AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultubal WAHEHon8E.)-ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR. 



VOL,. XIX.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, M.ARCH 31, 1841. 



[NO. 39. 



N. E. FARMER, 



For (he N. E. Farmer. 



FARM BUILDINGS. 

 Mr Editor — Sir — I have often seen the remark 

 ■ .1 your vaUmblc paper, that every man had a right, 

 and was called upon to e.vercise that right, of giv- 

 ing inforinalion an! making inquiries about the dif- 

 ferent and better ijiodes of cultivating the soil, erect- 

 ing buildings, raising animals, &c. Feeling, sir, 

 that you are readv and willing to bestow any infor- 

 mation in relatioi. to the great principles of farm- 

 ing, find areh-p;>y in so doing, I take the liberty 

 to ask you a very few questions. 



I have, sir, been looking around among my build- 

 ings and the buildings of my neighbors, in my own 

 town and vicinity, and I see much extravagance in 

 buildings, even in those for our animals. I see 

 good and costly barns for our cattle, warm stables 

 for ojjr horse.s, and good, tight and comfortable 

 shelters for all our animals except swine. And 

 where do I find our swine ? Some in a misorablo 

 mud-hole under a building open to the north winds ; 

 some in the corner of walls or fences with a few 

 loose boards thrown over them, with flat rocks for 

 a floor, and a few loose, round or sharp rocks for a 

 bed, cemented together with frozen earth ; and 

 some in the op':n fields, with no shelter at all, ex- 

 cept the blue sky over their heads — and finally a 

 great proportion of ihem in a most miserable condi- 

 tion, in comparison with the condition of our other 

 animals. This stats of things ought not to exist. 

 These beautiful, noble and most profitable of all 

 the farmer's animals ought not to be so treated, 

 because tln^y occasionally, in doing their whole 

 duty, happen to get their noses a little dirty. And, 

 sir, for my own part, so far as I shall have further 

 care of these fine animals, I am lesolved to give 

 them bettei treatment, and build one of the most 

 comfortablt ouildin^js for them that I can put to- 

 gether ; and this net only for their own comfort 

 but my interest ; fur I am satisfied, from experi- 

 ence, that half a bushel of corn will make nearly 

 as much pork when given to a comfortable pig in 

 a warm pen, as a bushel when fed to an uncomforta- 

 ble one, lu the frozen mud. And now, sir, the 

 questions which I propose to ask, are these, viz: — 

 Do you believe with me, or do you imagine even 

 for a moment, that it makes any difi"erence what 

 kind of a building swine are kept in, as it regards 

 their growth and expense o( keeping? and if so,! 

 what shall be the shape, size and situation of the 

 best constructed building ? shall it be so situated 

 and constructed that tho swine shall always be 

 kept in the shade, even if kept warm, or shall they 

 have an opportunity to lie where, during the winter, 

 they can feel occasionally the warm rays of the 

 sun? and any other information in relation to a 

 place for keeping swine, taking into consideration 

 the growth and keeping of the same, without re- 

 gard to the expense of the building, will greatly 

 oblige one, and ( presume benefit many of the sub- 

 scribers for your paper. 



Grajlon, March 15M, 1841. A FARMER. 



These questions of" A Farmer," and the implied 

 opinions are very acceptable to us. He has touch- 

 ed upon a subject of no small practical moment 



If warmth and comfort contribute materially to the 

 growth of swine, there can be little doubt that it 

 is good economy to furnish them with this kind of 

 nourishment. 



We have seen something of the benefits of keep- 

 ing shoats or store pigs warm in the winter. For- 

 merly, at our home, the swine were kept in cold 

 pens, but for several years past they have fed and 

 slept on the floor of a very warm barn, and at their 

 pleasure have gone down into the cellar beneath 

 to work over the manure from the cattle. This 

 cellar is closed, and comparatively little frost is 

 ever found in it. Here the pigs exercise in com- 

 fort as much of the time as they choose. When a 

 night is severely cold, they remain below and sleep 

 \ipon the horse manure at one end of the cellar. 

