544 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The location of cribs or granaries for grain that is to be fed out on 

 the farm should be selected with an eye to convenience in placing the 

 feed before the animals. 



The necessary capacity of these buildings will depend upon the gen- 

 eral mangement and arrangement of the farm, as to quantity of grain 

 produced and number of animals to be fed. 



The women folks of the farm are as proud of successful achievement 

 in their undertakings as the men, so give them a chance with poultry 

 by providing substantial and adequate poultry house in keeping with the 

 oft-repeated suggestions in the contributions to the farm and poultry 

 journals. 



Fences may be taken into consideration with farm buildings. We 

 would say, build as few fences as the best use of the land and the proper 

 caring for stock will permit. Fences that are effective and substantial 

 are expensive, and if weak and ineffective, may be even more expensive, 

 in allowing the trespassing of stock. No fence adds anything to the 

 beauty of a landscape, field or lawn, and neither do they aid in the cul- 

 tivation of a field, but there is generally a poorly cultivated strip of land 

 along the fence. There is probably no one to whom the task of cleaning 

 out the weeds from a line of fence has fallen but who has wished the 

 fence was not necessary. However, fences we must have, and the posts 

 are the backbone of them all. No complaint was ever heard from anyone 

 having set the posts too close together, too solidly, or of their being too 

 strong or lasting too long. Owing to the extremely high price of lumber, 

 hoard fences can hardly enter into consideration for the average farm, 

 except in limited quantities for some special purpose. Barbed wire will 

 continue to hold its place on most farms for a considerable time to come 

 on account of cheapness and effectiveness in controlling cattle, although 

 it destroys the value of many excellent horses. 



Woven wire fences seem to be rapidly winning their way into favor 

 and the manufacturers of the many different kinds of patent fences are 

 vying with each other for superiority of their product in point of 

 economy, strength and durability. The woven wire has the advantage 

 over other fences in point of strength if protected at some points by 

 barbed wire or other method if possible. By this we mean at top and 

 bottom. If stock are allowed to get their heads over the woven wire and 

 bear down, as cattle and horses will do in reaching for feed on the other 

 side, the fence will soon loosen, and drawing through the staples and 

 bending back and forth, will soon cause it to give way and break some 

 strands, and we anticipate no merry time in mending or repairing a 

 woven wire fence. Where the fence is used to confine cattle in small 

 yards it also needs some protection to prevent them from rubbing againsc 

 it, as the weight of the cattle thrown against the fence will soon stretch 

 the wires and loosen the posts so the fence soon begins to get rickety. 

 Protection may be provided for this by stretching barbed wire at the 

 right height to catch the weight of the animals, and it will cause then? 

 to hunt another place to scratch. It would seem that a combination ot 

 barbed and smooth wire in the construction of woven wire fences, by plac- 



