198 FARM BUILDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA 



is secured by building in two horizontal wooden wall-plates, 4^ inches 

 by 3 inches in cross section, to which are nailed corrugated iron 

 sheets reaching to at least 3 feet above the floor. Walls made of 

 sun-dried bricks may be protected from rain and damp by a coat of tar 

 applied cold. The tar will probably blister in some places. Such blisters 

 should be scraped off and the places carefully re-tarred. 



The partition walls between the sleeping pens and exercise yards 

 should be from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet in height. 



Partition and yard walls strongly and stiffly built of wood and 

 corrugated iron are fairly satisfactory. The posts below ground should 

 be charred, and they should be tarred all over, to increase their resist- 

 ance to rot. 



If they can be procured cheaply, old railway sleepers placed vertically 

 with their ends in the ground make good partition walls, or these walls 

 may be made of rough timber when it is cheaply procurable. 



Foundations. — The foundations in the designs given are of masonry, 

 of an average depth (for ordinary ground) in design No. 1 of 12 inches, 

 and in design No. 2 of 18 inches below the surface. The stones 

 required will probably be procurable on the farm ; they should be of 

 large size; cement mortar should be used for the foundations in pre- 

 ference to lime mortar. The stones should be laid on their natural beds 

 with large headers at frequent intervals. The foundations should be 

 topped by a damp-proof course, consisting of a layer of hot tar mixed with 

 pitch and sand, or of hot asphalt, or sheet asphalt. 



The Roof. — The roofs shown in designs No. 1 and No. 2 are of 

 corrugated iron. The lean-to form shown in design No. 1 is cheap and 

 quite satisfactory ; for this roof, the rafters may be 6 inches by 1£ inches 

 in cross-section, or four rafters 4£ inches by 1£ inches in cross-section 

 could be cut from a 9 -inch by 3-inch deal, giving a roof not quite so 

 strong as in the first case. 



The 2-inch by 3-inch purlins should be nailed to the rafters on edge, 

 i.e. with the 2-inch dimension next the rafter. This will make a 

 stronger roof than nailing them with the 3-inch dimension parallel to 

 the rafter. 



A thatched roof made from grass or reeds is suitable, and maintains 

 a more even temperature than does corrugated iron. 



The Floor. — The floor is a most important part of the building. It 

 should be hard to prevent the pigs from rooting it up, well laid so that 



