
 three feet of straw. Such a structure makes an excellent 
 and cheap shade. 
 
 All outside fencing should bs at least four feet high, and 
 the inside partition fences need not be over three feet in 
 
 ^ .V'LiI 
 
 /\ \3 
 
 
 height. To construct six pens on the above plan takes 5,075 
 ft. of plank 1 in. thick, 6 in. wide, and 18 ft. long, or 12 ft. 
 in length takes the same amount. If the panels are only 12 ft. 
 long it takes 246 posts; if 18-ft. panels are made then only 164 
 posts will be needed. The total cost of the six pens, including 
 sleeping pens, feeding floors, and all material, labor, etc., 
 with lumber at 81.50 per hundred, is $159.50. If the lumber 
 can be obtained at $1 per hundred, and the owner does the 
 work himself, the material will cost $94.67. The advantages 
 of the separate-lot system are many, but a few of them may 
 be named without extending this article unduly. First, each 
 sleeping and farrowing-room is oft to itself and away from 
 the feeding place, and the occupant of one need not he dis- 
 turbed by the noise or restlessness of the occupants of the 
 other lots; second, the pen can be made warmer and more 
 comfortable, and if necessary, as it frequently is, can be made 
 
224 PRACTICAL HIKT8 ABOUT BARN BDILDINO. 
 
 quite dark; third, it is cheaper in its construction; fourth, 
 each litter can in that way be kept by itself until weaning 
 time, and still have plenty of room for exercise, and in ad- 
 dition avoid the smaller and weaker litters being robbed 
 by the older and stronger ones. It does away with the ne- 
 cessity for ear marks to distinguish the members of the several 
 litters from each other, for at weaning time the sow may be 
 turned out and the pigs kept in the lot until they are ready 
 for the market. 
 
 But I am digressing from the text and will return to it 
 and try and stick closer thereto. Having prepared a pen or 
 place, whatever its construction may be, the next thing is 
 the bed, or material therefor. Do not attempt to make the 
 bed for her, but give her the material and let her do that 
 work Herself. She is an artist in that line and knows bettei? 
 what she wants than you do. Straw or prairie grass cut up, 
 but not too fine, is the best material to furnish her, and put 
 it outside of the pen if the weather is pleasant and let her 
 carry it in, as she will enjoy the work. If the weather is bad 
 drop it down in a heap in one corner of the pen and let her 
 arrange it to suit herself. 
 
 COLDREN & LEE'S HOG BARN. 
 
 The accompanying sketches represent the hog barn of 
 Messrs. Coldren & Lee at Iowa City, la. It is partially a 
 bank barn, being so placed against the hillside that but little 
 filling is required to give access in front to the second floor, 
 which is used as a granary and carriageway. Total cost 
 about $450. 
 
 Specifications are as follows:" Foundation under main build- 
 ing of stone, 18 in. wide and about 2 ft. deep; sills of 6x8 in. 
 stuff; posts 6x6x18 ft., placed as shown in diagram; floor of 1 
 in. lumber; floor of driveway 2 in.; floor of granary matched 
 and dressed sides of 12 in. planed boards. Basement is 8 ft. 
 in the clear. Roof of shingles. Posts of lean-to are 4x4x9 ft. 
 high; posts of feeding floor, 4x4x5 ft. high with one 2x4 nail 
 
PtAKS Ot smUH PBN9. 
 
 225 
 
 tie; sills, 6x6, and plates 2x4. The doors between the pens 
 are 18 in. by 3 ft. high. Outside h.og doors are 3x3 ft. 
 
 It will be noticed that there is a small door indicated in 
 second-floor plan at A. This opens into the feeding floor 
 
 I 
 
 
 S 
 
 A. 
 
 T*- 
 
 7X/0 
 
 1 r- 
 
 f^7 
 
 " " w ^ 
 
 
 
 COLDKKN & LEE'S HOG BABN— QKOUND PLAN. 
 
 and there is a plankvray by which the corn can be carried in 
 from the granary and thrown down upon the floor — making 
 a convenient arrangement. Windows are six lights 8x8. A 
 trap-door over the stairway serves to prevent cold drafts in 
 winter. 
 
 Estimate of cost is as follows: Foundation, 20 perch stone 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 PRACTICAL HOTTS ABOUT BABN VUmOISQ. 
 
 y<^£, , .^-i,nri rn rii "cp 
 
 COLDKEN & LES'S HOG BAKU— SLETATIOK. 
 
 MK 
 
 COLDRBK & LEB'g HOQ BARN— UPPER FLOOR. 
 
PLAXS 0» SWllJ^E PEKS. 227 
 
 at $1.50— $30; 6,000 ft. stuff lumber, frame, joists, etc., $96; 
 3,500 ft. siding at $18—863; 2,500 ft. flooring at 818—845; 100 ft. 
 rafters at $16— $11.20; 1,600 ft. sheeting at $14— $22.40; 16i M 
 shingles at $4— $66; paint, $35; carpenters, $75; hardware, say 
 $6.40; total, $450. 
 
 "HANDY, WARM, AND SUBSTANTIAL." 
 
 "Handy, warm, and substantial" are the three requisites 
 in a plan for a hog house, and all of these will be found in the 
 one herewith illustrated. The groundplan is shown in Fig. 
 1. The covered part is 14 ft. wide and 32 ft. long, though it 
 may be longer if more pens are needed. Each of the covered 
 pens is 8x10 and has at the back an uncovered pen with a 
 board floor sloping from the building to carry off the manure, 
 or at least to keep it from working back into the covered pen. 
 The pigs will soon learn to leave their droppings in these 
 pens and not in the bed and feeding pens. 
 
 The building should be so located that no hogs or pigs 
 need ever have ficcess to the outside of these uncovered pens. 
 If in order to have this so it is necessary that the house face 
 east instead of west, every other purpose of the plan will be 
 as well accomplished. These imcovered pens must, however, 
 be easy of access with a team or cart for the removal of the 
 manure. It may be well enough for the hogs to work over 
 the horse and cattle manure piles, but certainly not their 
 own. The possibility of preventing this and of taking away 
 the manure before it is tramped into the ground is considered 
 one of the chief advantages of these pens. 
 
 A wind-break three feet long extends inward from the 
 door at rear as a protection to the bed and to keep the bed- 
 ding from working out. 
 
 The doors along the alley are 3 ft. high and 4 ft. wide. 
 When one is thrown wide open it reaches across the alley, 
 making it very convenient to change the pigs from pen to 
 pen or to turn them into the open yards at the front. 
 
 If desired, instead of these open yards there may be one 
 
228 PRACTICAL HlNtS ABOTTT BAtHf BUlLMKfl. 
 
 larg-e open lot or field; but it is at this side that the pigs are 
 to pass in and out of the building. 
 
 When all the doors on both sides of the alley are closed 
 there is a clear passageway four feet wide along which the 
 feed is carried to the troughs. A careful examination of Fig. 
 1 will show plainly that the requirement of "handy" is com- 
 plied with in this plan. 
 
 Fig. 2 is an enlarged drawing to .show how the next re- 
 quirement, "warm," is to be secured. After the building is 
 up and the siding on — which may be up-and-down boards, 
 tongued and grooved, or plain boards battened, as the builder 
 may determine, other boards are nailed horizontally around 
 on the inside to the 2x4 scantling, of which the frame is 
 made, to the height of three feet from the floor. This forms 
 a two-inch open space in the wall, which can be filled with 
 straw. The wall at the back of the bed may be two inches 
 thicker, as shown in the drawing. 
 
 , Fig. 3 shows the elevation and manner of framing. The 
 sills are 6x6. The floor joists 2x6, set on top of the sills. The 
 floor is next laid and is of 2-inch boards, or better still two 
 courses of inch boards, the second course laid to cover the 
 cracks of the first. 
 
 The uprights are all of 2x4 scantling, except several 4x4 
 along the front, as shown. The plates and rafters are also 
 2x4, and so are the ties across the ends and at the top of the 
 partitions, all of which are four feet above the floor, except 
 the partitions along the alley which are four feet and two 
 inches above the floor. 
 
 The uprights that support the peak of the roof rest at the 
 foot of one of these 2x4 scantlings extending along the alley. 
 A sash with 8x12 glass stands over the scantling along the • 
 other side, one sash opposite each pen, and set in frame so as 
 to slide to one side to admit fresh air when needed. The 
 roof may be made of good common boards or it may be cov- 
 ered with shingles. 
 
 This house can be made higher if desired and room for 
 storage of feed overhead thus secured. If used for feeding 
 and fattening hogs a good plank floor ten or more feet wide 
 should be laid along the front on the ground marked in Fig. 
 
PLANS OF SAVINE PENS. 
 
 229 
 
 
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 * 
 
 
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 f 
 
 
 
 \ -o 
 
 t 
 
 
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 c 
 
 a 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 ■^ -n 
 
 : 
 
 1 1 
 
 ^L"^ 
 
 
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 / -.-^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 '/■ " 
 
 •. 
 
 se 
 
 ir 
 
230 PKACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARK BUILDING. 
 
 1 for open yards. On this floor the corn can be thrown, and 
 after the hogs are done eating they are to be shut ofl, to their 
 beds if at night, or to another lot if in daytime, and before 
 they are again fed the floor should be cleaned. 
 
 The house, however, as illustrated, is designed more par- 
 ticularly for sows with young pigs. As a further protection 
 against cold in severe weather a door hung by hinges at the 
 top, to swing either way, closes the opening to the uncovered 
 pen. The bed may be still further protected againt cold by 
 laying a few boards across, the ends resting on the cross ties 
 four feet above the floor, and then placing straw or hay 
 above, pushing it close under the lowest part of the roof. 
 
 BREEDING PENS FOR SOWS. 
 
 Messrs. Robertson & Williams of Exeter, Neb., have cheap 
 and convenient breeding pens for sows, and from the descrip- 
 tion given by them the illustration herewith has been pre- 
 pared, showing a cross-section of the pens. The width is 10 
 ft. and the entire length 64 ft., divided into twelve pens each 
 5 ft. 4 in. wide by 10 ft. long. The rear part is 5 ft. high 
 and has to each pen one low door for the hogs, and above 
 this a sliding window through which to clean out the pen. 
 The partitions arfe 3 ft. high. The length of 7 ft. each of 
 these partitions, measuring from rear toward the front, is 
 movable so that two .or more pens may be thrown together, 
 or even the whole length of 64 ft. used as one i)en. Through 
 the three feet of permanent partition toward the front there 
 is a door for use in letting the hogs from one pen to another 
 when the main partitions are in place. The sloping front is 
 made of narrow doors swung at their middles so as to open 
 for letting in the sunshine when needed. 
 
 In making the drawing to show the plan of these pens we 
 have endeavored to show also the manner of framing. The 
 floor should be of good 2-in. boards and should be laid first. 
 On it should then be built the frame, made of 2x4 scantling. 
 The siding should be boards, up and down, and the roof may 
 be of either boards or shingles. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 231 
 
 Every close pen of this kind should have at the rear. 
 
 another pen ahout four feet wide with a board floor, where 
 
 • the hogs will soon learn to leave their droppings and thus 
 
 keep their sleeping and feeding apartments dry and clean. 
 
 Besides this outside pen with a floor we have found it best 
 
 to have also a larger pen or yard adjoining in which the 
 hogs may exercise, or at least be allowed a change from hard 
 board floors to soft eartti. This larger pen does not dispense 
 with the smaller one with a board floor for the droppings, as 
 the object of the floor is to make it possible to clean away the 
 manure made without its being tramped into the grounds 
 The hogs are therefore kept in the floored pens the most of 
 the time, or else given so large a range in field or pasture as 
 to prevent the accumulation of manure in the pens. 
 
232 PRACTICAL HIKTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 SERVICE PEN AND BOX FOR BOAR. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Shepard of the firm of Shepard & Alexander 
 also sends us the following sensible suggestions about a 
 service-pen for boars: 
 
 His home should be a lot of not less than one acre and 
 surrounded by a good strong high fence that will keep him 
 in and all other stock out. The surface of this lot should be 
 rolling enough to make it dry and rich enough to grow a 
 good coat of grass. Inside the lot there should be a com- 
 fortable sleeping pen, a feeding floor, a chute for currying 
 and washing him, a small pen for a service pen, good shade 
 and plenty of pure water, either naturally or artificially 
 supplied. The sleeping-pen should be 8 ft. long, 6 ft. wide 
 and 4 ft. high at its lowest point. Such a pen made of 
 tongued and grooved pine flooring will cost for the lumber 
 not to exceed $4 — including the roof of the same material, 
 and the expense of. making, say $2 more. TUe floor is best 
 made of coarse sand six to eight inches deep, but if sand is 
 not easily obtained then use the same amount of clay well 
 hammered down, or use oak boards. At the end of the 
 sleeping-pen in which the door is placed construct an open 
 floored pen 6x10 ft. for a feeding place, having a door 2x3 ft. 
 opening out into the lot. At this outer door construct a 
 chute 6 ft. long, 2 'ft. wide, and 3 ft. high and floored, with a 
 sliding door at each end. This chute is to let him in to wash, 
 curry, and brush him, the side and top slats being placed 
 wide enough apart to admit of easy access to the animal. 
 The service pen should be 12 ft. square, surrounded by a 
 ^ood strong fence and containing two doors, one of which 
 should open out into the boar's lot and the other into the lot 
 or lane where the sows can be brought in. The service-pen 
 should have for a floor six inches of coarse gravel, or good 
 strong boards, to prevent its becoming muddy. If more than 
 one boar is kept the service-pen can be so situated between 
 the pens occupied by the boars as to be used by each. 
 
