12 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



SOCIALITY AMONG FARMERS. 



It is a jzreat ami ol)v'u)U9 truth, tliat the culti- 

 vator of the soil lias not the same conveniences, 

 opiH.rlunitios, and facilities of tlaily intercourse, 

 C'ouununication, and comparison of 

 and opinion, as the followers of 

 and manufacturinjf interests. 



FLAN OF A SIDE HILL BARN FOB CATTLE, HORSES 

 AND SHEEP.* 



dai „ 



knowledge 

 tlie connnorc.ial 

 Tlie followers of 

 tlio latter naturally congregate togotlier in cities, 

 and liave immediate means of frequent communica- 

 tion. Their symi)athics, feelings, and opinions, 

 circulate like electricity immediately through the 

 wliole body, to their advantage, encouragement, 

 and success. 



How is it with the cultivators of the soil? At 

 liome — separated — distributed among a thousand 

 rural fields, each attentive to his own acres, they 

 kave only occasional opportunities of mingling 

 and communicating with each other. If among 

 commercial men, chambers of commerce are found 

 necessary — if among trades, guilds are found 

 beneticial — how mucii more necessary and ad- 

 visable to have social institutions calculated to 

 bring together the representatives of the great ag- 

 ricultural interests. 



The duties of the farmer are varied, intricate, 

 ever-changing — dealing in trial, experiment, and 

 new endeavor — coping with nature in every 

 mood, and witnessing results involving mysteries 

 which no research has discovered, or philosophy 

 explained the cause. His experience is beyond 

 price to the whole taraily of man, and he is called 

 upon by the highest, noblest, and most elevating 

 of influences to be social — to communicate the 

 year's experience, and receive an ample return 

 from the memories of thousands. 



The reasons calling upon the other members of 

 society to be social are liliputian when pitted 

 against those which should prompt the farmer to 

 frequent interchange of thought, feeling and ex- 

 perience. The follower of no other calling is so 

 liable to fall into narrow, dogmatical habits, keep- 

 ing unchanged from year to year, until they mark 

 his identity as unmistakeably as his own pliysiog- 

 nomy, and chain him a slave to routine and 

 thought, sympathy, action, impulse, observation, 

 and labor. Social intercourse would work a 

 change in the farmer in this respect, softening his 

 prejudices, increasing his knowledge, and improv- 

 ing his manners. 



The obstacles in the way of the same degree of 

 sociality being established among farmers, which 

 is so easily and almost necessarily maintained 

 among trades and other business men, are very 

 considerable. But the advantages resulting wonld 

 more than pay the expense. Town and county 

 fairs, held no oftener than at present, are doing 

 ranch in this respect, and wiU never come off 

 debtors to tluiso whose interests they profess to 

 Borve. 



The snbject under consideration is really of 

 colossal magnitude in its intluence upon farmers, 

 and would result, if carried to the extent it should 

 be, in unlimited advantages to the farmer himself, 

 Rs well as his business. To be social is the im[)era- 

 tive demand of liis interest, his intelligence and his 

 mutual duty to his fellows. w. n. oakunek. 



Aml>0y, la^ Nov^ 1S58. 



TnE accompaning plan is designed for a side-hill 

 barn of convenient size for a hundred acre farm, 

 42 by GO feet, the basement story to be built on 

 both ends and one side, of good stone wall, ten feet 

 high ; the other partitions to be of wood, with a 

 space of two feet left open above, behind the stable 

 to secure good ventilation and pure air. 



The barn is divided into equal spaces of fourteen 

 feet between the posts one way, and fifteen feet the 

 other way, the front or entrance to the basement 

 to be on the soutli or shed side, fifteen feet off the 

 east end to be i)artiiione(l for sheep and calves, (fig.3,) 

 with rack and troughs through the centre, the space 

 (marked 8 in the annexed plan) for young calves, 

 or ewes and lambs. The remaining forty-five feet 

 to be left open fourteen feet deep in front, for 

 storage of manure and space for cattle to run in, 

 as it is better to turn them out after feeding in 

 mild weather. In the centre, back from the open 

 space, are enclosed room for six cows and a yoke of 

 oxen. (Fig. 2.) Tlie mangers are three feet wide, 

 the floor level about five feet where the animals 

 stand, with a drop of four or si?: inches deep, and 

 two feet wide behind for the manure, and back of 

 that a four foot walk, raised to the level of the 

 main floor, for convenience in milking, &c. 



On the west side of passage to feed-rooms is the 

 horse stable, (1,) for three horses, with door- 

 opening to passage, open space and feed room back. 

 The feed rooms are 14 by 45 feet, ample for root 

 bins, boxes for meal or cut fodder, with space for 

 straw and root cutter. Water from the cistern, (C,) 

 can be had through the wall by pipe or syphon in 

 the feed room for horses, thus making it very 

 convenient for feeding. It would be better, pei'- 

 haps, to cut tlie fodder above on stormy days, and 

 store it in tlie bins below through the shutes in the 

 fioor, to be ready for use when wanted. 



Stairs lead from the feed room to the main floor, 

 which is designed to be all planked over in one 

 unbroken floor, doing away with the unnecessary 

 divisions between the floor and bays, and being 

 much more convenient for other purposes when 

 empty. The bam can be entered and filled either 

 from the ends by driving through, or by a door or 

 doors on the north side, the scaffolding being 

 arranged in such a manner as to be easily changed 

 from one plan to the other by arranging the girts 

 in a j)roper manner, about twelve feet from the 

 floor, opposite the door. 



If the common traveling threshing machines are 

 used, and the straw is wanted in the barn-yard, the 

 granary, (G) may be put in the corner on the other 

 side of the stairs, and two double doors put in the 

 north side for greater ease in filling; but the better 

 way is to use the railway powers 'for threshing, 

 and leave a space through the middle of the bare 

 from end to end, and also a space of fifteen feet 

 across one end for straw, so that in threshing, an 

 elevator may be attached to any machine for carry 

 ing and dropjting the straw on a movable inchned 

 jilanc, to direct the straw to either side and pre- 

 vent the workmen from standing in the dust. 



•The Commiite award a prize to both of the accompanying 

 plans and descriptions of a Side Hill Bam. 