 And now you will ask what i.s the effect of such a 

 I place upon the growth of the swine } We answer, 

 that it has been the settled belief in our family for 

 I years, that the increased growth of Jive swine in 

 the winter months, will pay the annual interest on 

 .$100. Here the swine never can see the sun. But 

 wc believe it is desirable that they should. Were 

 one constructing the pen, which should be the 

 most favorable to the comfort and the consequent 

 growth of his hogs, he would probably mistake, if 

 he furnished them no opportunity to enjoy the 

 pleasure which they obviously take, when basking 

 in the rays of a bright winter's sun. We should 

 say, generally, to each farmer, contrive in the 

 cheapest way which your buildings and the grounds 

 around them permit, to keep your hogs comfoitable, 

 and to let them work in manure or muck which is 

 not frozen. A warm nest, good air and exercise 

 are all desirable. But our correspondent has asked 

 how we would build, setting aside all regard to 

 the expense of the building. We are not sorry that 

 the question has been put; for there is an original 

 plan in our brain, which we are ready to make pnb. 

 lie, though it will be thought too costly by most 

 farmers. It is difticult to describe a building in 

 words so as to make one's self understood ; should 

 we jail in this attempt, we shall be happy to be 

 questioned upon points which we do not render in- 

 telligible. 



On a spot of ground, sloping to the south, dig in 

 upon a level until you get a face 8 or 10 feet high. 

 Build a good stone wall at this face ; also at each 

 end build such a wall twenty feet in length. On 

 these three walls lay the sills of your building. The 

 posts on the north side are not to come back to the 

 face of the north wall by three feet: your building 

 will be seventeen feet wide. Let the posts be four 

 feet high. The roof is to be filled in the summer 

 or autumn with the materials to be used in winter 

 for litter. 'I'his litter is to be dropped down through 

 a hole directly over each nest ; this hole must be 

 kept covered to prevent the cold air from descend- 

 ing ; ar.d for the convenience of covering, it might 

 be well to make a curb four or five feet high around 

 each hole. The litter, when you fill the chamber, 

 will be placed immediately around these curbs or 



board funnels. When you have put down litter 

 enough for the day, throw a fork full over the hole 

 and let it remain as a cover until more is wanted. 

 These same chimnies uncovered in summer, will 

 serve as good ventilators. 



You have thirteen or fourteen feet from the bot- 

 tom of the cellar to the beam. At about the cen- 

 tre of this space run timbers from one end of the 

 cellar to the other. The north or innermost timber 

 must be three feet from the wall. Another timber 

 running the whole length and being ten feet in 

 front of the first timber, will give the foundation 

 of the floor on which your hogs are to feed and 

 sleep. Let the four northern feet of this floor be a 

 passage way in front of the pens. The remaining 

 six feet may be divided into pens of twelve feet in 

 length ; six feet for a nest and six for the eating 

 pen. From this eating pen, let stairs or steps 

 (planks with cleats spiked across them) lead down 

 to the bottom of the cellar, landing near the south 

 side. The cellar must be divided into pens of 

 twelve feet width ; to each pen let there be a door 

 in front sufliciently large to admit the cart; above 

 this door have large glass windows to admit the 

 sun. 'Ihese cellar pens are now 20 feet deep ; 

 but I WDuld have them partitioned off by movable 

 planks, leaving 12 feet in front and eight in the 

 rear. 



Now let us look at the three feet of cellar along 

 the north side, which are not covered : here fix a 

 row of bulk heads, or sloping doors, through which 

 yon may tip down in the autumn, loads of muck 

 and soil, and whatever else you may wish your 

 hogs to work over during the winter. This will 

 be retained in the smaller or inner division of each 

 pen, lying partly under the floor on whie.h the hogs 

 eat and sleep, and may be thrown over for them to 

 work upon from day to day. This is for winter 

 work. But when your pens have been cleared in 

 the spring, remove the partition across the pen, let 

 the hogs run back to the north wall out of the 

 reach of the sun. Give them materials for manure 

 through your slanting doors on the north side. 

 Here let them do their summer's work. These 

 bulk-heads should be well covered in winter with 

 hay, sea-weed, or some other suitable material for 

 the prevention of cold. The windows in fr<mt 

 might require blinds in summer. At one end of 

 the building should be a cellar for keeping roots 

 and cooking the food ; and perhaps a steam pipe 

 running immediately under the sleeping pens might 

 be advisable. The whole building should be near- 

 ly frost proof. 



We have here given a description of our fa.icy 

 hog pen. We fear the description may not be in- 

 telligible ; but if a pen be built in accordance with 

 our idea, it will be warm in winter, cool in summer, 

 and will let the process of manure making go on 

 at all seasons. Whether it would be worth its cost, 

 we have not fully considered Ed. 



It is much easier to ruin a man of principle, than 

 a man of none ; for he may be ruined through his 

 scruples. Knavery is supple, and can bend; hon- 

 esty is firm, upright and yields not. — Lacon. 