 Inside the service-pen there should be placed a good, sub- 
 
PLAKS OF SWIlfE PEKS. 
 
 233 
 
 stantial breeding-box. It may be constructed cheaply of 
 rough material, hut it should be made convenient and prac- 
 tical. I have prepared a plan of one which I think fills all 
 the requirements of such a box and present herewith an 
 illustration of the same, together with a description of its 
 construction and use. First a word or two as to its value. 
 In serving sows with a large boar unless the sow is in some 
 manner protected there is great danger of injuring her by 
 
 reason of the great weight of the boar, and when large sows 
 are to be served by a young or small boar there is equal 
 danger of injury to the boar. The sow, unless confined dur- 
 ing copulation, is apt to move about and the efforts of the 
 young or small boar to retain his position are not only difficult 
 and exhausting for him but often subject him to strain in 
 back or hind legs that injures him permanently. The breed- 
 
234 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BUILDING. 
 
 iDg-box obviates all the difflcultleB, and by relieving the im- 
 mense strain upon aow and boar makes conception mucb 
 more certain. The boar soon learns the use of the box, and 
 when he becomes accustomed to it there is little trouble in 
 securing good service. 
 
 The cut here shown is a perspective view of the box from 
 the rear end. The box should be 6 ft. long, 2 ft. 7 in. high, 
 24 in. wide in its widest and 15 in. in its naiTowest capacity. 
 The right side is made stationary and the left movable. At 
 each end of the floor there is a slot in which the posts of the 
 extreme ends of the movable sides work, and are secured by 
 a pin passing through the slat F and into the post. The 
 front slats, B B B, contain holes through which pins are 
 passed at the front end of the box so as to accommodate and 
 secure the front end when the side is moved, in or out in nar- 
 rowing or widening the box. These front slats work through 
 slots in the front posts. E E are 2x4 posts placed on each 
 side near the rear end of the box, and slant backward at the 
 top, the lower ends being two inches further in than the 
 tops. In these posts and the two front ones are mortised sev- 
 eral holes one inch square, in which work the ends of the 
 bars, D D. The bars D D are 2x4-in. scantling, and at 
 each end thereof they are cut down to inch-square tenons, 
 which pass into the mortises in the posts as indicated and 
 form the foot-rests for the boar when serving. The board, C, 
 a movable slide which is placed across the top of the box and 
 forms a head support for the boar. It is 1 in. thick and 12 
 in. wide. At K the front pins are shown. X is a bar that 
 passes behind the rear posts and across the box to hold the 
 sow in the box during service. G G are wings which are 
 attached to the rear ends of the box by hinges and when not 
 in use fold back against the sides of the box out of the way. 
 When the box is to be used they are swung around and per- 
 form the office of a chute so as to run the sow into the box 
 easily and prevent the boar running around to the side of 
 the box. They in that way keep him at the business end of 
 the box. The white lines at the rear end of the box are de- 
 signed to show a rear platform upon which to elevate small 
 boars when large sows are to be served. Hooks are attached 
 
PLAJTS OF SWINE PBKS. 235 
 
 to the rear posts at intervals of every two incbes, and a bar 
 runs under tbe platform and is placed in tbe hooks for a rest; 
 the platform extends beyond the rests forward until it 
 touches the sow above the hocks. On top of this platform 
 small cleats should he nailed to prevent the hoar slipping, 
 and when he is once "up" the rear of the platform should be 
 raisbd up so as to make it level and easy standing for him. 
 In using- large boars the platform should be removed. When 
 a small sow is to be bred to a large boar the box should be 
 drawn in to its narrowest capacity, and in order that the sow 
 should he raised high enough and at the same time held 
 back to the rear of the box, a movable floor and front piece 
 must be put in. This addition should be constructed as fol- 
 lows: Take a board 1 in. thick, 4 ft. long and 14 in. wide, 
 nail on the under side of each end.a piece of 2x4 in. scantling 
 and at the front end of the board attach by hinges another 
 board 3 ft. long, }2 in. wide, and 1 in. thick. Place these two 
 boards inside the large box and raise the loose end of the 
 3-ft. board and secure it 2 ft. from the front end of the box by 
 passing in front of it a bar, which also passes through holes 
 in the top slats of the side of the box, by which there is con- 
 structed inside the large one a small box that holds the 
 small sow hack to the rear of the breeding-box. A like result 
 can be reached by raising the breeding-box off of the floor of 
 the service-pen and moving the adjustable side of the box 
 into its narrowest limit and placing 2 It. from the front end 
 of the box a wide board in an upright position and braced by 
 placing short braces between such board and the front end, 
 nr by securing the upright board in position by bars passing 
 on each side of the board and through holes in the side slats 
 bottom and top. There may be a number of such holes an 
 inch or two apart, and thus the distance can be easily regu- 
 lated to correspond with the length of the sow. The object 
 lo be secured by either of the above methods is to hold the 
 sow back to the rear of tho box so that the hind feet of the 
 boar during service shall be outside the box. 
 
 When a sow is lo be bred be sure she is ready, and if there 
 be any doubt an easy and almost certain test is to press 
 heavily upon the loin of the sow with the hand. If she 
 
236 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEK BUILDING. 
 
 Stands still and works her ears she is ripe, but if she moTe 
 while the pressure is applied she is not ready. When ready 
 turn her into the service pen, pull out the rear bar L, swing 
 the wings around nearly in line with the sides of the box and 
 drive her in and secure her there by passing the bar L be- 
 hind her; then adjust the side of the box so that the bars 
 D D will touch her sides, the forward portion of the bars 
 coming to within 4 or 5 in. of the top of her shoulders and 
 the rear just above the flaoks, and see that she is back 
 against the rear bar and secured there by the wide board in 
 front. Then slide the head-rest O to a point just over her 
 shoulders. Now let in the boar and keep the wings extended ^ 
 80 as to prevent bis approach except squarely behind the 
 sow. If he is accustomed to the use of the box he will com- 
 mence business promptly if in good condition, and if it is a 
 new experience he will soon "catch on." Let him serve her 
 but once and then turn him out into his lot, close the door of 
 the service-pen and let the sow remain for an hour or two 
 and then put her in a quiet place by herself until the period 
 of heat has passed. 
 
 DEVICE FOR SECURING WARMTH, SUNLIGHT 
 AND EXERCISE. 
 
 Very few pens that we have seen combine to a greater 
 degree the qualities mentioned in the above caption than a 
 breeding pen a plan of which has been sent us from Edgar, 
 Neb., and which has been used for several years by a prom- 
 inent breeder of that county. 
 
 The drawing explains itself: A, A, A, A, A, are grain 
 bins, 12x12, the whole 60 ft. in length. The pens are at- 
 tached to the south side of this. B, B, B, B, B, being 
 "bimks" 6x8, with a permanent cover reaching half-way 
 down the incline with a battened door on binges attached, 
 which when closed down completes the roof, as shown on 
 the right of cut. 1, S, 3, 4, and 5, are open pens connected 
 with the •'bunks." 
 
^tA.ns OF swnra pens. 
 
 237 
 
238 PRACTICAL filNTS ABOUT BARK BOTLDIUG. 
 
 A MOVABLE TROUGH FOR USE IN STYES. 
 
 The trough herewith illustrated, Fig. 1, can bo lifted 
 from its place in the side of the stye when it needs cleaning. 
 It is best iE made of oak or other hard wood, although pine 
 is more easily worked and will last a long time. 
 
 The side of the trough, a, within the stye, is a 7-in. board 
 and 1 in. in thickness; the other side, 6, is a 6-in. board. The 
 two are nailed together as an eaves-trough, with a straight 
 piece, c, about 12 in. long, across each end. 
 
 Along the upper side of the board, h, is another 6-in. board, 
 d, which is held in place by a batten, e, at each end. If more 
 
 convenient to be had, a 12-in. board may be used for this side 
 of the trough and the extension, d, over which the feed is to 
 be poured into the trough. Using a 12-in. board will not 
 make the battens unnecessary. They will be required to 
 keep the wide board from wai-ping or the upper side from 
 splitting off. 
 
 The strip /, nailed against the inside of the 2x4 corner 
 post, g, is intended to keep the pigs from lifting the trough 
 above the stop, h, nailed on the floor inside of the stye. The 
 flooring-boards, i, extend beyond the corner of the 4x4 sills, 
 j, about 1 in., and across the ends of these is nailed the strip, 
 k, which serves as a stop in preventing the pigs from pushing 
 the trough out from under the side of the stye or pen. 
 
' PLAKS OF SWINE PENS. 23& 
 
 Fig. 2 shows how the trough can be lifted from its place 
 from the outside. 
 
 FEEDING TROUGHS. 
 
 With a view of preventing the introduction of disease 
 germs into the system with the food or drink given to hogs 
 the use of good feeding troughs has been insisted or. Such 
 troughs are useful alsb when disinfectants are to be given in- 
 ternally for the purpose of retarding the development of dis- 
 ease or preventing the further propagation of germs already 
 in the alimentary canal. 
 
 Fig. 1, herewith, shows a trough placed against a fence, 
 through which the feed is poured by a chute extending the 
 length of the trough. The upriehts at the front prevent the 
 
 hogs from fighting each other away, and also from putting 
 their feet in the trough. The hoards at the front and back 
 are each 6 in. wide and 1 in. thick. The one placed aslant 
 for the front part of the bottom is of the same width, but the 
 one aslant at the back is 7 in. wide. At this trough four hogs 
 can feed together and each has an equal chance. Longer 
 troughs can be made in the same way if desired. They are 
 best made of good oak or other hard wood. 
 
 Pig. 2 shows a trough made by squaring a log with the axe 
 and then hewing out the upper side. This makes a good 
 solid trough that can be placed in an open yard and is not 
 easily tossed about by the hogs. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate is perhaps the most efficient of all 
 disinfectants known; but it is too powerful a poison to bo 
 
240 PKACTICAL HINTS AB6PT BAllK BTJILDmO. 
 
 recommended for general use. Iodine, nitrate of silver, per- 
 manganate of potash, chloride of zinc, sulphate of copper, 
 and sulphate of iron have all been found to be destructive of 
 the germs of disease. The following acids have also been 
 found useful in destroying the germs, viz : carbolic, boracic, 
 sulphuric, salicylic, nitric, and hydrochloric. Sulphurous 
 acid gas and bromine gas have also been used with success 
 for the purpose. 
 
 Of all these none can at present be more highly recom- 
 mended for general use than carbolic acid. It is easily oh- 
 tained and the cost is comparatively small. Ten drops of a 
 95 per cent solution may be given for each 100 lbs. of live 
 weight of hog three times a day. It may be given in such 
 swill as the hogs are fond of and are used to taking freely. 
 
 None of the advertised -'sure cures" can do more to check 
 the spread of di'^ease than the carbolic acid will do, and it is^ 
 money thrown away to spend dollars for patent "ciires" when 
 a few cents will buy that which will answer as well. 
 
 The carbolic acid should also be used externally. To each 
 gallon of water add about one fluid drachm of the acid, and 
 with this sprinkle the hogs from the nose of a watering can. 
 Remove and burn all their bedding and sprinkle their pens 
 and sleeping quarters well with the carbolic acid water. Do 
 this every day or two and rinse well also their feeding troughs 
 with the acid water. 
 
 If corrosive sublimate is used to sprinkle the hogs and 
 pens a solution of sufficient strength will be made by adding 
 one teasponful to a barrel. of water. It is not advised that 
 any of this be given internally. 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 241 
 
 Sulphuric acid is a cheap and useful disinfectant. One 
 ounce of the acid to one gallon of water will make a solution 
 of the right strength for sprinkling the hogs and the pens. 
 
 A COMBINATION HOG AND HAY-RACK. 
 
 The illustrations herewith given show a device which 
 was originated by Mr. James E. Rodgers of Ostrander, O., 
 and which has come into almost universal use in that part of 
 the country on account of its cheapness and convenience. 
 As a hay-rack, to be used in hauling hay, straw, or other 
 bulky farm products, it is very convenient, and the facility 
 with which it may be converted into a rack in which to con- 
 vey hogs, sheep, or calves to market is surprising. 
 
 The engravings need but little explanation. Fig. 1 shows 
 the rack after it is put together as it stands on the wagon to 
 hold the hogs, sheep, or calves, and Fig. 2 shows precisely 
 the same thing when used as a hay-rack. 
 
