446 



SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part II. 



?L^^^V,?h:l^^^t^ tank was formed, fifty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and six deep, with its surface on a 

 level with the bottom of the cellar ; it was arched over, and had a man-hole for cleaning out the s2iiment 



412 ^^^iii:^ four feet in diameter : into this tank the whole 



of the urine was conducted, after being filtered 

 through the urine gutters into spouts beneath it 

 reaching the whole length of the house. Each 

 filter consisted of a vessel covered with a plate 

 of cast iron, pierced with small holes, the sur. 

 face of the plate being on a level with the sur- 

 face of the gutter : the use of the vessel under 

 it is to receive the sediment, for which purpose 

 it is made four inches wider than the cover, and 

 in this extra width the water runs over into the 

 cast-iron spout by which it is conducted to the 



ank : it enters the tank by a division surrounded 

 by boards pierced with holes, so as to filter it a 

 second time, in order that the water may be 

 pumped up with greater ease. This water was 

 sold to the gardeners and others, at from Is. to 

 Is. 6d. per hundred gallons. The roof was sup. 

 ported in the midaie by cast iron pillars {b) ; 

 there were no ceilings, but the slates were hung 

 to the quarterings of the rafters on pins, with a good lap ; this being found warm enough in the coldest 

 weather, and favourable for ventilation in the hottest : there were also windows in the roof, both for light 

 and ventilation. The heat was generally kept to 60 or 64.. The passages (c) were paved, and five feet 

 wide, and two inches and a half higher in the middle than at the side. 



2833. The floor on which the cows stood in Hurley's cow-house " was raised six inches above the pas- 

 sages ; this not only showed the cows to greater advantage, but kept them dry and clean : and two and a 

 half feet of the floor next to the trough were made of composition, similar to what is commonly used in 

 making barn floors ; because the principal weight of the cows being upon their fore feet, and as in lying 

 down the whole weight is upon their knees, it was obviously desirable to have that part of the stall as 

 smooth and soft as possible ; indeed, it is conceived that joints and flooring would be the best for that 

 purpose, were it not for the expense. The back part of the stall was of hewn stone, and for about eighteen 

 inches towards the groove there was an inclination of about half an inch, to let tlie water go oft"; and 

 these eighteen inches wereof stript aslilar transversed, the strips being about an inch separate ; tliis pre- 

 vented the feet of the cows from slipping. In all cow-houses, perhaps, the front part of the stall should be 

 rather lower than the back part, since it would enable the cattle to lie easier; and, besides this, they 

 would not be apt to slip their calf Cows which put out their calf bed, or have a tendency to slip their 

 calf, should have a straw mat laid below their hind quarters. Tlie bottom of the feeding troughs was on 

 a level with the floor of the stalls ; both edges were of hewn stone, the outer one next the passage was 

 three inches above the bottom of the trough, and the other six inches higher ; they were four inches and 

 a half thick, and rounded to a semicircle ; the trough was one foot three inches wide, and six feet four 

 inches long." {Harleian Dairy System, p. 24.) 



2834. The standing room for the cows in the Harleian dairy, that is, the space between the feeding trough 

 {d) and gutter (a), was from six to seven feet; the latter dimension being for the larger cows. The 

 breadth allowed for a cow was from three feet to three feet six inches; two cows standing together be- 

 tween wooden partitions as in stables {e). Each cow is fixed to a stake nine inches from the partitions, 

 and six inches from the feeding trough ; the stakes are two and inches a half in diameter, and the cows 

 are fixed to them by chains and swivels fixed to rings. " The chains were three feet seven inches long, 

 consisting of twenty-one links, viz., three on one side of the swivel, and eighteen on the other; the short 

 end of the chain had a hook for joining the chain, with a broad point of an oval shape, which was more 

 easily hooked and unhooked, and answered the purpose better than the common mode used in dogs' 

 chains." The hecks, or racks for the hay, are three'feet two inches long, by one foot ten inches deep, framed 

 with deal, and filled up with one horizontal and ten perpendicular iron rods a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter. These hecks are hung with window cord, which passes over pulleys, so that they can be raised 

 by a wheel and pinion at pleasure, so as to be above the heads of the cows, when tliey are eating green 

 food from the feeding gutter. Mr. Harley considers it of importance that each cow should not only be 

 kept clean by combing and brushing, but, by the chain system of fastening, should have the liberty of 

 licking its own skin and that of its fellow. {Harleian Dairy System, p. 28.) 



2835. Calf-pens, or calf-stages, are common additions to cow-houses, where the feeding 

 of calves for the butcher is an object of pursuit. The principal thing to be observed in 



413 ^ the construction of calf-pens is the laying of the floor, 

 which should be made of laths or spars about two inches 

 broad, laid at the distance of an inch from each other, 

 upon joists, so as to make the floor about ten or twelve 

 inches from the ground, as the situation will admit 

 (Jig. 413.) This not only keeps them quite dry, by 

 allowing all the moisture to pass immediately away, but 



has the advantage of admitting fresh air below the bedding, and thereby preventing that 

 unwholesome disagreeable smell too often found among calves ; for it is to be understood, 

 that this place below the floor fa) should frequently be cleaned, as well as the floor itself 

 whenever it becomes wet or dirty ; but it is not right to allow the litter to increase to a 

 great thickness, otherwise the moisture will not so easily pass through. Calf-pens are, 

 however, too often made without this sparred floor, and the fresh litter always laid on the 

 old till the calves are removed, which is a slovenly practice, and not by any means to be 

 recommended. Stalls, or divisions, are too often neglected in calf-pens. Partitions, 

 about three feet high, of thin deal nailed on small posts, might be so contrived as to be 

 movable at pleasure, to increase or diminish the stall, if necessary, according to the age 

 and size of tlie calf. If it be thought unnecessary to make the partitions movable, there 

 might be a small round trough, in a circular frame, fixed in the corner of each pen, for 

 holding the milk, and a door in the next adjoining corner. A small slight rack for hold- 

 ing a little hay, placed at the upper part of the pen, might also be useful. The troughs 

 should be round, that the calves may not hurt themselves upon them, which they might 

 probably do on the angles if they were square. The advantages of this kind of calf-pens 



