782 SWITZERLAND COUNTY, INDIANA. 



foot rack, and more if I need longer ones. These are three by 

 eight inches, and twenty-four inches long ; they are of hard 

 wood. On these cleats — one at each end and one in the cen- 

 ter, I nail a board, one by twenty-two inches and twelve feet 

 Icmg, with the edges beveled, to give it a trough shape when 

 the sides are nailed on. On the sides and ends of this board, 

 I nail one by six-inch plank, with the upper edge on side plank 

 rounded, to prevent waste of wool while the sheep are eating. 

 This forms the trough. On this trough I build a rack by first 

 striking a line lengthwise in the center of the trough. With 

 an inch and a half auger I bore — standing at the side of the 

 trough — three holes close to but on the opposite side of the 

 chalk line from where I stand, through board and cleat, boring 

 the hole to the right of the center of the cleat. I then repeat 

 with the auger the same operation on the opposite side of the- 

 trough. While boring the holes, the auger must be so held as 

 to form a hopper five inches wide inside at the bottom, and four 

 feet'wide at the top, when three and a half feet high from the 

 bottom qf trough. 



For standards to which to nail the lining, take two by 

 two inch straight grained oak pieces four and a half feet long,, 

 properly shaped and driven in the auger holes in suitable form 

 to receive on the inside the plank composing the hopper. This 

 plank should be three-quarters of an inch thick, any width, 

 and twelve feet long for a twelve foot hopper, and planed on 

 the inside to help the hay slide to the bottom, so that the sheep 

 can get it. I plane it on the outside, as also the standards and 

 outside corners, which I take off so as to prevent a loss of wool 

 by the sheep rubbing against rough edges. To side up the hop- 

 per I begin at the bottom, putting the plank on the inside, the 

 lower one six inches above the bottom of the trough. The 

 outside corner of the bottom side plank must be nicely rounded 

 at the lower edge, to save the tearing of ,wool, as above. 

 Let the edges of the siding be beveled, and lap to prevent the 

 grain from wasting when thrown in for feeding. The ends of 

 the trough are sealed up perpendicularly against the end of the 

 sidinsf. 



