DAIRY CATTLE AND THE DAIRY FARM 121 



handle hay in the mows for they are unobstructed. The objections 

 raised to the round barns are : that they cannot be enlarged if the growth 

 of the herd demands it, that they are difficult to light, that rectangular 

 objects cannot be stored conveniently and that much space is wasted in 

 the driveway. 



Barn Construction. The construction of a barn should be simple 

 that it may be easily kept in sanitary condition and, except where the 

 building is frankly temporary in character, it should be substantial. The 

 foundation maybe either of cement or of masonry set in cement, and should 

 always rise far enough above the ground to prevent moisture from rotting 

 the sills and frame. Indeed, it is best to run the foundation up to the 

 bottom of the window sills. Either a mortised timber or plank frame 

 may be used. The former is the older and commoner way of framing; 

 the latter is the modern way and has come into vogue because it is cheaper, 

 stronger and more easily and quickly built. Both ways of framing may be 

 done in such a manner as to admit of either horizontal or of vertical siding. 

 The walls should be windproof and as smooth as possible. In mild 

 climates a single solid wall is warm enough, but in cold climates double 

 walls with an air space between them are necessary. Either a gable or a 

 gambrel roof may be used; the latter is self-supporting and gives ample 

 loft room. Floors should be durable and impervious to water so that they 

 may be non-absorptive and flushed frequently. They should be sloped 

 slightly toward the gutters. 



The standard width of barns is 36 ft. ; they are usually built in bents 

 either 10 or 14 ft. long, the former providing for three, and the latter for 

 four, stalls between posts. The barn should be laid out so as to provide 

 platforms and gutters for the cows, feeding alleys, cleaning alleys, a box 

 stall for calving, bull pens, calf pens, a milk-room, and office for the 

 herdsman and a dressing room for the help. 



Necessity of Good Planning. A little scientific management needs 

 to be applied to the problems of the dairy barn and provision made for 

 the conservation of energy. Fraser of the Illinois Station illustrates the 

 unnecessary labor that bad planning entails, by supposing a milk-room to 

 be located 50 ft. farther than need be from the cows, and calculating that 

 the milker in carrying the milk back and forth, would cover 12 rods per 

 cow each day, which in a herd of 60 cows would mean, 2J4 miles extra 

 travel a day, or in a year, 164 extra miles for each milker. 



Plan of Round Barn. The round barn should not be much less than 

 60 ft. in diameter and it is not economy to have it much larger. It is 

 arranged in a series of concentric circles formed by the silo, mangers, 

 curbing, stalls, gutters and alley. 



Plan of Rectangular Barn.- A rectangular dairy barn may be arranged 

 in either of two ways. The cows usually stand in two rows and according 

 to one arrangement, the cows face out, while in the other they face in. 