 The framework is constructed as follows: There are two 
 side pieces (made of oak or other strong stuff, 14 to 16 ft. 
 long, as may be desired,) 2x6 in., and connected at each end, 
 as shown in drawing, by a 2x4 strip fastened firmly by bolts 
 passing through the side pieces as they rest upright in the 
 wagon. Then there are four cross pieces bolted onto the 
 bottom of the side pieces, as shown, which are made of 2x4Mn. 
 lumber, the end ones being placed about six inches from end 
 of side pieces. A board 1 in. thick and 12 in. wide is firmly 
 fastened lengthwise of the rack, as shown in Fig. 2. The 
 cross pieces are mortised (4ixli in.) with a slanting mortise 
 to receive the supports of the side frames, as shown. These 
 mortises are made 5i in. from inside of the side pieces. The 
 supports of the side framework are made of hard wood and 
 are 3 ft. long; at the bottom they are 2x3 in., tapering to 2x2 
 at the top, and at bottom of each a tenon is cut to fit into the 
 mortise in cross pieces. There are four of these supports oi 
 uprights on each side, as shown, and to these are bolted and 
 nailed four boards 1x4, as shown in diagram. The top of the 
 upright or post is cut at an angle, so that when the top board 
 
 16 
 
242 PEACnOAL HTbTTS ABOUT BASS BUILDING. 
 
 is fastened on it will be exactly parallel to the cross pieces 
 at the bottom when used as a hay-rack, thus furnishing a 
 convenient footing for a man to stand upon when the rack is 
 in position for loading: hay. The top board has usually been 
 made same width (4 in.) as the others, but Mr. Rodgers in- 
 forms us that he thinks it would be better 6 in. wide. These 
 
 boards are both bolted and nailed to the uprights and spaced 
 about as follows: The bottom board 7i in. from the tenon; 
 space 3i in.'; second board; space 5i in.; third board; space 7 
 in.; top board. The end gates are made as shown in dia- 
 gram and held in place by a rod the same as the end gate to 
 a wagon bed. The upright for holding the lines is hinged 
 to the top cross piece and may be used or removed at pleas- 
 
 ure. The whole rack when completed is in five pieces — ^bot- 
 tom, sides, and ends — each piece firmly made and handled 
 separately in putting together for use on the wagon and sep- 
 arately lifted off and hung up when done using. On the out- 
 side of each side piece of bottom frame and directly over 
 each cross piece there is a strong iron staple, bolted through 
 the side piece, which holds the bottom of the upright when 
 used as a hog rack, as shown in Fig. 1. These staples are 
 
PLANS OF SWrSTB PENS. 243 
 
 about 3ixli in the clear, so that the uprights pass readily 
 through them, the bottom of uprights, after passing through, 
 resting on end of cross piece, which extends about i in. out- 
 side of frame. After the parts are all made first put the 
 bottom framework on the wagon, then place the sides in 
 position. If to be used as a hay-rack insert the ends of the 
 uprights into the mortises of the cross pieces, so that the up- 
 right will rest on the main side piece of bottom frame, as in 
 Pig. 2. Then put the upright for holding the lines in its 
 place, insert the bolt that holds it, and the rack is ready for 
 use. If for hauling swine, sheep, or calves let the bottom of 
 uprights drop into the staples, as shown in Pig. 1, then put 
 up and fasten the end gates and slide in a board of the proper 
 width on each side of the main center board, so as to make a 
 reasonably close floor for the animals to stand on, and the 
 rack is complete. If made of well-seasoned lumber one man 
 can easily handle and place in position any part of it, and it 
 can be readily taken apart and each piece hung up in the 
 barn or wagon house out of the way. It may be made of any 
 size desired, but the dimensions above given are those that 
 are ordinarily used. The iron bolts used are all i in. thick. 
 
 HELPS IN MOVING HOGS. 
 
 For the very convenient device herewith illustrated and 
 described we are indebted to Mr. L. N. Bonham of Ohio: 
 
 On every hog farm there are occasions when are needed 
 conveniences for loading large sows and fat hogs. By a little 
 forethought and ingenuity, with a small outlay for material, 
 the farmer can secure labor-saving appliances which directly 
 and indirectly save money. But yesterday a neighbor had 
 sixteen fat hogs to deliver at the railroad. They were turned 
 out of the fattening pen onto the highway to be driven a mile 
 and a half. A bridge across a frozen stream was to be crossed. 
 The farmer and two men worked and coaxed, then kicked 
 and slashed and yelled, and ran themselves and hogs down 
 in their vain efforts to get the hogs to cross the bridge. To 
 cross the ice was impossible. A half day was dpent and the 
 
244 PRACTICAL HUrrS about barn BtntDIKG. 
 
 hogs worried shamefully, all for the want of a little gump- 
 tion. 
 
 If he must drive hie hogs to market he could have saved 
 time and wori'lment had he scattered some straw on the 
 bridge floor to have given the hogs confidence. A frightened 
 hog becomes as uomanageable as a scared race horse and ten 
 times as stubborn. 
 
 It is the part of- wisdom to prevent trouble when it can be 
 done. Animals not accustomed to cross bridges are always 
 suspicious of them, and must have time to investigate the 
 situation and decide whether it is safe to risk their precious 
 carcasses on such strange structures. 
 
 There is always a doubt, however, what their judgment 
 may be in the case, hence we had better adopt means by 
 
 which our schemes may not be so easily upset, as they too 
 often are, by the stubbornness of a hog. 
 
 Had this neighbor loaded his hogs into his wagons he 
 could have delivered them in less time with no trouble and 
 no worriment and scarcely any loss of weight. 
 
 How to load them is the trouble with many farmers. This 
 can be easily done if one has a hog chute, such as I will now 
 try to describe. 
 
 The out will give a general idea of its construction. It is 
 11 ft. long, 2 ft. wide in the clear, and the sides are 2 ft. 6 in. 
 high. There are two sills made of 2x4 scantling, with tenon 
 1x4 in. on each end, which enter mortises in side posts 1x6 
 and are fastened with i-in. draw pins. After these are made 
 put in draw pins and tighten them up; then put in the bot- 
 tom side pieces, which are boards J ft. wide and 12 ft. long; 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 245 
 
 then the two bottom boards, 1 ft. wide aod 11 ft. long. If the 
 bottom sills have been made 2 ft. 2 in. between shoulders of 
 tenons the bottom hoards and tide boards will fit closely and 
 leave no cracks and help to stiffen the sides. Now put on 
 two 6-in. fencing boards 12 ft. long, leaving cracks 3 in. wide, 
 and you have the sides 2 ft. 6 in. high. Now place one end 
 of this chute in the bottom of your wagon which you will use 
 for hauling hogs in, the other end resting on the ground. 
 You can now drop a plumb line and mark and saw off tbe 
 ends of the side boards so that the ends of the chute will be 
 perpendicular. 
 
 The wheels shown in the cut can now be placed ^o the axle 
 furnishes a support to the bottom of the chute. The bottom 
 will be stiffer if you have placed the sills and side posts or 
 stays one foot from each end. For wheels we have a cast-oflE 
 pair from an old buggy, such as can be had at any wagon or 
 blacksmith shop for a trifle. The iron axle can be cut in the 
 middle, so as to be made 2 ft. 6 in. between the shoulders of 
 the spindles. Now cut a slot in each of two pieces of 2x4 
 scantling 3 ft. long, and let the slots be wide enough to fit 
 closely over the square of the iron axle. It is usually about 
 li in. Let these pieces be put on the outside of the chute, 
 the axle in the slots, and when the axle is adjusted so as to 
 touch firmly the bottom of the chute nail these two slotted 
 pieces to the sides of the chute, and you have a hog chute 
 which can be wheeled from place to place with great ease. 
 It will be found more convenient than a permanent chute, 
 since with it hogs or sows can be loaded directly from their 
 accustomed pen. 
 
 In many places the wagon bed used is too shallow for haul- 
 ing hogs. We have found abed 2 ft. 6 in. deep entirely sat- 
 isfactory. A cheap rack is easily made to put on top of a 
 common box-bed, as seen on many farms. It makes a handy 
 arrangement for hauling hogs, calves, sheep, stove wood, 
 leaves, and other light, bulky material. 
 
 The rack may be kept in place by the uprights entering 
 staples in sides of the bed, or by alternating on the rack so 
 (16 to slip down closely on each side of the bed. 
 
 With a portable obute to loa4 hogs aod a wagon bed witl^ 
 
246 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 movable racks wc find it cheaper to haul hogs to market 
 than to drive them. The shrinkage is less and ^shippers re- 
 ceive them fresh, and vigorous, so they, say they do not lose 
 so many in transit on the cars. With a chute and a box or 
 crate it is a light job to move a fine sow and carry her to the 
 boar when we wish to make a cross outside of our own herd. 
 
 DEVICE FOR KEEPING SLOP WARM. 
 
 Here is a cheap device for keeping slop warm, for which 
 we are also indebted to Mr. Bonham. This cut is to repre- 
 sent a coal-oil barrel, set inside of a box and packed with cut 
 straw or sawdust. There is a lid to close down tight. An 
 old coffee sack or piece of blanket or carpet laid over the 
 
 barrel before puiting on the Jid of the barrel and closing 
 down the lid of the box will keep in the heat. 
 
 We make the barrel full of cooked feed. If kept covered 
 it will keep warm until fed out. It is made as thick as mash 
 or cream, and one bucket of the feed mixed with a bucket of 
 
PLANS OF SWINE PENS. 
 
 247 
 
 water from the well makes a tepid mess which pigs finjoy 
 and will eat up clean and go off happy to bed or to rambling 
 about the grass lot. 
 
 With this jacket around the slop barrel the hot dish- 
 water and all waste hot water of the kitchen or laundry can 
 be utilized to the comfort and health of the pigs. The chill 
 ought to be taken off of any drink given to the pigs in freez- 
 ing weather if we would get best results for care and feed. 
 
 This device may seem small to the farmer who handles 
 pigs and swine by the hundred, but as the bulk of the pork 
 of the country is made by the farmers whe handle a few hogs 
 the hints here given will meet their case. 
 
 A DEVICE FOR HOLDING HOGS. 
 
 A .device for holding hogs by the head while ringing 
 them is herewith illustrated. It is simple and cheap in its 
 
248 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 construction and easy in its operation — so simple, in fact, 
 that the mere illustration furnishes all the specifications 
 necessary. The uprights should be firmly set in the ground 
 and the upper piece of the stocks pinioned to the upright on a 
 pivot at A. By nailing boards to the uprights on both sides 
 in the rear a small chute may be formed by means ot which 
 the hogs may easily be driven into the "trap." 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 
 
 The use of the silo in the preservation of forage crops has 
 become so important and generally recofrnized a factor in 
 live-stock husbandry that a volume of barn plans designed 
 especially for farmers would be greatly lacking without some 
 attempt to present the result of the latest and ripest experi- 
 ence concerning their construction. It is doubtful if in any 
 place in America a more persistent, determined, and intelli- 
 gent effort has been made to get at the very bottom facts 
 connected with the constructioa of the silo as well as the 
 preparation and manipulation of forage crops so preserved as 
 at the experimental farm connected with the Wisconsin Ag- 
 ricultural College. A little over one year ago Prof. F. H. 
 King of that institution was commissioned to make an ex- 
 haustive examination which should embrace the whole sub- 
 ject of silo construction, and the result of his investigations 
 is given herewith as a consensus of the most intelligent ex- 
 perience of practical men throughout the entire country, as 
 follows: 
 
 Silo experience in the United States now covers more 
 than ten years, and so far as the economy of producing silage 
 and the advantages of feeding it are concerned there appeal s 
 to be everywhere, among those who have operated surcessful 
 silos, a strong conviction that good silage is a superior and 
 cbeap feed; but the same experience is now fast demonstrat- 
 ing serious imperfections in the construction of perhaps a 
 majority of existing silos in this country. Some silos have 
 so rapidly deteriorated as to become utterly useless for the 
 purposes for which they were intended inside of three or 
 even two years, unless they are subjected to extensive re- 
 pairs, while others have never successfully preserved the 
 materials placed ia them. With a view to obviating these 
 difflouHies in the cooetruction <jf future silos, aijd of guggest- 
 
250 PKACTIOAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 mg remedies for the defects of existing ones, a study of the 
 actual construction and condition of silos now in use has been 
 undertaken. It is the purpose here to record some of the 
 facts observed and to make such suggestions as the present 
 state of the study appears to warrant. 
 
 I. —NUMBER OF SILOS KXAMINBD. 
 
 Thus far ninety-three silos have been examined, of which 
 seventy are in Wisconsin, six in Michigan, six in Ohio, and 
 eleven in Illinois. Of these, sixty-seven are lined wholly or 
 in part with wood; ten are lathed and plastered with water- 
 lime; fourteen are stone, grout, or brick, with cement fac- 
 ing; two are lined with metal, and one with tarred paper. 
 
 IL— KINDS AND CONDITIONS OF WOOD-LINED SILOS. 
 
 Of the sixty-seven silos lined wholly or in part with wood 
 thirty-four, or more than one-half, showed some rotting at 
 the time of the examination. The oldest of these silos had 
 been filled only five seasons; seven are rotting at the end of 
 the second filling, and one, which was relined at the end of 
 three years, has the new lining rotting after a single year's 
 use. This appears like a dark record for the wood-lined 
 silos, but there is a brighter side when the subject is studied 
 in detail. 
 
