2. BARNS, STABLES, ETC.

There is a very great diversity in plans of barns and stables, the taste of individual owners seeming to favor this or that plan, which they think is best adapted to their needs. Observation of various types of farm buildings, however, will convince the thoughtful man that too often a single point of convenience is magnified till other points are wholly obscured, and to secure the one advantage several decided conveniences are sacrificed; in a study of conveniences all possible points should be considered and a decision arrived at which will give the greatest and sacrifice the least number.

Talking with a dairy farmer living in central New York, who had just completed a dairy barn which cost him about three thousand dollars, he told that he had waited a dozen years to build that barn, and had studied and figured to get the two most important conveniences of a cement floor to preserve the liquid manure and a drive-way onto the main floor; to get those he had let go one or two others which he considered of far less importance, and had at last got a barn exactly to his liking. One of the conveniences which he had let go was a covered-way to the barn, and this one point is considered of so great importance by many that almost everything else is sacrificed to gain it. We were discussing this point with a farmer whose barn was about a hundred and fifty feet away from his house, and he was positive that the advantage of having the barn near to and connected with the dwelling house was over-estimated; that there were but a very few days in a year when the covered-way was of so great advantage, and there were decided advantages in having the barn a little distance from the house,—among them absence of barn-odors, flies, and noises. With the barn off a little distance he avoids those, and gains the (to him) great advantage of a drive-way onto the main floor, a fine basement for composting the manure and housing the farm carts, etc., and a drive-way out of the basement with only an insignificant rise to the level of the fields.

This same farm-barn had one defect, to remedy which we offered the suggested shed shown in Fig. 35. The barn extended very nearly east and west, consequently the linter door was exposed to the cold west and northwest winds of winter, and during the winter the farmer wanted his cows to have the exercise-room of the barn yard on the south side of the barn. To overcome the difficulty we suggested an open-front shed along the west side of the barn yard, and a covered-in walk down from the linter door to the shed; as subsequently built the shed was extended five feet beyond the corner of the barn, so as to cover the linter door, and a broad door in the shed-end gave out to the lane leading to the pasture. By closing that broad door in the end of the shed and opening a gate to the barn yard a covered-way was made for the cows to pass from the linter to the barn yard, without being exposed to the cold winds of winter, and gaining the complete shelter of the shed on the west; a simple expedient, and yet a very decided convenience.

Fig. 35—A convenient shed-shelter for west end of barn yards.

Driveways onto two or more different floors of a barn or stable are most substantial aids to the economical doing of the farm work. On a large Essex county (Mass.) farm which we recently visited a new hay-barn was being erected, the site for it being especially selected so that an easy grade could be built to the top floor, permitting the hay wagons being driven into the top of the barn, under the high roof, and all the hay was pitched off and down into the twenty-feet deep mows. A recent letter says: “The new barn is practically done, and already some twenty loads of hay are in one corner of it. We find it a great saving of labor; four men in the barn will take better care of the hay and keep ahead of the gang in the field easier than seven men and a horse could put it into the top of the barn with a fork.” A second drive-way leads out of the ground floor of this barn to the high road, practically on a level, and a third out of the west end of the basement, whence an easy grade rises to the farm roads. By these convenient driveways much hard work is eliminated—a most importantpoint in these days of growing scarcity of farm help. Because of this great scarcity of help, especially of dependable help, it is a necessity that the farmer take advantage of every convenience, or labor-saving device, which will aid him in his work; it is both good economy and good business policy for him to do so.

We have thought it wise to give here a few simple, practical plans, which have approved themselves in everyday use. Barns and stables need not be expensive in construction nor elaborate in fittings; the important considerations are the comfort of the animals, the convenience of the owner and the adaptability of the building to its purpose.

In Figs. 36, 37, and 38 we give a plan for a village stable, for the man who keeps a horse and one or two cows, and the ground floor also provides room for the work-bench (which is most desirable where there are boys in the family), besides standing room for the carriage, wagon and sleigh.

Fig. 36—A village stable for a horse and cow.

Fig. 37—Cross-section.Fig. 38—Ground plan.

Fig. 37—Cross-section.

Fig. 38—Ground plan.

