HOG HOUSES AND PENS 477 



or brick, is so great that having once possessed them few 

 breeders will be willing to forego their use afterward. 

 The sleeping floor should be readily accessible to sun- 

 shine in the fall, winter and spring months, and the feed- 

 ing floor sufiiciently elevated that mud or manure will not 

 be collected on it from the surroundings, and if it slopes 

 slightly in one or more directions it can be far more 

 readily cleaned ; in fact, the rains alone will do much 

 toward its cleansing. As lumber becomes more expen- 

 sive and difficult to obtain the subject of floors and fenc- 

 ing made of other materials must inevitably grow in 

 importance. 



AN OVERIiAY 



A second movable floor or overlay 6x8 feet, is shown 

 herewith, in one corner of a pen, described by Professor 

 Shaw, and sufticient as a sleeping place for eight or ten 

 150-pound shotes. This is hinged to the wall, so that 

 when the pen is to be cleaned the overlay is tipped up, 

 bedding and all, and any filth which may have accumu- 

 lated underneath is cleaned out. After the floor is 

 cleaned the overlay is let down, the bedding thrown off 

 on the floor for absorbent, and replaced by fresh bedding 

 at least once a week. When the overlay is placed in the 

 corner of the pen. that portion of the floor should be 

 raised somewhat. 



The overlay is raised off the floor bv inch cleats which 

 hold the bottom boards or floor together, and a 2x4 or 

 2x6 is fastened to the outer edges to hold the bedding in 

 place. 