 We have found five varieties of wood-lining now in use, 
 as follows: 
 
 1. A single layer of matched boards, of which there are 
 two. One of these is rotting where it comes against a beam 
 in the barn and the other has been used one year only. In 
 the latter of these the silage spoiled a foot in at the corners 
 and from two to four inches on the sides. 
 
 2. Two layers o£ common boards without ^aper and un- 
 painted. But one of these was examined, and this was rot- 
 ting in several places after three years' service. The silage 
 had spoiled to a considerable extent in it, but it should be 
 said that it was built of cull boards, many of which were 
 worm-eaten and even spongy in places. 
 
 3. Two thicknesses of boards separated by strips of fur- 
 ring laid upon tarred paper. Of the six silos containing this 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 251 
 
 type of lining, their average age being 3.33 years, every one 
 has rotted, two of them so badly as to require extensive re- 
 pairs before the silos are suitable lor service again. 
 
 4. One thickness of matched boards with paper on the 
 studding. Thirteen of these silos have been visited, six of 
 which, with an average age of three years, are in good con- 
 dition still, while seven, with an average age of 3.43 years, 
 are rotting more or less. 
 
 5. Two thicknesses of boards with paper between, nailed 
 closely and firmly together. There are forty-five of these 
 silos, twenty-six with an average age of three years; in good 
 condition, while nineteen, with an average of ^.4 years, are 
 rotting to some extent. 
 
 The rotting which has occurred in most of the cases noted 
 is by no means general, and the conditions under which it 
 has occurred may be thus stated: 
 
 1. Betting where there has been inadequate general ven- 
 tilation — eight cases. 
 
 2. Rotting where stone walls have been faced with wood 
 — eight cases. 
 
 3. Rotting where boards came against beams or sills — 
 twelve cases. 
 
 4. Rotting where spoiled silage is left piled against the 
 boards — ^four cases. 
 
 5. Rotting where dirt is piled against or lies behind the 
 lining — ^four cases. 
 
 TTT . — IMPORTANCE OF THOROUGH VENTILATION. 
 
 I believe that the rotting in every case we have .thus far 
 observed in the walls of wood silos is attributable to imper- 
 fect ventilation, and that it might have been greatly delayed 
 if not entirely prevented by different methods of construc- 
 tion. 
 
 Wood kept perfectly and continuously dry, or perfectly 
 and continuously saturated with liquids which do not act 
 chemically upon it will resist decay for generations, while 
 almost any natural wood containing a suitable amount of 
 tnoisture and possessing the right temperature may rot in a 
 very brief period provided only that there be present in it 
 
252 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 the living spores or germs which develop and mu tiply at 
 the expense of the wood tissue. 
 
 The ordinary kinds of wood-decay are proLCssesof disinte- 
 gration dup to forms of life which develop from spores and 
 do their destructive work where conditions are favorable; 
 that is, where the temperature is light and the wood is for 
 considerable inlpi-vals of time neither too wet nor too dry. 
 This being true it is evident that wood-lined silos should be 
 so constructed that all lumber against which the silage does 
 not lie shall be continuously too dry to permit of decay, 
 while the lining itself should be permitted to become dry 
 and remain so as fast as the silage is removed from it. These 
 conditions may be niaintained in all comparatively dry cli- 
 mates, I believe, by adopting modes of construction which 
 insure very thorough ventilation both of the silo pit and 
 within the silo walls immediately behind the lining; but 
 it may be seriously questioned whether in damp climates, 
 where the shingles of houses are largely moss-covered most 
 of the summer, a simple wood lining can last long in any 
 silo. 
 
 It will be readily seen that the type of silo lining where 
 strips of furring on tarred paper carry the boards against 
 which the silage rests, forming closed air spaces, is a mode 
 of construction which must necessarily maintain a damp at- 
 mosphere behind and in contact wi ih the lining, and every 
 one of the six cases of this type observed has rotted badly. 
 It will be observed that the rotting in the other cases also 
 occurs where the mode of construction or other conditions 
 are such as to necessitate a very slow drying of the silo lin- 
 ing after the silage is removed. 
 
 IV.— PAINT FOR THE WOOD LININGS OF SILOS. 
 
 The linings of wood silos have been treated in various 
 ways to render them less liable to rot, and the following 
 have been observed: First, linings without paint of any 
 kind; second, linings painted with hot coal-tar; third, lin- 
 ings painted with coal-tar dissolved in gasoline; fourth, lin- 
 ings painted with hot coRl-tar mixed with pitch; fifth, UoingB 
 paint^^ with pitch alone; sixth, linings painted with linseed 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 253 
 
 oil and red oohre; seventh, linings painted with linseed oil 
 alone. 
 
 As far as can he deduced from a study of the cases visited 
 there appears to be very little if any advantage derived from 
 the use of the paints mentioned. Some of the very oldpst of 
 the wood-lined silos I find uopainted, and at the same time 
 perfectly sound, while on the other hand the silo having ap- 
 parently the best coating of paint has rotted more than any 
 other ard inside of three years. 
 
 If a peifeotly impervious coat, which would remain so, 
 could be applied to the wood lining this would without doubt 
 be of great advantage, but the coats mentioned, applied as 
 they have been, leave innumerable places for the silage 
 juices to enter the wood, and when this is the case there are 
 two ways in which the paint may actually hasten the rotting 
 rather than retard it, thus: 
 
 1st. By preventing the boards in places from becoming 
 wet pnough to keep the fungi from gi owing there while cov- 
 ered by the silage. 
 
 id. By holding moisture in the boards long enough after 
 the silage is out to allow the spores to develop and destroy 
 the wood. 
 
 •It is a well-established fact that painting wet or green 
 timber hastens rather than retards decay. It is my impres- 
 sion that if a wood lining is to receive any treatment what- 
 ever some antiseptic liquid will be best which will readily 
 penetrate the wood and kill the spores without at the same 
 time injuring the silage which comes ia contact wit}i it. 
 There are several antiseptics which may be used, but they 
 should be tested before they are recommended. 
 
 v.— STONE AND GROUT SILOS. 
 
 We have examined fourteen silos which are stone or grout 
 and twenty-five which are stone or grout below and wood 
 above. The masonry of nearly all of these silos is plastered 
 with one or more coats of some variety of water-lime or 
 cement, and where the work is well done the great majority of 
 the testimony goes to show that the silage is just as good in con- 
 tact with the masonry, or even better than against the wood. 
 
254 PEAOTICAL HUraS ABOUT BAEN BtnXDIIfO. 
 
 The water-lime coating, however, is not permanent. Both 
 the acetic and lactic acids of the silage juices act vigorously 
 upon the lime in all varieties of cements, dissolving it out 
 and leaving the mortar a layer of porous sand, which is 
 easily and deeply scarred with the fork in removing the 
 silage and which crumhles and rubs off under the hand. 
 When this condition is reached the layer of cement becomes 
 saturated with the silage juices, and if the walls are not pro» 
 tecled from frost it freezes and cleaves off. Where this is not 
 the case in the older silos the absorbed juices undergo a 
 change which results in the development of a very strong 
 and disagreeable odor which I have rarely detected in the 
 wood silos. The quantity of juices absorbed by the porous 
 cement is enough to develop a thick layer of mould, some- 
 times covering the entire walls in the poorly-ventilated silos, 
 and this on drying cracks and rolls up as mud does in the 
 sun. While it is true that the acids of the silage decompose 
 the cement of the stone silos, still the life of a single heavy 
 coat well put on and protected from frost appears to be at 
 least ten years, and with a yearly whitewashing with pure 
 cement I have no doubt that a single coat of plastering might 
 last twenty to thirty years. 
 
 Where the walls of stone silos have been left rough and 
 uneven through insuBHcient pointing or not plastering them 
 the settling of the silage develops air spaces against the 
 walls, which result in more or less silage spoiliag. This fact 
 coupled with another, namely, that the earlier stone silos 
 were comparatively shallow, has been, in my judgment, the 
 chief cause of unfavorable criticism of these structures. The 
 only serious objection I can urge against a well-built stone 
 silo is its relatively high first cost. 
 
 It should be noted, however, that whatever neutralizes 
 the acids, especially the lactic, preventing them from reach- 
 ing that per cent which checks further fermentation, allows 
 these changes to continue, and if the neutralizing effect of 
 the cement extends to any considerable distance into the 
 silo slightly greater losses should be expected when it is 
 used. 
 
SILOS AKD ENSILAGE. 255 
 
 VI. — ^LATHED AND PLASTERED SILOS. 
 
 Of this class ol silos I have visited ten; one has heen filled 
 four times, three three times, and the remainder only once 
 or twice. No one of these silos could be pronounced unqual- 
 ifiedly sound at the time of my visit. Indeed one had been 
 relined with wood after two years' service; one was being 
 replastered in places, and three others had some of the plas- 
 tering oflf — two of them large areas — when they were ex- 
 amined. They all showed cracks and the disintegrating 
 effects of the acids described under the stone siios. There 
 are several very serious objections to using this type of 
 lining: 
 
 1st. The springing of weak silo walls and the treading and 
 packing of the silage tend to break the clinches and loosen 
 the plastering. 
 
 2d. Careless use of the fork in removing the silage will 
 necessarily perforate and break away the cement. 
 
 3d. The softening effect dt the acids renders the coat 
 liable to destruction from freezing and permits the silage 
 juices to wet the lath and woodwork behind, and by holding 
 moisture against them after the silage is removed increases 
 the danger of rotting. In the silo which had been relined 
 with wood it was stated that the boards were damp when the 
 plastering was removed a month after the silo had been 
 emptied, and that some of the boards were already rotting. 
 The silo which had been in use four years had been white- 
 washed with pure water-lime each season, and this appears to 
 have nearly neutralized the acids and thus protected the lin- 
 ing, for the only softening in this case was near and at the bot- 
 tom. Three of this class of silos visited are roimd, thirty feet 
 in diameter and plastered with hair mortar, to which cement 
 was added when it was applied. Here the greater rigidity 
 of the silo walls, the arched surface of the moriar and the 
 hair in the clinches all conspire to give greater permanence 
 to the lining than in the rectangular silos, and I have no 
 doubt that with very thorough ventilation both of the silo 
 pit and of the walls behind the lath, together with a yearly 
 application of cement whitewash, the lining may last a long 
 time. 
 
256 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDING. 
 
 Vn.— METAL, SHINGLE AND PAPER-LINED SILOS. 
 
 We have at tbe experimeot station two silos lined with 
 metal, one with sheet-iron and the other with roofing ,tin. 
 They have each been in use one year, and in my judgment 
 are not likely to prore satisfactory. None of the available 
 metals are in themselves proof aj^ainst the acids of silos and 
 it is difficult to coat them in such a- way as to entirely shut 
 off the acids. The two varieties of paint used on iho linings 
 mentioned came off quite generally and the rusting of the 
 sheet-iron is very noticeable. Roofing-tins are now mostly 
 coated with lead and its compounds are poisonous. I have 
 found it very difficult to coat sheet-iron, even with coal-tar, 
 which the acids do not attack, so as to protect it, on account 
 of tbe small cavities in the surface containing air, which ex- 
 pand with changes of temperature and blow out, leaving 
 minute pores through which the water and acids enter and 
 eat under the rest of the coating. There is less trouble of this 
 cort with tin, but in either case the fork is certain to cut 
 'through the paint ard expose a fresh surface to the action of 
 the silage juices; and besides, neither of them can be applied 
 fcr-less than $50 per thousand square feet. 
 
 I have seen but one paper-lined silo and it is very un- 
 satisfactory. The paper was held in place by cleats extend- 
 ing both up and down and horizontally. The paper was badly 
 warped and much torn. The cleats interfere with the set- 
 tling of the silage and tend to develop air spaces, which 
 causes the silage to spoil on the sides. 
 
 The two shingled silos were in a fair state of preservation 
 and the silage is reported to have kept well in them. In 
 these cases cull shingles had been used at sixty cents per 
 thousand. 
 
 Such a lining is necessarily less perfect and I believe not 
 as lasting as plain boa]?ds, and when good shingles are com- 
 pared with good lumber the lumber is cheaper. 
 
 VHL— THE FORM AND DIMENSIONS OF SILOS. 
 
 An ample depth of the silage is one of the first requisites 
 of its keeping. I have visited silos thirty, thirty-four and 
 thirty-six feet deep, and all the evidence goes to show that 
 
SILOS AMD EKSILAGB. ' 257 
 
 the best Bilage and the least absolute waste is found in deep 
 silos, while other conditions being the same the poorest 
 silage and the most waste occur in the shallow ones. My 
 conviction is that the best results can hardly he secured with 
 a depth less than twenty-four feet unless very heavy and 
 careful weighting is resorted to. The importance of depth 
 increases when clover or other loose-lying material is cut in, 
 and such material should as a rule he covered with a con- 
 siderable depth of corn to insure closer packing and a more 
 complete expulsion of entangled air. 
 