This stable is planned to be twenty-six feet long by eighteen feet wide, is ten feet from floor level to eaves, and fourteen feet from floor to ridge of roof. More pitch can be given to roof if desired, but with a good roofing like Paroid the roof slope may be slight. It would be better to make the walls two feet higher if more storage space is desired above the scaffold floor. The doorway is eight by eight feet, and stall space eight by eight feet is made in each front corner; a box stall is provided for the horse and two cow stalls in the left-hand corner, with a small door opening into the cow linter. Hay scaffolds seven feet above the floor extend across each end and may be joined at the rear if desired; a scaffold floor above the large doors extends from front to rear, or to the drop-scaffold walk connecting the two side scaffolds at the rear. A basement six or seven feet deep under the whole is a valuable addition to such a stable, making room for storing and rotting the manure, and a storage room for roots, etc., in one corner.

Six-inch-square sills, posts, and floor stringers are amply strong for the strain usually put upon a small stable, and the center posts, set at corners of box stall and cow stalls, help carry the main floor and the storage floor above. If preferred, the intermediate posts may be set in the center and the stall-spaces extended a foot, making them eight by nine feet. With the roof covered with Paroid Roofing, and the sides with Neponset Red Rope Roofing battened on laps and halfway between laps, a very neat and economically constructed stable is made. If desired a richer appearance may be given to the roof by adding the ornamental battens shown on page 28 and painting the whole a dark red.

The farm-barn is a most important aid to economy of labor, if rightly planned, and we give on this page the plans of a small barn, for a farm where eight or ten cows are kept, such as is quite common in New England and the Middle States, and which gives excellent satisfaction everywhere. On the farm where this plan was studied the pair of horses were housed in a small horse barn nearer the dwelling house, the Democrat wagon, canopy top carriage and sleigh, etc., being under the same roof.

Fig. 39—A barn for a small dairy farm.

Fig. 40—Ground plan.Fig. 41—Cross-section.

Fig. 40—Ground plan.

Fig. 41—Cross-section.

This barn is forty-four feet long by thirty-four feet wide, and is built in four “bays” of eleven feet in length each. The main floor is twelve feet wide, and hay wagons drive in at either end and out at the other. The cow stalls occupy all of the linter on the south side, a door at the end opening into the lane to the pasture. The first bay on the north side is ceiled up with tongued and grooved boards, has a tight floor overhead, and is used as a grain storeroom; the other three bays on that side are hay mows from floor to roof.

Over the main floor and fifteen feet above it is a floor for hay, or corn, or used for general storage at different seasons. There was no floor on the collar-beams when the present owner bought the farm. Strong poles had been laid across the space and surplus hay thrown on them; since being floored over the owner says it is the best part of the barn, and invaluable for drying out crops not fully cured. A basement about six feet in depth receives the manure from the cows, and three or four logs have the run of the cellar and manure heaps, thoroughly rotting and “fining” the manure for the next season’s crops.

The frame of this barn is of eight-inch square hemlock timber, the braces three by four inch hemlock mortised into posts and stringers, the floor stringers three by nine inches, two feet apart and well cross-bridged, the floor of three-inch plank. The scaffold floor is of inch boards laid on two by six inch stringers three feet apart, and is amply strong for any load put upon it.

Grain bins along two sides of the grain room may be four feet wide, and, fitted with drop fronts may be five feet high and divided into two or more compartments. Two small bins may be fitted in each side of the window; the window may be in the end if preferred.

Fig. 42—A complete dairy barn, with silo.

Modern dairy farming means an up-to-date dairy barn, and we give herewith the plans of one which is warmly endorsed by the owner and carries fifty cows in perfect comfort. This is a truss-frame barn, ninety-three feet long by forty feet wide, the basement (or ground) floor being wholly occupied by cow stalls and calving pens, the main floor being a hay-storage room. Two bays on one side are used for grain storage, all the remainder of the bays on both sides being for hay; a drive-way fifteen feet wide extends through this floor, and inclined driveways at each end give access from the fields in either direction.

