ARRANGEMENT OF FARM BUILDINGS. 205 



matter, which for the special purposes required, after an experience 

 of nearly thirty years, I have found to be the best. When wanted 

 for other purposes than dairy farming they must be modified accord- 

 ingly. In years past, when I leased farms, I always had the bad for- 

 tune to get poor buildings, and I have often had to put up sheds at 

 my own cost. My object always has been to make a court or square 

 suiTounded on all sides with buildings, with one opening into the" 

 yard, so that it could be easily locked up at night, that if any animal 

 should by chance get out of its pen it would be found in the yard in 

 the morning. The homestead which I purchased three years ago was 

 bare of buildings and open to the streets. I first graded the yard 

 into a hollow square, sloping on alt sides to the centre, where I placed 

 the cistern or cesspool for liquid manure, as before described. On 

 the south side of this yard, running east and west, I built my cow 

 stable, 105 feet in length, twenty-three feet wide and sixteen-foot 

 posts. This is divided into thirty stanchions or stalls, three and one- 

 half feet wide, with a manger running in front. Water is supplied to 

 the manger from a tank in the barn, and is carried along the range of 

 stalls by an inch and a quarter iron pipe, having three faucets to let 

 the water into the manger. Hose attachments are provided to carry 

 the water to any point in the barn in case of fire. In front of the 

 manger is a space of nine feet for a feeding passage, in which there is 

 a large trough, six by three feet, for mixing bran or slops in the 

 summer. Just behind the stalls is a trench, fifteen inches wide and 

 eight inches deep, where all the manure falls. Behind this is a walk 

 of five feet for the convenience of the milkers and for bedding and 

 cleaning out the stables. This large space also gives ample room for 

 the milk cans at milking time. On the front side of the stable, and 

 in front of the Cows, are several large windows, to give sunlight and 

 air when desired. There are also windows facing the yard, and two 

 large doors, by which the cows enter the stables, into which the carts 

 are backed when carrying in bedding and taking away the manure. 

 The smallest boy can put the thirty cows into the stable in ten 

 minutes, as they are all trained to go into their own stalls without 

 confusion. This training saves a great deal of trouble, and is a special 

 point in the management of cows. The method of fastening them in 

 the stalls is simply by means of an upright oak scantling, two by 

 three inches, held in the bottom of the stall by a pin, and, when the 

 cow thrusts her head through the opening above the manger, this 

 upright stick is pushed up in place, and a piece of the same size is 

 dropped down behind it on the top rail of the manger and holds it 

 securely. This space has a width at the top of about two feet when 

 open, and when closed is about eight inches wide at both top and 



