214 SOILS 



The sides may be boarded with up-and-down and bat- 

 ten, or batten-siding may be used. Sufficient bracing is 

 necessary to keep the boards from warping, hence, a 

 proper re-enforcing of the sides is necessary. 



It is essential that as many windows be put in the sides 

 of the barn as is practical to use ; in fact, it is a wise plan 

 and the most sanitary form of construction to have a 

 continuous window scheme five feet from the ground to 

 within one foot of the eaves. Besides, with the cheapness 

 of construction in such a system of stabling, the comfort- 

 ableness for the stock that is provided by such a barn, and 

 the sanitary features it offers for the production of milk, 

 the Erf system will become more and more in use and 

 gradually gain in favor and popularity. It will solve the 

 manure-saving problem and pay its entire cost through 

 this item alone. 



It is necessary to have plenty of bedding at all times 

 for this system of stabling. But the yard is cleaned only 

 at such times when soil is dry enough and weather of such 

 a nature as to permit the hauling of manure onto the 

 field. The manure is loaded direct into the spreader and 

 goes to the field in the best condition, and under the most 

 favorable circumstances so far as availability of plant food 

 and original state of the organic matter are concerned. 



By allowing manure to accumulate for a foot or more 

 in depth, and by frequent use of such preservatives as 

 kainit, gypsum, or rock phosphate, spread over the ma- 

 nure, a slight fermentation only takes place, and hence, 

 but a slight loss of nitrogen results. Yet decomposition 

 has advanced sufficiently to make the manure readily 

 available for use in the soil. 



The air in the stable in this way is kept pure and 

 wholesome. 



The advantage of the hay shed in the middle of the 



