220 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Digging the Pit. 



With the circle as a guide a pit is dug to a depth of from 

 two to three feet. The wall of dirt is cut plumb and the floor 

 leveled. 



Form for Foundation. 



The foundation is reinforced concrete. The frames which 

 hold the form boards in place, which are made of one-by-four 

 plank, should be placed thirty inches apart around the pit to hold 

 the inside and outside form boards in place. These boards are 

 half -inch lumber of four-inch width, so as to be readily bent to 

 conform to the wall of the pit. The distance between the inside 

 form boards and the pit wall should be one foot. The concrete 

 foundation should extend about one foot above ground on the 

 outside. The upper corners of the concrete wall are beveled 

 after the concrete has become sufficiently stiff to permit this 

 being done. The two-by-four sill with a large spike for an 

 anchor is imbedded in the top of the wall. The concrete should 

 be made from clean, sharp sand and enough Portland cement to 

 insure a strong mixture. The proportions will run about as 

 follows : i part cement, 2^2 parts sand, and 5 parts of broken 

 stone. Enough water is added during the mixing, which must 

 be thoroughly done, to make a mixture that is thin enough to 

 settle to the form with light tamping, but not so thin as to carry 

 the cement out through the cracks of the form by the water leak- 

 ing out. The foundation is reinforced with a piece of three foot 

 woven wire fencing placed in the center of the form before fill- 

 ing with the concrete mixture. 



After the wall has set sufficiently to stand alone, the forms 

 may be removed and the floor laid to a depth of four inches. It 

 is advisable, but not absolutely necessary, to pack about four 

 inches of wet cinders in the bottom of the pit before laying the 

 floor. Before the wall and floor have hardened, a finishing coat 

 of sand and cement mixed three-to-one should be put on with a 

 plasterer's trowel. 



