1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



157 



on the floor. He spoke of tool-houses ; said all his 

 buildings Avere painted in front ; thought cattle 

 preferred soft water ; has not lost any animals ; 

 keeps his yards dry ; also his pig-pens, and lets his 

 hogs come out into the sun, which they need ; 

 they arc healthj', and eat well. If he should 

 change the structure of his buildings, they would 

 be a little lower, with common sheds for sheep be- 

 tween them. We must show the young man that 

 farming can be made profitable, and he thought 

 that sheep culture could be made so, on our poor 

 lands, and those just cleared of wood. 



Hon. J. W. Proctor, of Danvers, being invit- 

 ed to speak, said he hoped to hear from some of 

 the legislature, as this was their meeting. He 

 alluded to the costly barns which had been spok- 

 en of, and said we should inquire what should be 

 the buildings of the smaller and less wealthy far- 

 mers. He was on a committee in Essex county, 

 to examine barns, and they found a great want of 

 proper arrangement in their structure. Many were 

 too long, and not sufficiently high. Gen. Sutton 

 had four barns a quarter of a mile from each other, 

 and cut from 100 to 200 acres of hay. Mr. P. 

 thought that barns should be from 70 to 80 feet 

 long and 40 feet wide, being so arranged as to 

 drive in ten feet above and throw the hay down. 

 He alluded to Mr. Newhall, Avho took a premium 

 for the best barn. The prevalent rage for barn- 

 cellars he deprecated, and said they were not 

 good for the cattle above them, nor necessary for 

 the manufacture or preservation of manure. As 

 to large houses for farmers, he objected to them, 

 but commended cottages, and advised farmers not 

 to waste their money in large buildings. 



Mr. Browx, the chairman, said he thought 

 large houses necessary sometimes — more especially 

 for fai'mers' clubs. 



Mr. Crosby, of Boston, said he had travelled 

 much, and had owned a farm of 1100 acres; and 

 thought the rule should be, a large barn and small 

 house. 



Dr. LoRiNG, of Salem, spoke of barns. A man's 

 taste will guide him as to liis house — not so as to 

 his barn. The latter is not an easy thing to build, 

 and he doubted M'hether there was a model one in 

 the Commonwealth, though there were many very 

 convenient ones. In fact, our farmers cannot af- 

 ford to build such. He once visited Mr. Leavitt, 

 of Great Bamngton, who resided much of his 

 time in Ncav York, but had sent his son into the 

 country to become a farmer, and the young man 

 thought he must have a good barn. He com- 

 menced it, but before it got above the foundations, 

 $•±0,000 were spent. Dr. L. intimated it was a 

 caution. His own barn was 100 feet long, and 40 

 feet wide ; would hold forty cattle and ten horses. 

 Barns should have good cellars, glass windows, 

 &c., and should be convenient for cattle and men, 



•w-ith good facilities for feeding. They should hold 

 large quantities of hay, and he thought well of the 

 old-fashioned barn, where you could drive into 

 one end and out of the other. He alluded to stor- 

 ing hay ; thought the platform difficult to load ; 

 shifted his timbers on the beams. He ties his cat- 

 tle with chains, and where they steal from each 

 other, he divides their heads. Chains are easy to 

 cattle, but to an extent troublesome. To give 

 more room behind cattle, he thought 42 feet wide 

 would be better. As to cellars, with proper con- 

 struction and ventilation of the barn, they are not 

 injurious, but are important in the making of ma- 

 nure. Frost is as injurious to manure as the sun. 

 Dr. L. advocated tight barns in this connection, 

 and said the best hay was from them. He also 

 spoke at some length upon the reported assertion 

 of Mr. Chenery, that the cattle disease, or jjJcuro- 

 pneumonia, was in his case caused by tight barns, 

 and argued earnestly that, under the circumstan- 

 ces, it was impossible to be so. 



Hon. JosiAii QuiNCY, Jr., said that in England 

 and on the Continent they do not store their hay, 

 but stack it and feed from the stack. With prop- 

 er shelter for feeding cattle, he thought we might, 

 to an extent, adopt the plan. His own barn is 70 

 by 90 feet. Barns that are high are good ventila- 

 tors. He also alluded to the horse pitch-fork, and 

 observed that with one the woi'k of thirty-five 

 minutes with the hand-fork could be done in seven. 

 On a cold day he would not allow his cattle to 

 come out, but gives them water from within, 

 drawn from a flowing brook, which is always in 

 operation both summer and winter. Mr. Quincy 

 also alluded to his milk well into which he sus- 

 pends milk, and finds no change in the seasons. 



Mr. Taylor, of Montgomery, said he had a 

 farm of his grandfather, the out-buildings of which 

 were just as they happened. These he had im- 

 proved. He thought the out-buildings in the vil- 

 lages were well kept, but in the towns of the coun- 

 try they were shocking. The spirit of improve- 

 ment had been awakened in him by hearing a lec- 

 ture upon this and kindred subjects, and he called 

 up the painter. His buildings were rough, except 

 the carriage house. But with a new kind uf paint 

 an acre of surfac» was painted for twent}' dollars' 

 worth of paint, and thought the improvement was 

 a hundred per cent. He advocated housing carts, 

 and said he had put up a building 18 by 24 feet 

 for this purpose, at a cost of twenty-five or thirty 

 dollars. Under such buildings carts will last twen- 

 ty-five or thirty j^ears. To a question by the chair- 

 man as to the nature of the paint used, its color, 

 cost, &c., he said the base was whiting, with per- 

 haps a little lime and oil, with colors to suit. The 

 cost of what he used Avas about $20 ; but with 

 good oil would have cost $100 or $120. 



Mr. Howard said he had examined Gen. Sut- 



