426 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



This yard is a hospital yard, shearing yard, coupling yard; 

 docking, castrating, tagging, and many other operations are per- 

 formed here. It is always kept clean, and deeply lined with 

 good litter. The second story of the end building lias one room 

 used for storing hay. The second stories of the two long build- 

 ings are divided into two rooms each, one each for grain, hay, 

 •uid straw, and one is used for storing any fodder. There is a 

 good root cellar underneath one half, of one of the long buildings 

 At g, y, ^, are half hogsheads, sunk to within one foot of the 

 sill bottoms, and supplied with water by troughs, connecting 

 with the pump, F. This arrangement is not quite satisfactory, 

 as it is liable to freezing in extreme cold weather. At A is a 

 ram pen. "We consider the best features of this plan to be the 

 common yard, and the separate yards connecting with each 

 stable. These buildings can be made of light stuff, at a small 

 expense compared with the value of the stock which can be 

 stored in them from year to year. These barns abundantly 

 accommodate a flock of from four hundred to five hundred 

 Merinos and their winter food. A farmer, who commences with 

 a flock of fifty, can put up the end building first, and add the 

 others as his flock increases, but we think that, substantially, 

 this plan should be kept in view. Each stable has one small 

 window and one sliding window, (not glass,) so that they can 

 be ventilated at any time without opening the doors. The 

 sheep barn, whatever its construction, should be on dry ground, 

 and have yard room and ventilation. 



Pure air is beneficial to all animals, and the practice of leav- 

 ing the dung in the stables all winter is a bad one, though very 

 common. Three times, at least, the stables should be well 

 cleaned out. The time of a thaw is, on several accounts, desi- 

 rable for this purpose. Gypsum should always be sown on the 

 •.mnure before covering it with fresh litter, both to disinfect tha 



