Sec. IC] 



THE BARN AND ITS APPURTENANCES. 



305 



than an open slied, nioro than two hundred miles fartlier north tiian Massa- 

 chusetts, and she gave milk all winter, and came out well in the sprin"." 



There is something worth a thought in tliis matter aljont airy barns. We 

 know them to be the best tor hay and grain; and we know that in ohlen 

 time in New England, all of the barns, covered with upright boards, put on 

 green, had wide cracks from to]) to bottom, and in such stable.-i, although 

 very cold, the cattle wintered well and kept liealtliy. It is shelter fmni 

 storms, and not shelter from cold, that all of our stock needs. 



32.3. Venlilatin.tf Hay-mows.— One of the worst practices of farmers, in Xcw 

 England particularly, is storing liay in large bays, without a sign of any 

 ventilation under the bulk, which usually rests upon a few loose poles or 

 boards on the damp ground. A bay should have ventilation, not only under 

 it, but up through it, by means of a chimney made of four poles fastened 

 together by rounds like a ladder. A loose stone foundation could be laid 

 for the hay bottom, with an air-chamber from the outside leading to the 

 chimney, directly over which there should be a ventilator in the roof. Tiiis 

 6imj)lc contrivance would not only save many a tun of hay from mustiuess, 

 but it would enable the owner to put in his hay in a much greener state, 

 and that which is next the chimney would always come out very sweet. 



32G. Stables— liow to ronstnirt them. —A stable should be built with a view 

 to several points, among which we may mention economy of space consistent 

 with comfort, convenience of feeding and milking the animals, convenience 

 of tethering t.hem so that they may have the largest measure of liberty of 

 motion, but be unable to injure one another; convenience of getting hay 

 from the loft and grain from the-bin to the stalls; and convenience of re- 

 moving the liquid and solid excretions, so as to preserve their (pnility, and 

 renioNc them so speedily that the ellluvium may not bo breathed l)y the cows. 



The floor of a cow-stall of a well-constructed stable is four feet to four feet 

 six inches long, raised two or three inches for a dry platform. Behind the 

 platform the lloor is made of white-oak slats set apart so that the mine may 

 drop through to the cellar beneath. The floor-beams are laid four feet 

 apart. On the sides stout elects are nailed, and on these the 2x3j white- 

 oak slats are dovetailed and tirndy nailed. The slats are beveled to a sharp 

 edge beneath, so that the manure Avill not clog the open spaces, but drop 

 clear as soon as it sinks below tlie njipor edges of the slats. The slatted 

 space is a foot and a half in \vidth. Jk'hind that the lirst i)lank of the iloor 

 is made to lift like a trap-door, turning on hinges, to secure an ojten spaco 

 through which to hoc the droppings, litter, etc., that woidd not readily J)as3 

 between the slats. l>y this simple contrivance the droppings of thirty cowa 

 can be removed in a few minutes. 



327. Stables should always be built hish — that is, liigh between floors. Most 

 stables are built low, '• because they arc warmer." I5ut the builders forgot 

 that warmth is obtained at a sacrifice of j)ure air and the health of the an- 

 inuil. Shut a man up in a tight, snudl box ; the air nuiy bo warmer, but it 

 will soon lay him out dead and cold if he continues to breathe it. If siables 