The ground floor is concrete throughout. A walk five feet wide extends along each side and cross walks three feet wide are between each row of stalls at both front and rear, one for breeding and the other for the cows and the milkers. A shallow gutter, eighteen inches wide by six inches deep, extends along the rear of the stalls to receive the droppings and urine, which is removed twice a day and drawn at once to the fields or heaped for tramping over and rotting under wide-roofed sheds. The calving stalls, four at each end of this floor, are eight by seven and three quarters feet in size, and one or two of them can be occupied by bulls, if desired.

The watering system may be either a wooden gutter extending along the front of each row of stalls or a cast-iron semicircular pan set between each pair of stalls so as to supply a cow on either side. Whether troughs or pans are used there should be an automatic cock and tank, which keeps the water always at the desired level, and check valves which prevent the water once in the trough or basin returning to the pipe and contaminating others.

Fig. 43—Cross-section showing truss-frame plan.

All the food is stored on the main floor, whence convenient chutes convey it to feeding troughs or push-carts on the walks below. The ensilage from the silo is loaded directly into the push-carts just outside the door, or could be chuted to the walk inside. The soiling crops fed in summer are cut up on the main floor and sent down to the waiting push-carts in the walks below. The roof and sides of this barn are covered with Paroid roofing.

Fig. 44—Ground floor plan of basement story.Fig. 45—Floor plan of main floor.

Fig. 44—Ground floor plan of basement story.

Fig. 45—Floor plan of main floor.

The tying arrangement may be either chains, straps, or swing stanchions as desired, and all three methods are in use on up-to-date dairy barns. The stock kept may have an influence upon the length of the stalls; those given are seven and one half feet long by three feet three inches wide.

Fig. 46—A stable for a suburban place.

A convenient and well-arranged stable is greatly appreciated, and we present plans for a stable for four horses, with carriage room, harness room, man’s room, etc., hay-loft, platform for drying the bedding, and other accessories of a modern stable for a suburban home. It is built without cupola or other ornamental features, is just a plain, simple stable.

This building is forty-four by twenty-four feet in size, the sides and roof rough boards covered with Paroid Roofing. There is a basement under the whole.

Fig. 47—Second story plan.Fig. 48—Floor plan.

Fig. 47—Second story plan.

Fig. 48—Floor plan.

The walls and ceiling of the entire lower floor are sheathed with hard pine, a wooden partition separating the stalls from the carriages, and abundant windows give light and air to all parts. The ventilation of the horse room is such that no gases reach the carriages, and “Hydrex” waterproofing felt between the floorings of the carriage room cuts of the steam and gases from the manure pit. The iron gutter along the rear of the stalls is covered with maple or birch plank, and the stall floors are either maple or birch. Running water is piped to the water basin in the horse room, and a hose cock on the other side of the partition receives the hose for washing carriages, or a revolving, overhead hose-fixture can be installed, just above the washing floor, if desired. A hot-water heater may be installed on the main floor, but better be in the basement, where the coal bin would be; radiators may be set as desired, with one at least in rear of the box stall and one on the carriage floor, and a small one in the man’s room on second floor. The roof is drained by galvanized iron pipes emptying into blind wells. The carriage room floor is concreted, and a drain pipe leads from the depression where carriages are washed to a blind well. At one end is a platform for drying the bedding, and ventilation is so well provided for there are almost no odors. As it is planned this is a practical, convenient, well-arranged stable, adapted to the needs of a family of moderate means on a suburban place.

AS DESIGNED FOR C. H. LINVILLE, ESQ.,BALTIMORE, MD.

Desiring a stable which would give him room for four cows, three horses and carriage room under one roof, Mr. C. H. Linville, of Baltimore, Md., wrote and asked about enlarging the plan of a stable for a suburban place, and wished to place the carriage room at the other end of the stable, because the slope of the ground was such as to favor getting the basement under that end in the location on which he desired to build; the result was a re-drawing of that plan and presenting it as given herewith. A comparison of these two plans will aid any intending builder to change and adapt to his especial purpose such plan as he prefers, but which may not be, as here presented, the best for him.

Fig. 49—A combined horse and cow stable.

This stable is planned to be forty-eight feet long by twenty-five feet wide, outside measure, and the space is so divided there is a good seven by ten feet box stall and a good harness room in the horse apartment; in the west end a grain room ten by twelve feet gives space for four grain bins and the stairway up to loft opens out of this room. The carriage room is sixteen by twenty-five feet, and the manure pit is in the basement beneath this room; to prevent the escape of ammonia from the manure pit into the carriage room a good cement floor should be laid down.

