PIGGEEIES 199 



water, etc., will not collect in pools, impermeable to moisture, and non- 

 slippery. 



Probably the best floor is one of hard burned bricks laid in cement 

 mortar on a 3-inch layer of concrete which, in turn, rests on a 6-inch 

 layer of hard-core, i.e. broken bricks or stone. 



A cheaper but satisfactory floor consists of a 4-inch layer of concrete 

 resting on 6 inches of hard-core, the concrete consisting of one part 

 cement, two and one-half parts clean sand, and five parts broken stone 

 or shingle. Before the concrete has quite set, it may be floated over 

 with one part of cement to two parts of clean sand, which should 

 be brushed over with a coarse brush before setting to render the floor 

 less slippery. 



The floor will be most liable to crack at the corners, and should be 

 carefully laid and made a little thicker there. The floor in the pen 

 should be at least 2 inches higher than that in the yard, with a step down 

 to the latter so as to insure a dry sleeping place. 



The pen floor should have a slope of about 1 inch in 3 feet towards 

 the doorway between pen and yard, and the yard should have a similar 

 slope towards the sewage outlets leading to the gutter which runs along 

 the front of the yards. 



On farms where flag-stones are obtainable these will probably form 

 the most economical floor. They should be well laid in cement. If laid 

 without cement, urine and water percolate between the flags and soon 

 render the earth below foul and soft, so that it oozes up between the 

 flags under the weight of the pigs and is no longer able to maintain the 

 flags level. 



A floor of beaten earth is sometimes used, though it is not recom- 

 mended except as a temporary expedient; such a floor should be 

 thoroughly drained. The drainage may be effected by a French drain, 

 consisting of a trench 3 feet deep filled with stones, passing below the 

 middle of the yards from end to end of the piggery, and leading to the 

 liquid manure tank. 



A raised platform of open wooden spars is sometimes recommended 

 to be placed in the pen to form a warm sleeping place, no bedding being 

 then required. If this be used, it should be removable for cleaning 

 purposes. 



Drainage to Liquid Manure Tank. — The sewage outlets from the yards 

 should discharge into a concrete or granolithic gutter having a slope of 



