540 



NEW ENGLAND F.\IIMER. 



Dec. 



For tlie New England Farmer. 



IMPROVEMENT IN BARNS. 



cellar are raised considerably above the level of the 



land surrounding it. The excavation for the cellar 



ha-\in<i^ been made, it is then waUed in upon the two 



Among the many and recent improvements in ; ends and the side next to the bank ; the side front- 



farmnig matters, none is more conspicuous than the jing upon the vard being left open,— although it is 



improvement in the construction of barns. ! afterwards sometimes closed up by a wooden par- 



If a stranger from some remote corner of our j tition with doors and windows, 

 land, where these "new-fashioned" barns have not The frame of the barn is now raised over the 

 yiet made their appearance, should travel through ' cellar, which has l^een so excavated that one end of 

 the country, and especially those parts of it which I the barn will— like fashionable modern houses- 

 he in the vicinity of the large towa and cities, he , front upon the road. The frame is then shingled 

 would be very likely to conclude that nearly every! and boarded, the boards being either "halved" or 

 farmer has an academy or meeting-house upon his "matched," but sometimes they are fitted snugly 

 premises; and when informed that these tasty build- 1 together with the jointer onlv, the cracks being 

 mgs are barns, would, perhaps, show you the full (afterwards covered with narrow strips of boards, 

 dimensions of his eyes, and often exhibiting other This last named method of putting on the boards, 

 signs ot astonishment, Ansh to know the use of the although objected to by some, yet, when properly 

 cupolas ^or steeples which he saw upon their sum- ! done, makes the bam tight and warm ; and when 



mits. And when told that the cupolas are "ventil 

 ators," would, doubtless, open his eyes still wider 

 than before, and exclaim — "Ventilators? What 

 good docs a ventilator do upon a bam ?" When 

 we consider the manner in which barns were form- 

 erly built, we shall not so much wonder at the above 

 question. The boards were put on without "match- 

 ing" 01- "halving," and frequently without the use of 

 the jointer, so that in a short time there were cracks 

 wide and numerous enough to thoroughly ventilate 



the boards are planed and painted, as they frequent- 

 ly are, gives to the barn a very neat and pretty ap- 

 pearance. Lengthwise, and tlirough the centre of 

 the barn, a space sufficiently wide has l)een left for 

 a floor, or "drive-way," which can be driven into, or 

 out of, at either end ; and which, if occasion requir- 

 ed, would contain several loads of hay at the same 

 time, without any pinching ; afi"ording also, when 

 the golden com is gathered in, ample room for a 

 merry "husking." The space beneath the scaffolds 



the barn, and keep it cool, especially in the Avinter. upon one side of the floor" is occupied by the stalls. 

 And in addition to the above method of purifying! or stables for the horses and cattle; the other side 

 the atmosphere of the barn, there was usually space ! being reserved for a "bay." 



enough at the top and bottom of the "great barn- This arrangement of the interior compartments 

 doors, and sometimes between them, to throw out of the barn renders the task of unloading and 

 a stray dog without injuring him in the least. The mowing away hay, feeding and tending the cattle. 



internal part of the barn was Hkewise arranged in 

 the same convenient style. The narrow "barn- 

 floor" was laid crosswise of the barn, and generally 

 near to one end ; a "head-scaffold" covered about 

 one-third of tlie length of the floor, at the end far- 

 thest from the doors ; so that when a respectable 

 sized load of hay was driven into it, if there was 



&c., much easier and more convenient than it used 

 to be formerlj'. Instead of the old-fashioned, dou- 

 ble, loose, swinging, flapping doors, which, besides 

 being incon-v^enient, rendered a passage into the 

 barn absolutely dangerous in Avindy weather, unless 

 they were secm-ely Taatened, each door, great and 

 small, is now made single, or in one piece, and 



any hay upon the scaffolds, the load was tightly moves backwards and forwards so easilv upon small 

 pressed on each side and the farthest end, the other j iron wheels, that a child could with facilitv open or 

 being "out-doors." A part of the hay, after being shut them. 



jerked from the load, had to be pitched several j A barn built in this manner is so snug and warm 

 tunes over, l)efore it reached its final destination at that some method of ventilating and purifying its 



the farthest end of the barn 



The stables, "lean-to" or b>Te, hen-roost, &c., 

 were jumbled up together somewhere — the last 

 named place being frequently in the "lean-to" over 

 the necks of the cattle. 



The barn-)ard was almost invariably in front of 

 the barn, rendering a passage to and from the barn 

 extremely pleasant, especially in a rainy day. Dig- 

 ging a barn-cellar was a piece of folly which very 

 few were guilty of committing in those days. 

 Farmers would as soon have thought of protecting 

 their fruit trees from the effects of the sun and air, 

 by building sheds over them, as of preser\Tng ma- 

 nure from the same causes,— the effects being dif- 

 ferent in toto, — by digging a cellar to receive it. 



But these ill-constructed bams, although too 

 many of them still have an existence, yet, for the 



atmosphere is rendered highly necessary, and ac- 

 cordingly an aperture has been left in the centre of 

 the top of the barn, which is covered by a cupola. 

 Li each of the four sides of the cupola, there is an 

 opening, of the shajje and size of a small window, 

 into which Venetian blinds are fitted and fastened. 

 The cuj)ola is ornamented, if the taste and means of 

 the farmer acquiesce, with panels, moulduigs and 

 carvings in tlie Arabesque, Gothic, or some other 

 style, the whole being pamted and surrounded by a 

 gilded vane, balls and letters, to indicate the differ- 

 ent points of compass. The gables, doors and win- 

 dows of the barn are also frequently adorned Avith 

 pediments ; and the eves, or cornices, Avith wide, 

 handsome mouldmgs. 



A barn built and finished in this stjde, with its 

 pretty Avhite, or fancy-colored cupola peeping up 



most part, have disappeared, and others of a ncAv through the surrounding trees, contrasting beauti- 



and much improved style have arisen from their 

 ruins. 



The first thing done nowadays towards the crea- 

 tion of a bam, is to dig a cellar. To render the 

 task an easier one, a site is chosen Avhere the ground 

 IS somewhat sloping, but if this is impracticable, 

 more digging h necessary, unless the walls of the 



fully Avith their green foliage, or A\ith the dark blue 

 sky, presents to the eyes a pleasing spectacle, and 

 is an ornament, not only to the farm upon Avhich it 

 stands, but also to the Avhole neighborhood and to 

 the adjacent country as far as the barn can be seen. 

 Although there are many modifications to the 

 above poorly described mode of building barns, yet 