This building is planned to be fourteen feet high to the plates and twenty feet to the ridge, which gives liberal hay-lofts; should more hay space be thought desirable we would carry side walls to sixteen or eighteen feet height, six feet, or even five feet of height from plates to ridge gives ample slope to roof where Paroid is the roof covering. An ornamental cupola could easily be placed at the junction of the roof of the gable with the main roof, and would aid in the ventilation of the hay-loft.

Fig. 50—Floor plan.

The partitions between the different divisions and about the stalls give ample opportunity for studs to be set to support the hay-loft floor excepting in the clear span over the carriage room, and the floor stringers there should be doubly heavy to support the weight over so large a space. Another way to gain the desired strength here would be to tie the roof-rafters securely and carry the strain on hangers dropped from the ridge; the three or four hangers necessary would interfere but slightly with the hay storage space.

FRONT ELEVATIONFig. 51—An attractive dairy barn.

FRONT ELEVATION

Fig. 51—An attractive dairy barn.

Sometimes it is desired to have more attractive looking buildings than the severely plain ones seen on many farms, and to illustrate the decidedly attractive appearance which can be given to buildings which are covered with Paroid roofing, we have had prepared plans of a dairy barn and a village stable, with the roofs treated with ornamental battens and the whole roof painted with a dark green or red paint, which gives the rich effect of copper sheathing and is most pleasing to the artistic eye. A cross-section of the battens we recommend are given here. Paroid can be laid more rapidly when battens are used, and enough labor is saved to pay for the slight extra cost of the battens.

SIDE ELEVATION.Fig. 52

SIDE ELEVATION.

Fig. 52

Fig. 53—Ornamental battens.

The same idea may be carried out on the sides of all kinds of buildings, and especially farm and poultry buildings, at a less expense than clapboards and shingles. Parine Paint, which is made especially for Paroid Roofing, is a dark brown and produces very neat results. Paroid one-ply is the best weight for the sides and we would recommend two-ply for the roof.

This dairy barn is spread out extensively, instead of being built up into the air, the front being eighty feet long by twenty-six feet wide, and there being two wings twenty feet wide extending forward thirty-two feet, enclosing three sides of a quadrangle. A dairy room is set out inrear of the end containing the pens and yards for the bulls, and is connected with the cow stable by a covered walk; this semi-detached dairy room avoids having the stable odors contaminating the milk, and aids to cleanliness of dairy utensils by ample equipment for washing and refrigerating.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN.Fig. 54.SECOND FLOOR PLAN.Fig. 55.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN.

Fig. 54.

SECOND FLOOR PLAN.

Fig. 55.

The second floor of the main building is utilized for hay and grain storage, and in one end are rooms for the stablemen, including a bath-room; this latter is a most important adjunct of a good dairy stable, it having been demonstrated that facilities for cleanness promotes cleanness, and absolute cleanness of men, animals, and all utensils is demanded in the up-to-date dairy.

Fig. 56—A suburban stable.Fig. 57—Ground plan.

Fig. 56—A suburban stable.

Fig. 57—Ground plan.

The smaller stable, designed for a modest suburban residence, or country summer home, gives space for a pair of horses and three or four cows. It is planned to be built fifty-three feet long by thirty-three feet wide, the end being planned to be the front, with a drive-way onto the main floor in the front. The hay is pitched into the storage loft through a trap-door in the ceiling, or, as some might prefer, a hay-door could be set in place of the window over the drive-way doors. The dormer windows and ornamental cupola combine with the copper sheathing effect of the Paroid-covered roof to make a most attractive stable building and at comparatively moderate cost. If it was desired this plan could be altered to give a more roomy hay-loft by adding either two or three feet to the length of the posts, and correspondingly flattening the roof, carrying the dormers very nearly out to the eaves. The added height of the posts could be added to the height of the stable, keeping the roofs as steep as at present, if preferred, but it is one of the many advantages of Paroid covering for a roof that the roof need have but slight pitch, when a shallow pitch is desired. The ground plan can be arranged differently; an improvement might be to place the harness room where a calf-pen is indicated, making the space gained into a clothes and wash-room for the stableman.

