Alfalfa in Kansas. 



255 



practiced of spreading the hay over the whole area of the shed, side pro- 

 tection should be given from driving rains during the summer. 



Figs. 204, 205, 206 and 207 illustrate the plan of construction of an 

 alfalfa shed which the writer built on his home ranch on College Hill, near 

 the Agricultural College. The shed is 48 by 24 by 18 % or about 17 feet 

 high in the clear from the floor or ground walls to the eaves. The plan of 

 construction of this shed may readily be understood from the illustrations. 

 The floor walls average about 18 inches in height and are made of loosely 

 laid rock which was near at hand. The posts were set in cement, which 

 was rounded at the surface about the posts in order to shed water. The 

 floor of the shed consists of loosely laid poles young trees which were 

 being grubbed in clearing a neighboring piece of land. 



The posts are white oak trees, averaging about 7 inches in diameter at 

 the top and 10 to 12 inches at the base. The frame timbers and braces 



were fastened to the posts with lag 

 screws and were usually bolted to- 

 gether rather than nailed. Some 

 nails were used along with the 

 bolts. 



The roof is braced as shown in 

 Figs. 205 and 206, and securely 

 tied to the frame by braces at each 

 post, as shown in plans, and each 

 rafter was securely nailed to the 

 plate. 



The hay carrier track is at- 

 tached to a 2 by 10 ridge timber 

 for the first 10 feet, and a 2 by 8 

 for the remaining 36 feet, the 2 by 

 10 extending four feet over the end 

 of the shed, from which the fork is 

 lowered to the load. The ends of 

 the rafters are flush with the top 

 edge of the roof timbers and are 

 securely nailed. 



When built this shed was left open, but it was later sided with boards 

 to within four feet of the floor at an estimated cost of $86.50. 



A fairly accurate account was kept of the material and labor required 

 to build this shed. Most of the labor was done by unskilled workmen, an 

 expert carpenter being hired only seven days while framing the shed. 

 The cost of this shed may be stated as follows : 



TABLE No. 32. Cost of a hay shed. 



FIG. 207. Section of roof of hay barn, 

 showing extension for hay-carrier track and 

 plan for bracing roof. [Courtesy Kansas 

 Experiment Station.] 



10 long posts and 4 short posts, including cost of labor for cutting and hauling, 



Lumber for frame and roof. 



1850 sq. ft. galvanized steel roofing, @ $4.15 per square, including ridge pole. . 



Bolts and nails 



Lime, cement, sand, etc 



Poles for bottom 



Construction labor, carpenter work, etc 



Painting 



Hay fork, pulleys, track, carrier, complete 



Siding, estimated cost of labor and lumber 