 In form the silo should be either round or as nearly square 
 as it is practicable to make it, because these forms g^ve the 
 greatest capacity with the least amount of side exposure. 
 The long, narrow silos are needlessly wasteful both of silage 
 and of lumber. I have visited one silo J2x27 ft., only 12 ft. 
 deep, and another 16x48 22 ft. deep. Now a silo S'i ft. 
 square will have the same amount of side exposure as the 
 one 16x48, and for the same depth will hold just one-third 
 more; while the same amount of side in a round silo will en- 
 close more than two-thirds more silage and will require much 
 less lumber to build it, because 2x4 studding may be used, 
 the siding and lining acting as hoops, giving the needed 
 strength. 
 
 rx. — THE IMPORT ANCE OF FEEDING FEOM THE TOP AND 
 THE USE OF PARTITIONS. 
 
 [n the construction of silos careful attention should be 
 paid to the area of surface exposed in feeding the silage. 
 Silage wastes much more rapidly when fed from the sides 
 than from the top, and since the most economical construc- 
 tion demands the largest possible feeding surface it follows 
 that the feeding should be, in general, from the top. 
 
 The proper horizontal area of the feeding pit depends 
 upon the amount of silage fed daily and the rate at which 
 silage becomes seriously injured when exposed. I have not 
 been able to gather facts enough to settle this important 
 point. The spoiling is certainly more rapid in the shallow 
 than in the deep silos and more rapid when corn or clover is 
 put in whole than when cut, because it is impossible to feed 
 17 
 
258 PBACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKN BUILDING. 
 
 the surface down as evenly and keep it as smooth. My itn- 
 presBion is that the silage should be lowered at least two 
 inches daily, and that three would be better. Taking three 
 inches Eis the depth fed daily, forty as the number of animals, 
 150 days as the feeding period, and 1.5 cubic feet as the 
 amount fed to each animal daily, a round silo 17.5 ft. inside 
 diameter and 37 ft. deep would be required. The same con- 
 ditions would also be met by a round silo 22 ft. inside diame- 
 ter, 24 ft. deep, with a partition through the center. 
 
 Where all the silage can be fed conveniently from one 
 point and a large amount of silage must be stored, one silo 
 with partitions is not only much cheaper, but better than 
 separate structures, because the additional corners cannot 
 admit air from the outside when the pits are full and the 
 round silo with partitions makes less corners than the rec- 
 tangular ones do. 
 
 Two-inch partitions give ample strength where the filling 
 takes place on both sides at once, and if it is desired to fill 
 one pit faster than the other temporary braces may be placed 
 in the empty pit and removed as it is filled. I believe that 
 two thicknesses of boards with paper between makes a better 
 partition than the two-inch plank, which appear to be more 
 commonly used. 
 
 X.— SMOOTHNESS OF SILO WALLS ESSENTIAL. 
 
 Whatever tends to the expulsion and exclusion of en- 
 tangled air must conserve the silage, and whatever tends to 
 leave or form cavities in which air can lodge in bulk, experi- 
 ence shows leads to spoiled silage. Cross-rods, overhanging 
 ledges and projecting stones should be avoided, as they hold 
 up the silage, forming cavities into which air collects, en- 
 abling the moulds to grow. 
 
 XI.— THE COVERING OF SILAGE. 
 
 When the feeding of the silage does not begin very soon 
 after the completion of the filling a good covering lessens 
 the waste. I have found the following practices in regard to 
 covering: 
 
 1st. Some do not cover at all and have six to twelve inches 
 of waste. 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 259 
 
 2d. Some have used stravr with no gain and possibly 
 greater loss. 
 
 3d. Many use green marsh hay cut on, aod sometimes wet, 
 with good results. 
 
 4th. A few use chaS with good results. 
 
 5th. One has used boards covered with eight inches of dry 
 earth, which is used afterward in the stable as an absorbent. 
 Silage keeps well. 
 
 6tb. One used straw weighted with stone with poor re- 
 sults. 
 
 7th. Some used cut marsh hay covered with plank, the 
 cracks between planks covered with boards, and the whole 
 weighted with stone. Little loss except at edges and corners. 
 
 8th. Others use a layer of cut straw, then boards, then 
 tarred paper and boards again. Keeps perfectly except at 
 edges and corners. 
 
 9tb. Still others have used first paper, then boards, and 
 these weighted with stone, with good results. 
 
 The testimony in regard to covering is quite discordant. 
 Some claim good results with a given method, while with 
 others it has failed. Some have good results one season and 
 very different results another with the same method. We 
 need much more positive knowledge on this point than is 
 now available. 
 
 XIL— PROTECTION AGAINST BATS. 
 
 Nine of the silos visited have been invaded by rats. They 
 usually enter by burrowing under the foundation walls, com- 
 ing up inside even where cement has been used. But in 
 some cases they have found entrance to the dead -air spaces, 
 then cut holes through the linings, usually at the corners. 
 Their destructive effects result from the admission of air to 
 the silo, and when it is said that one man reports killing 
 twenty-six rats in a silo the possibilities of damage to silage 
 by this nuisance can be appreciated. 
 
 The surest safeguard against them appears to be covering 
 the bottom of the silo with a layer of small stones or grout 
 before the cement is applied. When the cement is applied 
 directly upon the ground the action of the acids soon softens 
 
260 PEACTICAIi HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 it to such an extent as to permit the rale to penetrate it 
 without diflSculty. 
 
 Xm. — PROTECTION AGAINST FREEZING. 
 
 If we should be guided in the construction of silos by 
 the general testimony in regard to the liability of silage 
 freezing, the statement would be that very little attention 
 need be paid to this point. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that most of our silo 
 experience has been gained during the past three years, 
 when the winters have been exceptionally mild. Those 
 owning older silos do speak of silage freezing, and some of 
 the stone silos testify to the destructive effects of frost. The 
 general verdict is that the freezing, so far as silage is con- 
 cerned, is more an inconvenience than serious loss. When 
 the frozen silage is mixed with the rest it quickly thaws and 
 is apparently relished as well as if it had not been frozen. 
 All types of cemented silos must be built frost-proof to pre- 
 vent the cement from cleaving off; but with wood silos the 
 construction required to preserve the silage and to protect 
 the frame from weather appears to be sufficient to prevent 
 any serious freezing during all except protracted extremely 
 cold weather. 
 
 XIV.— CONSTRUCTION OF WOOD SILOS. 
 
 At present prices there is no available material on the 
 market which can compare with wood in cheapness of first 
 cost; and if a mode of construction can be devised which will 
 insure permanency to the frame work, and at the same time 
 give an effective service of, say, ten yeai s to the lining, the 
 essential demands of a material for silo building will be met 
 byil. The fact that we have perfectly sound all-wood bilos 
 of five years' btanding which embody only a portion of the 
 principles essential to long life is encouraging for this type of 
 construction. I believe there need be no question about the 
 entire adequacy of the wood frame and the covering outside, 
 above ground, and I have great bopes for the wood lining. 
 
 In the construction of a wood silo it is important to have 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 261 
 
 in mind the conditions essential to durability, and some of 
 them will be here stated. 
 
 1st. Only sound and well-seasoned lumber should be used. 
 I have mentioned the case of a second lining rotting in a 
 single season. In this case the new boards were placed 
 directly against those which were rotting,*an equivalent to 
 adding wood to Are;, and when unsound lumber is used it is 
 very likely to contain either the spores or living fungi which 
 only require the dampness of the silo and its warm tempera- 
 ture to carry forward their destruction. Sapwood, too, is 
 much more subject to rot, because it contains more food upon 
 which the fungi subsist; hence the sappy ends of studding 
 should be turned up and the sappy edges outward. The 
 soundest boards should be reserved for the lining and the 
 very best placed at the bottom. 
 
 2d. Wherever the conditions are favorable forlhe rotting 
 of silage there it is quite possible for the silo liaing to rot 
 also, as my observations have shown, and since ample depth 
 insures better silage it may also be expected, to better pre- 
 serve the lining. I have not met a man who unqualifiedly 
 says his silage is as good in the corners as at most other 
 places along the sides; hence I feel that rotting of the lin- 
 ings at these places is likely to take place, and for this reason 
 and because it is stronger and cheaper the round form, wher- 
 ever it can be used, is preferable to the ang^ular silo. 
 
 3d. The large number of observed cases of rotting where 
 dirt, stone walls, beams or sills hold dampness behind the 
 silo linings, coupled with the cases of rotting which have 
 occurred where there has been imperfect general ventilation, 
 show that perfect ventilation on both sides of the lining is 
 one of the first essentials to its preservation; hence horizon- 
 tal studding and the placing of linings directly against beams 
 or sills should be avoided as well as the lining of stone walls 
 with wood. 
 
 SUo lAnings. — ^In the majority of cases the best results 
 have been associated with the lining consisting of two layers 
 of boards with tarred paper between them, but it does not 
 appear essential that either should be matched; they should 
 be of uniform thickness, however, and the narrower widths 
 
262 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BUILDING. 
 
 aire best. On account of the conditions which work for and 
 againitl the rotting of linings I believe a still more effective 
 and durable lining may be secured by painting both layers 
 of boardts on one side only with hot coal-tar boiled until it is 
 not sticky when cold. The tarred sides should be placed faoe 
 to face in the silo? tarred paper between them, and I would 
 urge the paiating or the paper with cold coal-tar after it is 
 in place but no faster thaa the inner lining is put on. The 
 coating of the boards may be readily done by boiling the tar 
 in an iron kettle three feet in diameter, letting one man 
 slide the boards aero -s the top while another paints them 
 with a well-worn broom. The tar should be laid on smoothly 
 and the boards placed horizonlally to cool. After boiiing 
 the tar down to the proper consistency there should be 
 enough fire only to keep the tar hot. A wide board should 
 be at hand to throw over the top of the kettle to smother the 
 flames in case the tar should take fire from overheating. 
 
 It would be less trouble, perhap:>, to put on the first layer 
 of sheeting and paint it, in place, with coal-tar boiled until 
 it is as thick as it will spread readily when cold. By paint- 
 ing the first lining and placing the paper, and painting this 
 just before the second layer is put on, a very impervious wall 
 must he secured. Such a treatment of the lining would pre- 
 vent the outer layer from becoming damp, allow the inner to 
 dry more quickly after the silage is removed, besides ren- 
 dering both more impervious to air, and it would seem must 
 be a great improvement at small expense, but only a trial 
 for a series of years can positively settle the matter. 
 
 The Sills. — These should rest on a good stone wall, well 
 bedded in mortar after having their under sides and inner 
 edges painted with coal tar, as described for the lining, and 
 they should be everywhere at least 6 in. above the bottom 
 of the silo inside and 8 io. above the earth outside. 
 
 Fig. 1 shows the construction of an all-wood round silo. 
 Sills 2x4 cut in sections on a radius of the silo circle, bedded 
 in mortar and toe-nailed together. Plates the same, spiked 
 to tops of studding. Studding 2x4, 1 ft. apart. Short lengths 
 may be used, lapped to get the depth. Sixteens and four- 
 teens will give a silo 30 ft. deep. Lining made from fencing 
 
SILOS Am) ENSILAGE. 
 
 263 
 
 a cacD^mm 
 
264 
 
 PEACnOAL HINTS ABOXTT BARK BUTLDmO. 
 
 ripped in two. Outside sheeting the same. Siding for silos 
 under 28 ft. outside diameter, common siding rabbeted; for 
 silos more than 28 ft. outside diameter common drop siding 
 or shiplap may be used. A shows ventilators between stud- 
 ding. Auger holes are bored at bottom between studding, 
 and the boards lack two inches of reaching plate at top in- 
 side. Both sets of openings are covered with wire cloth to 
 keep out vermin. There should be a line of feeding. doors 
 from top to bottom, each 2 or 3 ft. by 5 ft., and about 2.5 ft. 
 apart. 
 
 Fig. 2 shows two methods of roofing round silos and the 
 manner of connecting them with a barn. A A shows where 
 air is admitted between the studding to ventilate behind the 
 
 lining. £ .B is the feeding chute. C C filling window. The 
 cupola is essential for perfect ventilation. 
 
 Fig. 3 shows method of laying and leveling foundation of 
 a round silo, and a round silo with a single partition. A, 
 center post with top level with top of proposed wall. B B, 
 straight-edge boards nailed to stakes driven in ground. C, 
 straight-edge fixed to turn on a pin at A. BB are all nailed 
 level with top of post A. D, partition in round silo. It may 
 be placed so as to come in the middle of the single line of 
 doors, letting the same doors answer for both sides. 
 
 In the rectangular silos, where they are deep, the sills 
 must be anchored with iron rods, as shown in Fig. 4, but in 
 
SILOS A.KD ENSILAGE. 
 
 265 
 
 the round silo this is unnecessary. Fig. 4 shows how the 
 studding should be placed on the sills and beams, if in a barn, 
 to insure ventilation. 
 
 Fig. 4 shows the construction and ventilation of the walls 
 of a rectangular silo. The sills are two inches narrower than 
 the studding, to leave air spaces between sills and lining. 
 A is two inches of mortar made by stirring sand into coal- 
 
 tar, boiled until it is hard when cold. B is bolt anchoring 
 sill to wall, placed about four feet apart. C, ventilator be- 
 tween studding. 
 