The plank-frame barn has been very popular in several sections of the country; the considerable saving in lumber and ease of building recommending it to practical men. Less men and time are required to build one of these barns; they are stronger, the excellent “bracing” of the frame making them effective to stand the pressure of hay and grain within or strong winds without.

Fig. 58—A plank-frame barn.

In some sections a solid frame foundation is used, in Maine the entire structure is of plank; the barns are built either with or without basement, according to the taste of the owner. A good, firmly built stone and cement foundation is advisable; with this foundation to rest the plank upon the frame is raised. Do not be sparing of spikes, they are an essential feature.

Fig. 59—Cross-section.Fig. 60—Ground plan.

Fig. 59—Cross-section.

Fig. 60—Ground plan.

No sills are used, and the upright studs take the place of posts. Two for each post are set on the foundation on each side, between these is placed and spiked the cross-plank, which extends the width of the barn and ties the two sides together. The scantlings on each side of barn floor, forming center posts, are then raised and spiked in place. Upon outside of each upright is spiked a plank of same size as, and parallel with, the first cross-plank; this gives three 2 × 8’s for cross sills through center of barn, each joint or band being fixed in this way. End joints, using boards instead of plank on outside, give the bedwork of the barn. At the sides, between uprights in place of sill, a plank is firmly spiked; this holds the uprights firmly in place and prevents working sideways, while the thoroughly spiked cross planks prevent all movement in other directions.

Some barns are boarded diagonally, some horizontally; both methods give excellent satisfaction. Many of these barns are built with a hip-roof, as in the illustration given, and these give a great amount of storage room in the loft. The steeper single-slope roof gives equally good results, looks well, and is a little more economical to build.

Paroid on roof and sides make it wind and waterproof.

(FROM A WISCONSIN FARM-INSTITUTE BULLETIN)

Fig. 61—Perspective of sheds.Fig. 62—Frame plan.

Fig. 61—Perspective of sheds.

Fig. 62—Frame plan.

It is in the nature of sheep to dislike dampness. In the pasture they will fold at night always on the high and dry elevations. In selecting the site of a sheep shed these facts should determine the choice of a site that is drained and dry throughout the year. Dryness is one of the essentials of a good foundation for a healthy shed; second only to this in importance is the ventilation. Warm, close sheds mean the downfall of the sheep that are folded in them. A sheep is warm in body, as its blood temperature is high, and then the nature of the fleece is such as to be very retentive of the body’s heat. The cause of most failures to keep sheep profitably has been from housing them in warm, close buildings.

Fig. 63—Ground plan.

Closely connected with the question of ventilation is the size of the shed. The amount of room required by a sheep will vary considerably, ranging from ten square feet for the Merino and Southdown to fifteen square feet for the larger breeds, including the Cotswolds and larger Downs. It is not advisable to crowd breeding ewes into a small area. The crowding is most injurious when it results from restricted room at the feeding rack and when it occurs through narrow doors. A breeding ewe weighing one hundred and fifty pounds will require fully one and one-quarter feet of space at the fodder rack.

A desirable attribute of a shed is the entrance of sunlight; this particularly encourages the growth of the lambs, and it is to them thatthe shed will do the most good. To further the entrance of sunlight the windows should be higher than they are wide, which will materially assist in diffusing the rays over the greatest amount of inside space. In addition to these a shed should be large enough to supply storage space for sufficient fodder to feed the sheep while they must be sheltered. Estimating that a ton of hay requires five hundred cubic feet, and that a sheep will not eat over three pounds of hay per day, it would require about one hundred and twenty-five cubic feet of space to contain the hay needed to maintain a sheep during six months. There should also be room available for a root cellar and for the storage of straw.

Fig. 64.Fig. 65.Rack for inside feeding.

Fig. 64.

Fig. 65.

Rack for inside feeding.

Fig. 66.Fig. 67.Rack for outside feeding.

Fig. 66.

Fig. 67.

Rack for outside feeding.

