14 Farmers' Bulletin 1057. 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CONCRETE VAT. 



Site. — The site selected for the vat should be dry and of sufficient 

 size to jDennit the construction of the chute, the drijjping pen, and at 

 least two additional pens — one for holding the cattle prior to dipping 

 and the other for retaining them, after dipping, until sufficiently 

 dried. 



Excavation. — The excavation should be made 1 foot "wider and 1 

 foot longer than the inside dimensions of the vat and should conform 

 to its shape. The inside dimensions of the vat are shown on the 

 drawings (figure 5) and are as follows: Length at top of vat, 26 

 feet; bottom, 12 feet; width at top, 3 feet; at bottom, li feet; depth, 

 7 feet. 



The sides and bottoms of the excavation should be firm and solid, 

 as they are to serve for the outside forms in casting the concrete. If 

 it is necessary to do any filling in order to conform to the shape of 

 the vat, the filling should be puddled and thoroughly rammed until 

 solid. The stability of the concrete depends on the foundation. 



Forms and fences. — The wooden forms should be constructed of 

 1-inch boards and 2 by 4 inch braces, the boards being nailed to the 

 outside face of the braces, as shown in the drawings. The sides and 

 end walls should be built 8 inches higher than the surface of tlie 

 ground, which should be level. Any suitable lumber may be used for 

 the forms and fences. Saplings may be used for posts. 



Concrete. — The concrete should be made of (by measure) 1 part of 

 cement, 2| parts of sand, and 5 of broken rock or gi'avel. The cement 

 should be of standard brand of Portland, the sand clean and coarse, 

 and the broken rock from about |-inch pieces to those not larger than 

 will pass in every direction through a 1-inch ring. A vat according 

 to the plan (figure 5) will require about 40 sacks of cement, 5 yards 

 of sand, and 10 yards of gravel. 



A 26-foot vat is used extensively for eradication purposes with 

 satisfactory results. If it is desired, however, to lengthen the body 

 of the vat on account of large numbers of cattle to be treated, the fol- 

 lowing quantities of concrete material should be added for- each lineal 

 or running foot — cement, 1^ sacks; sand, 0.12 yard; stone, 0.24 j'urd. 



The sand is measured out first and the cement emptied on top, and 

 the two materials thoroughl}' mixed, dry. In the meantime the stone 

 may be measured out and thorouglily drenched with water. The 

 cement-sand mixture is mixed with water and the resulting mortar 

 then combined with the stone. The stone should be slioveled on the 

 mortar, previously spread out in a thin layer. Mixing shoukl con- 

 tinue until the stone is thoroughly coated willi mortar, more water 

 being added during the mixing process if necessary. 



