16 



BAR 



BAR 



mended as a proper steep for seed 

 barley : Dissolve three pounds of 

 copperas in a pail of boiling water. 

 Add to this as much dung puddle 

 water as will cover three or four 

 bushels of barley. Stir it, and let 

 it steep twenty-four hours ; when 

 the seed is drained and spread, sift 

 on fine lime, which fits it for sow- 

 ing. 



BARN, a sort of house used for 

 storing unthreshed grain, hay and 

 straw, and all kinds of fodder. But 

 the other uses of barns in this coun- 

 try are, to lodge and feed beasts 

 in, to thresh grain, dress flax, Sic. 

 A barn should be large enough to 

 serve the farmer for all these pur- 

 poses : For there is always more 

 lost by stacking of hay and grain, 

 than enough to balance the expense 

 of barn room. 



Regard must be had to the situ- 

 ation of a barn. It should be at a 

 convenient distance from the dwel- 

 ling house, and other buildings ; 

 but as near as may be without 

 danger of fire, if the shape of the 

 ground permits. Too low a spot 

 will be miry in spring and fall. 

 Too high an eminence will be bad 

 for drawing- in loads, and on ac- 

 count of saving and making ma- 

 nures. If other circumstances 

 permit, it may be best to place a 

 barn in such a manner as to defend 

 the dwelling house from the force 

 of the coldest winds. 



The most considerable parts of 

 a barn are, the floor, the bay, the 

 cow house, the scaffolds, the sta- 

 ble. See Cozo House, and Stable. 

 The threshing floor should be laid 

 on strong and steady sleepers, well 

 supported beneath ; otherwise 



carting in loads upon it will soon 

 loosen it, and render it unfit for 

 the operation of threshing. It 

 should be made of planks, well 

 seasoned, and nicely jointed ; and 

 care should be taken to keep it 

 very tight. If it should be so open 

 as to let grain, or any seeds, pass 

 through, the grain will be worse 

 than lost, as it will serve lo feed 

 and increase vermin. A floor of 

 boards should therefore be laid un- 

 der the planks. 



The sills of a barn should be 

 made of the most durable kind of 

 timber, as they are more liable to 

 rot than those of other buildings, 

 on account of the dung lying about 

 them. White oak is very fit for 

 this use. The sills must be laid 

 rather low, not only for the conve- 

 nient entrance of cattle and carts, 

 but because the ground will be 

 lowered round barns, by the year- 

 ly taking away of some of the sur- 

 face with the dung. They should 

 be well underpinned with stones 

 laid a little below the surface of 

 the ground ; and well pointed with 

 lime, to prevent loss of manure. 

 And dung should not lie fermenting 

 against the sides of a barn ; but be 

 speedily removed when warm 

 weather comes on. 



In order to prevent hay or grain 

 from heating in a large mow, 

 the farmers in Pennsylvania set 

 up four poles or pieces of tim- 

 ber in the middle, so as to form 

 within them a square space of a- 

 bout two feet. The poles are bra- 

 ced by cross-pieces at certain dis- 

 tances. Through the aperture, 

 thus made, the extra moisture in 

 the hay or grain will evaporate so 