The plan here given is of a building forty feet wide and sixty feet long. It has two stories, the first being nine feet high and the second six feet from the floor to the eaves. It is advisable to make the height of the lower story nine feet to secure the best results in ventilation. The sills are six by eight inches, resting preferably on stone foundation, and if set on posts they should be heavier. The ground both on the inside and outside should come close to the sills, so that no obstruction is offered by the sills to the free passage of the sheep through the doors. The doors are all four feet wide, and those that are used by the sheep should be sliding; the windows are three feet wide and four and one-half feet high. In the center of the sheep apartment there are double doors ten feet wide. When both are opened and the center post removed a wagon can be driven through to remove the manure from the pens.

The arrangement of the lower floor has been adjusted so as to give the sheep the smallest amount of space and yet have easily accessible feed racks that would give sufficient room to the sheep for feeding. The feed racks are all permanent, as there is no necessity for their removal, and they form a wall for the passage way which runs through the center. In this way it is easy to put hay in them, and it is very easy to put grain into the troughs in front of them. As will be seen in the ground plan there are two chutes at each end, down which the hay is thrown from the loft. From where it falls it is easily distributed into all the racks.

(Adapted from Bulletin No. 109.Illinois Experiment Station.)

Fig. 68—Individualhog house.

Individual Houses.—Individual hog houses, or “cots,” as they are sometimes called, are built in many different ways. Some are built with four upright walls and a shed roof, each of which (the walls and roof) being a separate piece can easily be taken down and replaced, making the moving of these small houses to another location an easy matter. Others are built with two sides sloping in towards the top so as to form the roof, as shown in Fig. 68. These are built on skids and when necessary can be moved as a whole by being drawn by a horse. They are built in several different styles: some have a window in the front end above the door, while all may have a small door in the rear end, near the apex, for ventilating purposes. These houses are built in different sizes; indeed, there are about as many different forms of cots as there are individuals using them.

The arguments in favor of this type of house for swine are that each sow at farrowing time may be kept alone and away from all disturbance; that each litter of pigs may be kept and fed by itself, consequently there will not be too large a number of pigs in a common lot; that these houses may be placed at the farther end of the feed lot, thus compelling the sow and pigs to take exercise, especially in winter, when they come to the feed trough at the front end of the lot; that the danger of spreading disease among a herd is at a minimum; and in case the place occupied by the cot becomes unsanitary it may be removed to a clean location.

Large Houses.—Individual hog houses have certain advantages in their favor, and large houses, if properly planned and built, have many points of advantage; among them being good sanitation, serviceability, safety in farrowing, ease in handling hogs, and large pastures involving little expense for fences. In order to be sanitary a hog house should admit the direct rays of the sun to the floor of all the pens and exclude cold drafts in winter, be dry, free from dust, well ventilated, and exclude the hot sun during the summer.

Fig. 69—Large hog house.

The illustrations show a hog house built with this purpose in view. The building is one hundred and twenty feet long by thirty feet wide, and has an eight-foot alley running lengthwise through the middle, between the two rows of pens. It stands lengthwise east and west with thewindows on the south side, the windows being so placed that at noon of the shortest day of the year, the rays of sunlight passing through the upper part will fall upon the floor of the south side pen on the opposite side from the window. This allows the total amount of light coming through the window at this season of the year and at this time of the day to fall upon the floor within the pen; consequently, during the latter winter months, there will be a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pen; the window in the upper part of the building performs the same function for the pen on the north side of the alley. By this arrangement of windows there is possible a maximum amount of sunlight on the floor of the pens in winter, which will serve to warm the interior of the house, and especially the beds, during the latter months of winter, thus making it possible to have pigs farrowed very early in the season. Sunlight not only warms and dries the building, but destroys disease germs, thus making the building both warm and sanitary.

The upper window, which throws light into the pen on the north side is long, and this necessitates a flat roof for the part of the building south of the alley, which must necessarily be covered with some material, such as Paroid Roofing, that will shed water at a slight pitch. Dryness should be secured by thorough drainage, freedom from dust by sprinkling with water, and the direct sunlight should be prevented from entering the pens during the hot part of the summer days; this is done by the manner of constructing the building—the lower window is shaded by the eaves and the rays passing through the upper windows fall upon the floor of the alley.

