EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 211 



COLLEGE FARM BUILDINGS. 



BY R. S. SHAW AND J. A. JEFFERY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



r r ' I Bulletin No. 250." 



It is nearly fifty years since some of the first farm buildings were 

 erected at the Michigan Agricultural College. -At the time this work 

 began the barn sites chosen were far remote from the nucleus around 

 which the college buildings wei^ being erected. But later developments 

 produced an expansion which pushed campus and college buildings back 

 into close proximity to the farm barns and yards. Figure 1 shows the 

 grouping of the farm buildings in 1902. The beef cattle barn was only 

 four rods from the agricultural building, and the horse barn still closer 

 to the veterinary building. In addition to this the dairy, botanical, bac- 

 teriological, horticultural and library buildings were in close proximity 

 to the main barns and largest open yard. These farm buildings had 

 been erected years ago, and while the construction and fittings were 

 doubtless the best of their time, they had become unsuitable for modern 

 requirements. The advisability of tearing down the old and building en- 

 tirely new structures was considered but abandoned, largely for the reason 

 that the old buildings contained hardwood frames covered with white 

 pine siding of a quality such as could scarcely be obtained on the market 

 today at any price. The removal of these materials, in the tearing down 

 process, would have destroyed them so as to render their further use 

 impossible. As there was but one new building in the entire group, viz., 

 the dairy barn, erected in 1900, it would have required the expenditure of 

 many times the cost of moving and refitting the old buildings to 

 replace them completely with new ones. In pursuance of the course 

 adopted, therefore, a general plan for the building removal and re-equip- 

 ment was devised and estimates made as to the cost of removal, refitting 

 and addition of such new structures as were needed. These estimates 

 called for the sum of |15,000; of this amount the Michigan State Legisla- 

 ture of 1905 appropriated by special enactment |10,000, the balance was 

 furnished from the college building and improvement fund. In all this 

 work no attempt whatever was made to erect mammoth, expensive or 

 fancy structures, but rather to work solely on a utility basis, keeping 

 within reach of feasible practices of the farmer in order that he might 

 receive the greatest possible benefit therefrom. None of the old buildings 

 were demolished, and all material of any value was used. Two new 

 buildings were erected, a horse barn 48x04 feet and an extension 32x60 

 feet added to the sheep barn. This publication is offered, not for the 

 purpose of furnishing models for the farmer, but rather with the thought 

 that it may present or suggest ideas of practical value and at the same 

 time serve as a safeguard against some known errors. The descriptions 

 of the horse barn and silos have been prepared by J. A. Jeffery, the bal- 

 ance of the publication by R. S. Shaw. 



