EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



205 



of the pigs seeking shelter. These openings close down tightly leaving warm 

 quarters during the coldest weather. The cots proper are supported on skids 

 to which they are not attached, being held in place by the blocking of the ties 

 across both ends. A two-inch bottom is used or not, as desired; this flooring 

 is cut in lengths to fit crosswise and rest on the skids which are wider than the 

 sills. This form of cot is not desirable for the farrowing sow without the addition 

 of a railing around the perpendicular walls a few inches from the floor to prevent 

 her from overlaying her pigs. Probably the chief objection to this structure is the 

 expense of material and cost of construction. It contains 160 feet stock lumber, 

 60 feet matched, 20 feet four-by-six, 12 feet four-by-four, and 44 feet two-by-four 

 and required two days labor in construction. 



FIG. 8 



Yard Fences. — The question of cheap, durable, and serviceable fencing for the 

 small yards adjacent to the piggery is an important problem. During the past, 

 lumber in various forms has been converted into fences of different styles for 

 this purpose, but now its scarcity and high price renders its use almost prohibitive. 

 A tight board fence probably makes the most perfect one for turning hogs. We 

 have attempted to make a suitable substitute, in large part, for the lumber except 

 in the case of the divisions between the boar pens. The fences forming our small 

 pens are constructed of woven wire with two-by-six inch material at bottom 

 and top. The plan is shown in Fig. 9. Cedar posts are placed, in this case, a 

 little less than eight feet apart. (They should not be more than this distance for 

 pen fences.) The posts were notched out at the bottom and top one-inch deep 

 and the width of the two-by-six. Thus, the two-by-sixes, when firmly spiked in 

 place, instead of being flush, projected an inch out from the surface of the post. 

 The 26-inch woven wire was placed on the posts with top and bottom wires just 