 XV. — COMPARATIVE EXPENSE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF 
 LINING FOR ROUND SILOS. 
 
 Taking 2,000 square feet of lining as the unit of compari- 
 son we shall have the following results for different kinds of 
 lining: 
 
 1st. For all-wood lining with paper and coal-tar between 
 two layers, counting fencing ripped in two $18 per M, tarred 
 paper two cents per pound, tar $4.50 per barrel, and labor 
 $2.50 per day, we shall have: Lumber, $36; labor, $7.50; 
 paper, $8.05; tar, $4.50; total, $56.05. 
 
 2d. For lathed and plastered lining, other items as before 
 
266 PEA.CTICAL HINTS ABOUT BABN BtTILDIKG. 
 
 and lathing and plastering at nineteen cents per yard, we 
 shall have, as ahove, $56.05; latbing and plastering, $42.20; 
 total, $98.25. 
 
 3d. For metal lining, taking other items as in No. 1, and 
 sheet-iron or tin laid on at $5.50 per square, we shall have, 
 as in No. 1, $56.05; metal lining, $110; total, $166.05. 
 
 4tb. Lined with brick eet on edge, laid in cement and 
 spiked to studding, counting brick $8 per M, mortar and lay- 
 ing $4.60 per M, one thickness of half-inch wood lining at $9 
 per M, and painting with hot coal-tar inside at five cents x>er 
 yard, we shall have: Lumber, $18; carpenter labor, $3.75; 
 paper, $8.05; brick, $64; mortar and laying, $36; painting 
 with tar, $11. 10; total, $140.90. 
 
 5lh. Lined with wood with heavy tarred roofing felt at $4 
 per M between the linings instead of tarred paper, we shall 
 have, as in No. 1, less tarred paper and tar, $43.50; roofing 
 felt, $80; total, $123.50. 
 
 The best qualities of heavy roofing felt would make a very 
 impervious wall when placed between two layers of boards. 
 The brick lining I believe would be practically permanent, 
 but the lathed and plastered ones I would not recommend. 
 The difference in the first cost of a good brick lining and a 
 good wood lining is likely to be more rather than less than 
 that given, which is $140.90— $56.05=$84.85, and 5 per cent 
 interest on this difference is $4.24 per annum. Which would 
 be the cheaper in the end must turn upon the relative 
 lengths of life of the two, a matter which only time can set- 
 tle. 
 
 The different kinds of lining here considered would cost 
 some more for rectangular silos, because in them half-inch 
 lumber will not answer. Inch boards are absolutely essential 
 for stability in these forms. 
 
 XVL— THE CONSTBUCTION OP STONE SILOS. 
 
 I have visited some very excellent stone silos in Dodge Co., 
 Wis., one of which is 14x24 inside, and 30 ft. deep, 22 ft. above 
 ground. It is covered outside with dimension boards bat- 
 tened, extending up and down and nailed to 2x4 studding 
 held in place by hooked pieces of band-iron laid in the wall. 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 267 
 
 Its cost was $500. There are several silos built on this gen- 
 eral plan in the same locality, one of ten and another of seven 
 years' standing?, which have not frozen. They keep the silage 
 excellently, but the cement is fast softening. 
 
 XVn. — COST OF THBE£ TYPES OF SILO COMPARED. 
 
 We give below the cost of a thoroughly-built rectangular 
 silo, and of a round one having the same capacity and depth 
 as the stone one the cost of which was $500. 
 
 In these bills the prices of materials have been set at 
 rates locally prevailing, and the cost of carpenter lab^r has 
 been placed sixty-five cents per M above what I know simi- 
 lar work to have been done for where the carpenters were 
 boarded: 
 
 BectangiUar sih, 180 tons — 14xS4 inside, SO ft. deep. — Foun- 
 dation, 13.44 perch, at $1.20— $16.13; studding, 2x12, 28 ft., 4,704 
 ft., at $20— $94.08; sills, etc., 2x10, 26 ft., 206 ft., at $19— $4.94; 
 sills, etc., 2x10, 16 ft., 426 ft., at $14— $5.96; rafters, etc., 2x4, 
 20 ft., 400 ft., at $16— $6.40; roof boards, fencing, 450 ft., at 
 $15— $6.75; shingles, 5 M, at $3— $15; drop siding, 8 in., 2,779 
 (t., at $16— $44.46; lining, surfaced fencing, 4,256 ft., at $15— 
 $63.84; tarred paper, 426 lbs., at 2 cents, $8.52; coal-tar, 1 
 barrel, $4.50; painting, 60 cents per square, $15; nails and 
 hinges, $10; cementing bottom, $5; 18 i-in. bolts, 18 in. lOQg, 
 $2.70; carpenter labor at $3 per M and board, $41.16; total, 
 $344.44. 
 
 Bound silo, 180 tons— SO ft. inside diameter, SO ft. deep. — 
 Foundation, 7.5 percb, at $1.20— $9; studs, 2x4, 14 and 16 ft., 
 J, 491 ft., at $i4-$20.93; rafters, 2x4, 12 ft., 208 ft., at $14— 
 $•-•.91; roof boards, fencing, 500 ft., at $15— $7.50; shingles, 6 
 .M, at $3— $18; siding, rabbeted, 2,660 ft., at $23— $61.18; lining, 
 fencing, ripped, 2,800 ft., at $18— $50.40; tarred paper, 740 
 lbs., at 2 cents, $14.80; coal-tar, 1 barrel, $4.50; hardware, $6; 
 painting, 60 cents per square, $13.20; cementing bottom, $5; 
 carpenter labor at $3 per M and board, $33.17; total, $246.59. 
 
 The three silos are outside and wholly independent struc- 
 tures except the entrance and feeding chute shown in Fig. 2, 
 which connects with the bam. This method of connection 
 
PRACTICAL HDrrS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 for outside silos, while a little more costly, I feel conttdent is 
 much the best in the lonsT ruo. 
 
 There is no practical difficulty in filling a silo thirty feet 
 above the cutter. I have visited one filled twenty-eight feet 
 above and several twenty-four feet. The carrier of course 
 must be longer, but the increased labor is relatively small. 
 A filling window at a lower level maybe and is in some cases 
 provided, to be used at first. 
 
 XVm.— BUILDING A GOOD SILO BY DEGREES. 
 
 It is much better and cheaper in the end to start with the 
 intention of building a thoroughly good silo, and it is possi- 
 ble to do this when money enough cannot be commanded at 
 the outset. In building the round silo referred to, coi'ting 
 $246.59, it may be put up and used one or even two years be- 
 fore it is completed. To illustrate, in this case the siding, 
 outside paper, painting and cementing the bottom may be 
 deferred one or even two years if really necessary, the only 
 serious inconvenience possible being the freezing of the 
 silage. This would diminish the immediate cost $94.76, 
 making the first year's expense $151.83. 
 
 XIX.— SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE REPAIR OF EXISTING 
 SILOS. 
 
 The matter of ventilation is the first point requiring at- 
 tention. This can be secured in most of the silos which have 
 carefully constructed dead-air spaces by rcsmoving the upper 
 board next to the plate or by sawing out sections between 
 each pair of studding. These openings may be covered with 
 netting as shown in Fig. 1 if desired. 
 
 Where paper has been placed against the side of the 
 board and strips of furring used to carry the lining, I believe 
 the best way will be to remove the lining, take off the strips 
 of furring and apply sound lining directly to the paper, put- 
 ting on new paper where the old is injured. 
 
 Where stone walls have been faced with wood and the 
 lining is rotting the wood should all be removed and the 
 wall plastered so as to be a little more than fiush with the 
 lining above, and those who have walls which set back under 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 269 
 
 ihe lining above Bhould face them out Bush. A jog outward 
 into the silo below is often admissible, but the reverse never. 
 
 Where only small patches of lining are rotting it may be 
 best to cut but the rotting wood and paint the edges well 
 with carbolic acid or creosote oil to kill the germs. Then 
 fit in a block and nail over it a piece of tin and paint this 
 with a coat of hot, thick coal-tar. 
 
 Where dirt has been banked against the lining it should 
 be removed and tbe bottom lowered enough to let the boards 
 become dry when the silage is removed. 
 
 Botting silage should not be allowed to remain in the silo. 
 When it must be left for a time it should be thrown into the 
 center away from the walls. 
 
 The cases of rotting against sills and beams are tbe most 
 di£Bcult to meet. It ia of course important to prevent the 
 rotting from extending to the sills, and in some of the cases 
 this may be done by providing ventilation behind tbe lining 
 and then removing the lower two feet of lining, facing each 
 stud with a wedge-shaped strip about an inch thick at the 
 bottom, letting it extend downward across the sill. Then 
 when the lining is restored and the wall below made flush 
 with it the ventilation will help to protect both sill and 
 lining. 
 
 THE BUILDING AND FILLING OF SILOS. 
 
 An earlier statement touching the building and filling of 
 the silo was given by Mr. L. H. Adams, in a bulletin of the 
 Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, as follows: 
 
 LOCATION OF SILO. 
 
 When possible tbe silo should be located in the feeding 
 barn, since it not only brings the cost of building within the 
 reach of everyone who is really in need of a silo, but greatly 
 facilitates the handling of the silage when feeding it out. 
 Depth in a silo is always preferable to breadth, so that in the 
 case of basement barns it is advisable to let the silo reach 
 from the top of barn po<3ts to the ground floor of the base- 
 
270 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOITT BABK BUILDING. 
 
 meot; a door or opening can then be made from the silo 
 directly into the basement where the silage is to be fed. 
 The next best location is adjoining the feeding stab>. In 
 most dairy stables the cows are stanchioned in two long rows 
 facing each other, and whenever it is possible it should be 
 arranged so that the silo can be entered from the end of this 
 feeding alley. A wooden track can he laid along the center 
 of the feed-way and into the silo, upon which a low-wheeled 
 car can be operated to distribute the feed. If the silo build- 
 ing is located entirely separate it should be planned to load 
 the silage into a cart, which can be driven into the feeding 
 barn, thus delivering the silage with little labor directly to 
 the cattle. The idea of convenience should not be lost sight 
 of, for by exercising a little thought wa6 judgment the labor 
 of waiting on the stock through the long feeding season can 
 be greatly reduced. 
 
 FORM OF SILO. 
 
 Id a square silo le^s lumber is required and less silage is 
 exposed to the walls in proportion to the capacity than in 
 a long narrow building; it is the part of economy to retain 
 as nearly the form of a cube as the location and other cii-- 
 cumstances will admit. Theoretically a circular silo comes 
 the nearest to perfection, tor this form requires the minimum 
 amount of material and does away with the corners, in which 
 there is always more or less decayed pilage, but as we have 
 had no experience with this form of building nothing can be 
 said about it in this connection. 
 
 BUILDING THE SILO. 
 
 The following detailed description of how to build will 
 apply to the outside silo, built separately or as an annex to 
 the stock ham. 
 
 It is always the part of wisdom to provide substantial 
 foundations for farm buildings that are intended to be per- 
 manent, and the silo is no exception. An eighteen-inch stone 
 wall should be laid deep enough in the ground to be beyond 
 the action of frost, and raised high enough above the surface 
 to admit of 8u£9cient grading to divert all surface water; if 
 the location be a high and well-drained one there will be no 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 271 
 
 necessity for raising the wall more than six inches above the 
 surface. In digging the trenches throw enough earth inside 
 to raise the silo floor up to the top of the stone wall. Upon 
 this stone foundation a sill made of three 2sl0 planks should 
 be bedded in mortar (see Fig. 1). In laying the sills the top 
 plank should not be fastened to the others, but left loose, for 
 reasons soon to appear. Tbe studding should be 2x10 plank, 
 preferably J8 ft. long. A.fter carefully sawing tbe studs to a 
 uniform length and squaring both ends, arrange them in a 
 horizontal position, resting on the edges, and placed sixteen 
 inches apart; they should be supported on a level with and 
 at right angles to the sill upon which the bent is to be raised. 
 Then spike the loose plank of the sill to tbe foot of the stud: 
 
 via. 1.— SHOWING HUW PI.ANKS OF BILL ASE JOINED. 
 
 and when all have been firmly fastened as directed they 
 should be secured at the top in the same manner. After 
 fastening the studding to sill and plate-planks the side or 
 end, as the case may be, is ready for raising. After the bent 
 has been raised in a vertical position to its place on top of 
 the other two planks of the sill the third one, that was nailed 
 to the foot of the studding before the bent was raised, can be 
 firmly spiked to tbe lower ones. This first bent can be held 
 in place by temporary stays until the remaining sills are 
 raised; the plates can then be nailed to the corners, and the 
 skeleton frame is complete; two 2x10 planks will give all the 
 strength necessary for the plate. It will be observed that 
 by following this plan the studs are securely fastened, top 
 and bottom, and the full strength of the sill and studding is 
 saved, there being no mortises cut in the sill and no tenons 
 
272 
 
 PRACTICAL HQTTS ABOUT BABK BmLDmO, 
 
 on the studding'. After the frame is up the next thing to h^ 
 done is to bridge the studding (see Fig. 2). This is a Very 
 simple thing to do, but of so much value in strengthening 
 the walls that it ought never to be omitted in a silo. In case 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 g 
 
 ffi 
 
 4=W 
 
 n 
 
 ■ ■ • - » 
 
 uiua 
 
 Fia. 2.— SHUVIKQ TASTEMIKG AND BBISGUTG OF STUDDING. 
 
 the silo is eighteen feet deep it would be advisable to put in 
 two rows of bridging. By thus spiking planks between the 
 studs it makes it just as impossible for the studs in the cen- 
 ter of the wall to spring out as it is for those nearest the 
 corners, We are now ready tg Qommence lining the silo. 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 273 
 
 Each one can follow his choice as to the outside coveriDg, 
 since it plays an unimportant part in the preservation of the 
 silage; some will prefer to use drop-siding or shiplap, others 
 common lumber, and in some parts of the State it is possible 
 to put on a covering of low-grade shingles cheaper than any 
 other way. It is not necessary for the preservation of the 
 silage that paper be used on the outside of studding, but to 
 keep out frost it is advisable to use it, since it makes the silo 
 much warmer. - Since a good deal of moisture rises f ronj the 
 silage it is well to provide for ventilation at the roof. This 
 can be done by openings in the gable ends of the building or 
 a dormer window in the roof. It is much better to carry off 
 the moist air by ventilation than to have it congeal on the 
 rafters during cold weather and drop back again when mild 
 days come. 
 
