212 SOILS 



secured. Some advise cement for the bottom and sides 

 for this purpose a most satisfactory way out of the diffi- 

 culty and one that will last. 



But the covered barnyard is better. And it is better for 

 the manure and for the stock. The open barnyard, 

 although it may protect against washing and leaching, 

 still may allow fermentation to go on as before, which 

 means organic matter is destroyed and nitrogen is lost. 

 This objection is removed almost entirely when manure is 

 hauled direct to the fields or made and preserved under 

 the covered barnyard. 



The most practical scheme for a cheaply constructed 

 building that serves as storage for hay, shelter for stock, 

 covered barnyard for manures, and at the same time pro- 

 vides stable accommodations, with which I am familiar, is 

 the Erf system. 



The Erf system of stabling and preserving manure. 

 The general plan is as follows : In this system location is 

 a very important factor. The building should be built on 

 high ground, but if such is not available, the soil should 

 be tile drained to avoid dampness in the barnyard. In 

 arranging the system, a large area is covered with cheap 

 roofing, in the center of which is a hay shed ; on one 

 side of this is a milking stable connected with a feed 

 room for concentrated feeds, and a second room to be 

 used as a milk room. In this plan the cows are kept in 

 the covered barnyard, except during milking time, where 

 they are fed all kinds of roughage feeds. At milking time 

 a portion of the cows are driven into the milking stable 

 which is constructed in the most sanitary manner and 

 fed their concentrated feeds ; they are then returned to the 

 covered yard, and the remaining portion admitted to the 

 milking stable. By such a plan a large number of cows 

 can be accommodated with small stable provision. The 



