EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 249 



SHEEP BARN. 



Figure 32 shows a portion of the ground plan of the present sheep 

 barn occupied by the pedigreed breeding flocks. The original location 

 of this structure is shown in illustration Fig. 1. To the south end 

 of this building an additional 60 feet of much the same plan has been 

 added to accommodate the experimental flocks. One of the worst 

 features of this building is its division into two parts by a seven foot 

 alley running lengthwise throughout the center. In the first place, the 

 alley is one if not two feet wider than is necessary, but this fault could 

 not be corrected in the remodeling owing to the short length of joists 

 overhead in the center of the building, forming joints over the old posts, 

 thus preventing their removal. In the second place, there is a very 

 decided objection to a sheep barn with pens on both sides of a central 

 alley, because of the draughts that are sure to prevail. It is desirable 

 to give the animals on both sides of the building access to the yards 

 daily; if the pen doors on both sides are open at once there will nearly 

 always be more or less draught, no matter how still the air may be 

 and these influences are likely to result in prevalent colds and catarrh. 

 Few sheep barns are so located that the pens can be opened up on 

 one side or the other according to the direction of the wind, but if this 

 arrangement cannot be made we would prefer a barn opening on one 

 side only,. to one with pens on both sides of a central alley. 



According to the accompanying plans, this building is fitted with 

 pens varying in size from 9 ft. x"^12 ft. 6 in. to 12 ft. 6 in. x 9 ft. 8 in. Such 

 a large number of divisions was necessary because of the special use 

 to which this building is put, viz., that of housing eight different breeds 

 of pedigreed sheep which must be kept separate except when on grass. 

 This explains why the alley w^as put through the center. The space 

 marked box stall is used as an early lambing pen and is not only boarded 

 up on all sides but is lined as well. All outer doors, except at the ends 

 of the main alley, are in two parts, an upper and a lower; the lower 

 part is hinged to swing out and the upper part slides on rollers thus 

 forming a very suitable combination to regulate the admittance of air 

 and sunlight according to the conditions and the needs. A part of 

 each partition, next the outer wall, consists of a four foot door which 

 can be opened and fastened back against the partition when it is de- 

 sired to throw two pens into one, or the whole of each side can be opened 

 up if necessary. The doors opening from the alley into the pens are 

 placed in a V shaped position at every other partition to avoid cutting 

 up the feed racks and economize in space. The central alley, feed rooms 

 and shepherd's room are floored with concrete; all the pen floors are 

 earthen. The lighting of this building has been discussed heretofore 

 in the general consideration of that subject. The sheep occupying this 

 barn, and the new addition also, require from .fifty to sixty buckets 

 of water daily during the winter; we have devised a water system for 

 the entire building which is now being installed. This system consists 

 of a series of concrete basins with inside measurements at the top as 

 32 