In order to be most serviceable a hog house should be constructed so that it can be used every day in the year. In order to be an economizer of labor the house should be planned so that the largest amount of work may be performed with the smallest amount of labor, which, with the present scarcity of labor, is a very important factor. Farrowing pens should be supplied with fenders, which prevent the sows crushing the pigs, and should be built so the attendant may lend assistance, if necessary, with both convenience and safety. By having all the hogs under one roof handling becomes simpler, and in case of bad weather much more convenient.

Fig. 70—Ground plan.

The alley through the middle of the building is eight feet wide; this permits driving through the building with a wagon, which allows the bedding to be hauled directly to the pens, and the manure to be loaded on the wagon directly from the pens and hauled to the fields. The pens are ten feet wide and eleven feet deep. Each pen has a slide door opening to the outside, and a door opening to the alley; the latter is hung so that when it is opened it will turn the pigs towards the front end of the house, for weighing, etc. It also permits changing pigs from one pen to another, and gives easy access to the attendant. The trough is placed on the side of the pen next the alley, and a swinging panel above the trough, shown in the illustration of the interior, makes feeding a very easy and convenient operation. The “fender” is shown in the ground plan, and consists of a two-inch iron pipe placed on posts of the same set in concrete in the floor. This fender should be placed eight or nine inches above the floor and about six inches from the wall, it is to prevent the sows crushing the pigs at farrowing time; the sow will necessarily make her bed in this corner as the other three corners are occupied, two of them by doors and the other the feed trough.

There is a four-inch drain tile laid from each pen to the main lines on either side, which are placed on the outside of the pens, leading off down the ravine. The tile opens up through the floor of the pens by means of a perforated iron disk, which is laid in the bell-end of a length of sewer pipe. The floor is made to slope toward the drain so that it can be flushed with water.

All the gates and partitions of the interior are made of wire netting panels. Wire is better than lumber for this purpose, for several reasons. They are no obstruction to light, the rays of light coming through the windows are not cut off from reaching the floor, where they are most needed; they keep the floor and bedding warm and disinfected.In case the hog house should become infected with disease germs it can be flushed out and disinfected much more easily and thoroughly. Wire partitions allow the hogs always to be in sight of each other and of the attendant. By this means the sows, when they are shut up to farrow, will not become estranged from one another, and will not be so likely to fight after returning to a common pasture.

Fig. 71—Large hog house—interior.

A hog house built and operated according to the above outlined plan makes it possible to perform a maximum amount of work with a minimum amount of labor, and to put the pigs on the market at seasons of the year that are out of the ordinary; it can be expected that pigs thus marketed will sell for higher prices than those that are marketed along with the general supply.

The Question of Space.—A question which most frequently comes to the front is: “How much room is required for a horse, cow, hen, etc.?” and there is no one question about which there is greater difference of opinion. A good size of horse stall is four feet wide by nine feet long, and a good size of cow stall is three feet wide by five feet long; of course these dimensions taking no account of gutter-space at rear of stalls for catching the manure. Another good dairyman will tell us that he wants his cow stalls four feet wide, and will present strong arguments in favor of the greater amount of room; it is obvious that twenty-five per cent. increase of width of stalls decidedly increases the space-cost per cow. The best testimony, however, is in favor of being liberal in space, as, for example, is said about the sheep sheds: “Crowding is most injurious when it results from restricted room at the feeding rack and when it occurs through narrow doors. A breeding ewe weighing one hundred and fifty pounds will require fully one and one-quarter feet of space at the fodder rack.”

The same suggestion applies to floor space per hen. It has been demonstrated that it is unprofitable to crowd fowls too much, and well known writers have urged that ten square feet of floor space be given to each bird; in practice, however, very much less space per bird gives good results in health of flocks and average egg-product. In the scratching-shed plan of house, on pages 18 and 19, the floor space is recommended as seven and one-fifth square feet per bird with twenty-five fowls of the American varieties per pen, and six square feet each with thirty birds of one of the Mediterranean varieties per pen. In the Gowell Poultry Farm house, on pages 16 and 17, four square feet of floor space is allotted to each bird, and it is the plan there to keep the birds wholly confined to the pens for the five cold months. These illustrations show that there is wide range in actual practice, but we believe it is wise to allow at least five to six square feet of floor space to each fowl.

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