 LINING THE SILO. 
 
 Care should be exercised in lining the silo. The lumber 
 for this should have no knot holes and should be dressed on 
 one side, and is better if edged so that the joints will be 
 reasonably tight. The lumber need not be of uniform width, 
 but boards from eight to ten inches wide are preferable. 
 The inside of the studding is first covered with boards laid 
 horizontally (see Pig. 3), ten-penny nails being used; build- 
 ing paper is then tacked over the whole surface. Upon the 
 paper nail a second layer of boards. Care should he taken 
 to break joints, which can be indicated by chalk marks on 
 the paper. This double lining, with paper between, must 
 reach from the top of the silo to the bottom of the sill. 
 
 The floor of the silo need be nothing but the-earth. As 
 already mentioned, it is a good plan to fill in the silo until 
 the floor is on a level with the top of the stone wall; a layer 
 of straw spread on the bottom before commencing to fill with 
 corn will prevent the loss of any silage. 
 
 The silo should be tied across the top at two or three 
 places with joists or a cheap cable; this latter may be made 
 by twisting three strands of galvanized wire which costs 
 about three cents per pound; five pounds will make a cable- 
 sufBciently long to reach across an ordinary silo. 
 
 If the silo is more than thirty feet long the sills should .be 
 18 
 
274 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAKK BUILDING. 
 
 secured at tvro or three places with a cable of this kind, 
 which, as it rests on the ground, is entirely out of the way. 
 Tbe modem silo will not tolerate partitions of any kiod; 
 they are relics of the past. There are several methods em- 
 ployed for cutting off the four corners of the silo. Perhaps 
 the simplest plan is to bevel the two edges of a foot-wide 
 plank and nail it securely in a vertical position in the cor 
 ner. A dormer window in the roof of the Silo affords a 
 satisfactory means of getting the corn into the silo in the 
 fall. 
 
 The doorway may be formed by cutting out a stud from 
 the sill two-thirds of the way up to the plate. With large 
 silos the doorway should be made sufficiently large to permit 
 the entrance of a cart or some other vehicle for moving the 
 silage from the silo to the cattle. There is no necessity for 
 running the doorway to the top of the plate, since the silage 
 always settles considerably, and even if it fills the silo above 
 the top of the doorway there is little trouble in digging down 
 just at that point and making an opening. Of the numerous 
 doorways described the siihplest form is probably th« best. 
 Tack cleats on each of the studs which form the sides of the 
 doorway, so that boards six inches wide, running across the 
 doorway, come just flush with the inner lining of the silo. 
 If the doorway is wide set a stud in the middle to prevent 
 the boards springing. Repeat the cleat and boards for 
 tbe outside wall. During filling, as the silage accumulates 
 place a layer of paper across from cleat to cleat and tack on 
 six-inch boards until the doorway is closed; or it may be 
 closed up at once when filling commences and the silo entered 
 by a ladder reaching a doorway on top of the plate. In 
 opening the silo the boards can be knocked off as the silage 
 is fed down. 
 
 HOW TO PAINT THE INSIDE WALLS. 
 
 Now that the silo is built the question naturally arises. 
 What is the best and cheapest wood preservative that can be 
 applied to the parts of the silo that come in direct contact 
 with the moist silage? An examination of one of the sta- 
 tion's silos that had been treated with a coat of coal-tar shows 
 
SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 
 
 275 
 
 that one season's exposure to the silage had oot affected the 
 wood in any manner. This coal-tar possesses another great 
 advantage over ordinary oil paints, there heing so much 
 body to it that it readily fills tip all cracks in the lining and 
 aids greatly to make the silo air-tight. It is one of the waste 
 products in the manufacture of gas, and can ordinarily be ob- 
 
 FIG. 3.— SHOWING DOUBLR BOARDING ON INSIDK OF SILO. 
 
 tained in any quantity at gas works at $3 or $4 a barrel. As 
 it comes from the gas works it is a liquid of about the same 
 consistency as molasses, and it is necesiiai'y to bui^n off con- 
 siderable of the oil that it contains before it is in a condition 
 to apply to a wall. This burning is a simple process; pour a 
 quantity of the liquid into an iron kettle, set fire to a handful 
 
276 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BARN BUILDING. 
 
 or straw and throw it in the kettle. The tar at once flashes 
 up and burns with great beat. In order to tell when it has 
 become sufBcienlly reduced thrust a stick into the blazing 
 kettle, then take it out and plunge it into a pail of cold water; 
 when the tar clinging to the stick has become sufficiently 
 cool to handle take a particle in the hand and pull it out; if 
 it will string out in fine threads a foot or more long it has 
 burned long enough, and the fire can be put out by placing 
 any tight covering over the kettle. It usually takes from 
 one-half to three-quarters of an hour to reduce the tar to the 
 proper consistency. This preparation must be applied hot, 
 and it will be necessary to swing the kettle up from the 
 ground and keep a fire tmder it until the work is done. The 
 odor and smoke from the hot tar is very disagreeable, but by 
 taking small quantities of the liquid and applying it very hot 
 with mops or whitewash brushes the surface can be gone over 
 rapidly. 
 
 A single season's experience with a wood preservative 
 cannot count for much, but we think very favorably of the 
 method here described, and intend coating the walls of a 
 large silo with coal-tar the coming season for an additional 
 test. 
 
 HANDLING FODDEK-COBN. 
 
 The cost of putting corn into the silo depends largely 
 upon the advantage we take of all the little devices that are 
 calculated to lighten and reduce the labor of harvesting and 
 drawing to the silo. By the use of the old self-rake reaper 
 for cutting in the field, and conveniently equipped wagons 
 for hauling, corn can be cut into the silo for from fifty to 
 seventy-five cents per ton and there will be no more hard 
 work connected with.it than there would be in harvesting a 
 clover or grass crop. Many farms are supplied with low- 
 wheeled wagons or trucks, but when the 6ilo-filling time 
 comes there is usually a greater demand for vehicleEi of this 
 kind than the ordinary farm can supply. A very simple and 
 practical way of equiping the ordinary high-wheeled farm 
 wagon is shown in Fig. 4. This rack was observed in use on 
 the farm of Hon. Hiram Smith of Sheboygan Falls in the 
 fall of 1888. It is made of 2x8 plank, sixteen feet long, one 
 
StLOS AXD ENSILAGE. 277 
 
 end of each being placed on top of the forward bolster; the 
 other ends pass under the rear axle and are chained or bolted 
 up tight to it; these two pieces make the foundation of the 
 rack. The wagon is coupled out as far as these planks will 
 allow. On top of the plank are placed four cross-pieces, 
 equally distant from each other, as shown in the figure. 
 These cross-pieces are 2x4 and should be about seven feet 
 
 FIO. i.— RACK FOB DRAWING FODDEB-COBX. 
 
 ■long; upon these are laid inch boards parallel with the. 
 wagon. The load is of course placed wholly in front of the 
 rear wheels, but the rack is sufficiently large and low enough 
 to enable a man to put on a ton of green corn from the 
 ground without having to climb up on the load or hand it to 
 a second person to deposit.' 
 
 LENGTH TO CUT. 
 
 While it is true that silage cut fine may pack somewhat 
 closer than that cut long, it is doubtful whether there is any 
 material gain in the operation; by cutting fine more of the 
 inner parts of the stalks are exposed to the air, qnd perhaps 
 more fermentation induced than with longer cuts. So far 
 as our experience goes there is nothing gained by cutting 
 fodder fine instead of coarse, provided that the cattle eat it 
 equally well in both cases; the gain in cutting, which is 
 often very great, comes mainly from getting consumed that 
 which would otherwise be wasted. In the case of silage, 
 there being no necessity for cutting the fodder in order 
 to have it eaten, the length of the cut appears to turn upon 
 somewhat closer packing on the one side and extra expense 
 of fine cutting on the other. It is recommended that cuts as 
 
278 PEAOTIOAl HINTS ABOUT BAEN BUILDIKG. 
 
 long as two or three inches be tried with some of the fodder 
 and the results reported; if such long. cuts are satisfactory 
 the expense of making silage will be considerably decreased. 
 With ample power and a good feed-cutter it will be more 
 economical to cut fodder and run it into the silo by a carrier 
 than to attempt to fill with long fodder. 
 
 USE OF A CHUTE. 
 
 The carrier should deliver the cut corn as near the middle 
 of the pit as possible. Until the silo is nearly filled a chute 
 can be used to convey the material still further toward the 
 desired position in the pit. The chute should have sufficient 
 slant so that the cut corn slides off readily. By changing 
 the direction of the chute from time to time the labor of dis- 
 tributing the cut corn can be reduced to the minimum. 
 
 FILLING THE SILO. 
 
 When corn has reached the proper stage of maturity it is 
 not necessary that it be wilted before putting into the silo 
 in order to make the so-called sweet silage; only the imma- 
 ture fodder needs wilting; such should be wilted from twenty- 
 four to forty-eight hours, it possible, before cutting into the 
 silo. Varieties that mature, if left until the ears begin to 
 glaze, can be put into the silo immediately after being cut 
 with satisfactory results, provided' there is no outside moist- 
 ure on the corn as it goes into the silo; nor is it necessary to 
 suspend operations every other day in order to let the silage 
 in the silo reach a certain temperature before filling can be 
 continued. If the corn is sufficiently mature, and is put into 
 the silo without rain or dew, there need be no fears about 
 the quality of the silage, whether put in slowly or rapidly. 
 At the station last fall we filled a pit with fresh, sufficiently 
 matured corn in one day, and had first-olass sweet silage. 
 Becent experience has taught that tbere is a limit to put- 
 ting dry or excessively wilted corn into the silo beyond 
 which we dare not go. When the corn has lost enough 
 water to cause the leaves to rustle and break in handling it 
 does not pack closely enough in the silo to exclude the air, 
 and on opening the pit it will be found that the silage is fire- 
 
SttOS AMJ EiTSttAGE. 279 
 
 fanged and permeated all through with a white mould. 
 There is another reason why the corn should not be allowed 
 to become so dry even if there was no trouble about its keep- 
 ing in the silo; when we put dry corn into the silo we have 
 lost the succulent feature of the silage that makes it espe- 
 cially desirable. Having once commenced to fill the silo the 
 work can be crowded right along by observing the conditions 
 mentioned. 
 
 The practice each morning during filling of removing 
 the cold silage from along the walls and corners and sub- 
 stituting that which is warm from the middle of the mass 
 seems a reasonable one and worthy of further trial. That it 
 is not esseiitial, however, to good sweet silage our own expe- 
 rience has proved. 
 
 In case of an accident or break-down it will do no harm to 
 suspend work for a day or two, but if left longer than this 
 the silage to a depth of two or three inches usually begins to . 
 mould. When filling is completed a foot and one-half of 
 chaffed straw, marsh hay or cornstalks will make a sufficient 
 covering. The use of weights is now about obsolete. The 
 silo should be examined dally for a couple of weeks, and the 
 covering pressed down until the settling has ceased. 
 
 TWO CHOPS IN THE SAME SILO. 
 
 The question is often asked if one crop can be placed on 
 top of another in the silo, provided that the first has only 
 partially filled it. Most certainly; if one crop, as clover, for 
 example, only partly fills the silo, when the corn crop has 
 matured the covering of the clover can be removed or left 
 on, as desired, and the other crop placed on top of it. By 
 filling at different times much more can be got into the silo 
 than If a single crop is placed therein by rapid filling. Even 
 with the slow filling silage settles considerably after the silo 
 is closed up; with very rapid filling it may settle as much as 
 two-fifths, or even one-half. Under any system it is well to 
 allow two or three days' settling at the last and filling up 
 again so as to get in all the feed possible. 
 
