BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 



171 



the side next the stall "and, in order to keep the urine as far from the 

 stall as possible, the bottom of the channel must be made with a back- 

 ward slope of 1 inch, as shown in figure 73. 



It is a common practice to construct the stalls so that they are a 

 few inches above the level of the passage behind. The drain 

 channel is sometimes made as shown in figure 73c, the idea being that 

 the second drop carries away the urine more expeditiously than if 

 the drain is constructed as illustrated in figure 73u. This second 

 channel is unnecessary, it adds to the cost of construction, increases 

 the labour of cleaning the drain and has little or no advantage over 

 the more simple type. The corners at the bottom of the channel 

 should be rounded and the whole surface made as smooth as possible. 



FIG. 74. Section of intercepting catch-pits outside a double byre (after 



Cleghorne). 



The material used may be glazed fireclay or cement concrete. 

 If the floor is made of cement concrete there is no advantage in 

 using fireclay. The top of the channel should be finished off as 

 shown in figure 73s. A mistake very commonly made is to round 

 off the upper angle as shown in figure 73A. Cows are much more 

 liable to slip on the latter formation than on the former. The grad- 

 ient of the channel must be sufficient to carry away the urine, and 

 if the building is a long one then it is advisable to slope the whole 

 of the floor to a gradient of about f in. per cow, not more, and to 

 make up the remainder of the necessary fall by giving a drop to 

 the channel. If the whole of the fall were to be obtained by sloping 

 the channel, the floor being level, it would have an undesirable 

 depth at its outlet end. In short cow houses there is, of course, no 

 need to give any slope to the floor. If the byre is very long it may 

 be necessary to slope both ends of the channel toward the centre 



