The Goat-f)ouse.113 



quartering are then nailed horizontally along the front of 

 the stalls, either upon them as they are, or, what is 

 better, let in by cutting a piece out of the post and a 

 corresponding portion out of the rail to fit, known as a 

 " half -lap," so that they do not project beyond the posts. 

 These rails (shown in section at d d, Fig. 13) are 

 placed one I5in. and the other 3ft. 6in. from the 

 ground. If, as is likely to be the case, the end stall is 

 against the wall, the cross rails should be let into the 

 latter by knocking out a couple of bricks ; this will make 

 the partitions firmer. I find it best to keep the buck in 

 this end stall, as he requires an extra strong compartment. 

 The front of the stalls can then be boarded up in the same 

 way as the sides, but leaving a space of 9in. for the head 

 of the goat to pass when feeding. The boards must be 

 nailed from the inside, otherwise an obstreperous goat, 

 especially if a male, will be likely to butt against them 

 and start the nails, which cannot, however, be done when 

 they are backed by the cross rails. 



The next operation is to provide the feeding-board men- 

 tioned before, and to cut circular holes in it, opposite the 

 openings in the stalls, to receive the feeding- pails. This 

 board (e) rests on brackets, either of iron or wood, screwed 

 against the posts at the necessary distances. When the 

 stalls are away from the front wall a rail should be nailed 

 along the edge to prevent anything like lumps of rock salt 

 or whole roots from falling off. All that now remains to 

 be done is to fix the hay-rack. This (/) I need not describe 

 beyond giving the dimensions. I may, however, state that 

 I use iron rods, fin. thick, placed ijin. apart, in 

 preference to the ordinary wooden bars. The width of 

 the rack should be i8in., the length, of course, depending 

 on the number of stalls. When these are placed against 

 the wall the lower part of the rack will be fixed against it, 

 but if there is a passage between to allow of feeding in 



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