 Prof. Henry, who has made a very thorough study of the 
 making and handling of ensilage, regards the style of con- 
 
280 PRACTICAL HINTS ABOUT BAEN BTTILDIKO. 
 
 struction ahotrn in Prof. King's Bulletin (see pages 263, 264 
 and 265) as superior to the plans described in Mr. Adams' 
 paper. The former represents the latest research in this 
 important field; but the latter is of course interesting by 
 way of comparison. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 FARM BARNS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 General BemarkB 9-18 
 
 nioBtrated Plans 9-88 
 
 Ayree, R. F 28-SO 
 
 Coldren & Lee 31-S* 
 
 Qaddy, Dt. N. D. (Farm apd Hheep) 84-38 
 
 Harrison, 8. J 26-28 
 
 UiBsonri Agricnltnral College 13-28 
 
 CATTLB BARNS. 
 
 General Bemarks 39-15 
 
 lUnstr^ted Plans 83-112 
 
 Ad«nis, Lntber 83-87 
 
 Barber, V '. 90-93 
 
 Barclay, C. 8 58-60 
 
 Brown, Geo. E. & Co. (Dairy) 75-77 
 
 Clark, Th«8 62-«5 
 
 Cloagh,H.H <7-51 
 
 Crittenden, Orlando 60-62 
 
 CmmingbBm, D. E., 69-71 
 
 Harris, W.A 42-13 
 
 Hamilton, W. W 93-96 
 
 Jones, T.C...; 15-47 
 
 King, C.E. (Dairy) 100-108 
 
 King, Will E 65-67 
 
 Lee,J.N , 77-81 
 
 HaoonConnty (III.) Pcor Farni 90-98 
 
 Killer Bam at (}oodeoow. Ill 72-75 
 
 Miller 4 81bley (Dairy) 68-57 
 
 Moberley.T. 8 96-100 
 
 Hoore, CIiBB. F 81-88 
 
 Norton, C.W , 87-69 
 
 Payne, E.W .• 51-53 
 
 Bice, C. 8 87-90 
 
 8t(iTens, K. S. (Dairy) 108-U2 
 
282 tNDBX. 
 
 HORSE BAKNS. 
 
 PAOe 
 
 Oeopral Bemarbe 113-115 
 
 lIlDBtrated Plans 115-158 
 
 Danbam, M. W 115-122 
 
 Dunham, M.W. (Colt) 122-127 
 
 FieldB. W. M. 4 Bro. 127-180 
 
 GoodBon.J. F 142-145 
 
 Jewett, H. (1. & Co 187-142 
 
 Lee, J.N. (fattleand Horse) 77-81 
 
 Miller 4 Sibley 198-187 
 
 Nebraska Impelling roDpBDy 148-151 
 
 Bicb.M .,.: '. 151-158 
 
 KnndJe.J.F 145-U8 
 
 meteon, £. 4 Bone 130-188 
 
 SHEEP BARNS, CORRALS, YARDS, ETC. 
 
 lUuBtrated Plane '. 151-165 
 
 Adame, L'Blie H IStridO 
 
 daddy, Dr. N.D. (and General Faim Bjrn) ~ 84-38 
 
 HiUs, C. 48cn 160-163 
 
 King. Will B 184-185 
 
 ReeB,B.M 168-164 
 
 Corral and Sbearing Pens _. 168-171 
 
 Dipping for Scab, Device for 166-168, 171-174 
 
 Feeding Backs 167, 174-178 
 
 SWtNE BARNS, PENS, ETC. 
 
 IllDBtrated Plans 179-231 
 
 Coldren4Lee 224-227 
 
 Coleman, N 208-210 
 
 Martin, J. L 191-198 
 
 Hoore, A. C. 4 Son 188-190 
 
 Eich.M 19S-196 
 
 Street 4 Sons 179-188 
 
 Wangh, C.P 196-199 
 
 Wisconsin Auricnltnral Col'ege 188-188 
 
 Bneding Feoe for Sows 230-281 
 
 Cheap and Convenient Fens 208-207 
 
 Cheap Hog Hoase, A 207-208 
 
 ' Crib, Wagon Shed and Pen 215 
 
 Fairowing Pens 221-221 
 
 FioBl^Proof Swine Pen, A 216-218 
 
 "Handy, Warm and SabBtantial'' 227-230 
 
tKDSx. 288 
 
 PAOE 
 
 HoldiDg Hogg, Device for 217-248 
 
 Model Hog Honae, A 201-208 
 
 Moyable Pig House, A 2 0-215 
 
 HoTing Hogp, Device for 243-246 
 
 Portable Pen, A 199-200 
 
 Rack, Hog and Hay Combined 241-243 
 
 Service Pen and Box for Boar 232-236 
 
 Slop, Device for Keeping Warm 216-247 
 
 I'roagbs— Feeding 289-241 
 
 Hinged 186 
 
 Movable 238-239 
 
 Warmth, Bnnlight and Exercise, Device for SecariDR 236-287 
 
 Warm Fens and How to Make Tbem 218-221 
 
 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 
 
 Exoerience, Besolt of 249-269 
 
 Wood- Lined 290-251 
 
 Ventilation, Importance of 251-252 
 
 Painting 252-253 
 
 Stone and Groat 253-254 
 
 Lathing and Plaetering 255 
 
 Linings for 256 
 
 Form and Dimensions of 296 
 
 Feeding from Top 257-298 
 
 Partitions, Use of 257-258 
 
 Some Things Essential 258 
 
 Covering of 258-299 
 
 Bats, Protection Against 259 
 
 Freezing, Protection Against.... 260 
 
 Wood Silos, Construction of 260-265 
 
 Lining, Expense of , 265-266 
 
 Stone Silos 266-267 
 
 Cost, Comparative of Different Kinds 267-268 
 
 Bnilding b; Degrees 268 
 
 Repair of 268-289 
 
 Location of 269-270 
 
 PilUngof 269 
 
 Form of 270' 
 
 Joining Planks of Sill 271 
 
 Studding, Fastening and Balging of 272 
 
 Lining 273-274 
 
 Painting 271-275 
 
 Boarding of Inside 275 
 
 Fodder-Corn— Handling of 276 
 
 Back for Drawing 277 
 
284 INDEX. 
 
 fAOR 
 
 Back for DrawiDg Fodder-Com 277 
 
 LenRth to Cot Silage 277 
 
 Cbate.nseof ; 27S 
 
 Filling the Silo 278-279 
 
 Crops, Two in Same Silo. 279 
 
THEORY AND PRACTICE 
 
 OP 
 
 CATTLE-BREEDING, 
 
 BY WIVr. WARFIELD, 
 
 staff Correspondent of "The Breeder's Gazette." 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS,^ -' 
 
 IN r BOD vet ION. 
 
 CHAP. I. — Breeding a Science and an Art. 
 
 PART I.— TUB TUEORV. 
 
 CHAP. II.— Heredity; the Breeder's Corner-Stone. 
 
 CHAP. Ill— Atavism. 
 
 CHAP. ly.- Prepotency. 
 
 CHAP, vl— Variation. * < 
 
 PART II.- THE THEORY APPIjIEH. 
 
 CHAP. VI. — Introduction to Principles of Breeding. 
 
 CHAP. VII.— In-and-in Breeding. 
 
 CHAP. VIII.— Line-Breeding 
 
 CHAP. IX.— Natural Breeding. 
 
 CHAP. X.— Historical Testimony. 
 
 CHAP. XI — Cross-Breeding 
 
 CHAP. XII.— Grade Breeding. 
 
 CHAP. XIII.— Pedigree - 
 
 PART III.-THE PRAVTICE. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. — Introduction to the Practice of Breeding 
 Methods. 
 
 CHAP. XV.— The Selection of Breeding Animals. 
 
 CHAP. XVI.— The Selection of Breeding Animals (Contin- 
 ued). 
 
 CHAP. XV II.- Shelter. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII.— General Care and Attention. 
 
 GHAP. XIX.— Feeding Methods. 
 
 Price, $li, post-paid. Aaaress 
 
 J. H. SANDERS PUB, CO., Chicago. 
 
THE BREEDER'S GAZETTE, 
 
 An Illustrated Weekly of from 20 to 28 Pages, 
 
 IS COSOEDED TO BE 
 
 The Foremost Farm i Stock Journal ot the Day, 
 
 IT HAKES A SPECIALTY Of 
 
 UVE-STOOK, CROP AND MARKET REPORTS, 
 
 AND 
 
 Its Discussions of Feeding Problenns 
 
 AKE THE HOST VALUABLE NOW APPEABINO IN 
 
 The Entire American Agricultural Press. 
 
 It treats of beef, pork and iLnttt^n-makirir: the brpedioR and xoan- 
 agement of both beef aod dairy cattle, Bbeep and ewioe, and in all 
 ttairgs pertainiiiR to 
 
 HORSE-BREEDING, 
 
 whether relating to draft, coach, or trottisg stock, it is recognized au- 
 thority. 
 
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REVISED, ENLARGED AND ILLUSTRATED EDITION. 
 
 HORSE BREEDING 
 
 AITD THB 
 
 MAITAOSIIENT OF STAI.I.IONS, 
 
 BROOD MARES AND FOALS, 
 
 By J. H. SANDERS, Founder of "The Breeder's Gazette." 
 Tbe charaoter and scope of this work may be gathered from the fol- 
 lowing 
 
 TABL.E OF CONTENTS : 
 Chap I.— GenebaIj Pbinoipleb op Bbekding.— General Laws of Hered- 
 iti; Caneee of Variation from Original Types; Modifications from 
 Changed (Conditions of Life; Accidental Variations or Sports; Extent 
 of H(>reditnTT Inflnence; Tbe Formation of Breeds; Inbreeding and 
 ' Crossing: Value of Pedigron; Belalive Size of Sire and Dam; Jnflaence 
 of First Icopregnation; Effect of Imagination on Color of Progeny; 
 Effect of I hange of Climate on tbe Generative Organs; Controling 
 tbe Sex. 
 
 Chap. 11.— STAUJ0I7B, Bbood Mabes and K0AI.S.— Selection of Breeding 
 Stork. 
 
 Tbe Staluon —General Maaagement of tbe Stallion; Controlling the 
 Stallion Wtien in Use; When Mares Shonld be Tried; Tbe Number 
 of Mares to be SerTed; Effect of Age on the Fertility of tbe Stallion; 
 Effect of Age on the Qaality of the Get; Percentage of Foals to Mares 
 Served; Management of tbe Stallion After tbe Season Closes; Effects 
 of CasiratioD en Stallions: Fighting Between Stallions. 
 
 The Bbood Mabe. — Causes of Barrenness in Brood Mares; The Fiodnc- 
 live Period in Brood Mares; Tune of Foaling and Period of Gesta- 
 tion; General Saggestions as to Food and Nnrsing. 
 
 The FoaIj.— Feeding the ¥onng Foal; Weaning tbe Foal; Effect of Ex- 
 ercise on Development; Breaking the Foal; Views of Dr. Reynolds 
 of Liverpool on Horee-Breeding. 
 Chap. III.— Bbeeds of Hobbes. — Tfaorongbbreds; Trotters and Boadsters; 
 Pacers and baddle Horsen; Orloffs. or Rnseian Trotters; Fr»nch Coach 
 Horses; Cleveland Bais; Hackneys; Shire or Cart Horses; Clydesdales; 
 Fercherons; Bonlonnais; Saffolk Punches; Other Breeds. 
 Chap. IV.— DiSKASFS PEOtruAB to BBKyDlifO-STOOK.- Hygiene of the Eje; 
 The Eye as Affected Dy tbe Teetb; Umbilical flemia in Young Foals; 
 "Sconrs' or Diarrhoea in Colts; Strangles or Distemper. 
 
 The STAiiiitON.- External Injuries; Inflammation of the Penis; Inflam- 
 mation of the Testicles; Cancer of tbe Penis and Sheath; Prolapse or 
 Paralysis of the Penis; Scrotal Hernia; Waterbag, Sr-Called; Exces- 
 sive Venery; Non-emission of Semen ("Prondness," So-Called); Sex- 
 ual Bluggisbness; Spermatorrpoei; Vesicular Eruptions on tbe Penis; 
 .Foul Sheath; Masturbation ; Gryptoichids (Bidglings, So-Called). 
 
 The Bbood Mabe.— BairenneBs; Nymphomania: Tumors Within the 
 Vagina and D terns: Leucorrboea, or So-Called Whiles; Colt Founder, 
 Sc-Cailed; (Edema During Pregnancy: Superimpregnation; Heat Dar- 
 ing Preenancy; Lacer.ition of tbe Bectnm; Abortion; Difficult Partu- 
 rition; Laceration of tbe Perineeom. (Nearly all of this Chapter was 
 writtenlef^heciallv for this work by Or. N. H. Paaren, M. D., late State 
 Veterinarian of Iliinoie.) 
 Chap, v.— DiBEABSB OF THE Genebative Obaanb, Male and Female.- 
 Difficult Parturition; Wrong Presentations, etc. (profusely illus- 
 trated). 
 Chap. VI.— Dentition of Hobskb (illustrated). 
 
 Price, SJS, post-paid. Address 
 
 J. H. SANDERS PUB. CO., Chicago, 111.