Buildings and Yards. 551 



sumption. There are, however, all degrees of cleanhness. Some ex- 

 periments on this subject were given by Professor Pearson in Farmers 

 Wives" Reading-Course Bulletin No. 19. 



There are three things in the construction of a building which con- 

 duce to cleanliness : ( i ) Have as few interior fittings as possible ; 

 (2) have all surfaces as smooth as possible; (3) have as few horizontal 

 surfaces as possible. ■ 



When lumber is used it should be planed. If boards are used for in- 

 terior finish, they should be vertical instead of horizontal. They should 

 never be beaded. Two coats of boiled linseed oil will cost about one- 

 half as much as paint and will stand a large amount of washing. There is 

 at present a tendency to use cement plaster made from one part of 

 cement to two of sharp sand, in finishing side walls of stables. In this 

 case boards of poorer quality are first put on and these are furred, 

 lathed and plastered. The advantage urged for this method is that it 

 gives an additional dead-air space and hence additional warmth, and gives 

 a smooth surface that can be easily covered with whitewash. 



Whenever projections are necessary, such as window sills, they 

 should be as slight as may be and, when possible, they should be round- 

 ing. Quarter-round can often be used to advantage in stable construction. 



Cement floors and mangers are also conducive to cleanliness. It has 

 been demonstrated that in stables properly constructed and with a reason- 

 able quantity of bedding, satisfactory results will be secured with all 

 classes of domestic animals. The writer has used both wood and cement 

 platform for milch cows and, while he believes the wooden platforms 

 might be better, if bedding was limited, cement platforms do not require 

 more bedding than cows should receive for sanitary reasons. 



The writer has used a perfectly level platform of cement with satis- 

 factory results. The remainder of a cement floor should have a slant of 

 one inch in every five feet, for convenience of cleaning. The same slant 

 in the gutter gives good results. 



rV. To avoid the presence of vermin 



If there is no place where rats and mice can hide, there will be no 

 difficulty from them. Unfortunately this cannot be fully accomplished 

 because they may hide among ear-corn, corn-fodder, hay or straw. How- 

 ever, if pains are taken to prevent hiding places in the structure of the 



