6G 
Iruh Agriculture. 
which the hay is carried whenever it is fit to go into the rick. 
These hay-barns may be constructed in a simple manner. Thus, 
suppose the shed to be 50 feet long, 18 feet wide, 14 feet in 
height to the eaves, and 20 feet from the floor to the ridge- 
pole. A shed of these dimensions will afford 15,300 cubic feet 
of stowage room, capable of receiving from 40 to 45 tons of 
"upland" or natural meadow hay, when properly packed and 
settled. 
In order to construct a shed of the dimensions given, 15 stout 
larch posts will be required, each 17 feet long, 3 feet of which 
should be charred and tarred, to prevent them from rotting. 
Of the 15 posts, 12 will be required for the sides, 6 on each 
side, placing them 10 feet apart ; and at the entrance two should 
be fixed, 3 feet from either side, so as to form an opening 12 
feet wide by 14 feet high, which is sufficient to admit a loaded 
cart. The remaining post is placed in the centre at the remote 
or other end of the shed. The posts must be set perfectly level, 
and cut to receive the wall-plate. This should be formed of 
planking, 7 inches by 3 inches ; of this 136 feet will be required, 
and it should be well cramped and bolted at the corners, care- 
fully jointed, and be further secured to the uprights by means of 
struts. These may be very conveniently formed of the over- 
lengths or tops of the poles, and should be nailed both to the 
wall- plate and the posts with strong iron spikes. When this is 
completed, the structure is ready for roofing, and for this 18 
rafters will be required, at 3 feet apart. These rafters will be 
1 1 feet long, measuring 5 inches at foot and 4 inches at top, by 
1 J inch thick. An ordinary 3-inch plank, 11 feet long, will make 
four sides or two complete rafters, by being first cut down the 
centre and then on the bias, the end ones being left twice as 
thick as the others. The ridge-pole should be 4^ inches by 
1 inch ; and when these are all put up the structure is ready for 
the roofing planks. The cutting of these planks will require a 
little attention. They are to be cut half-an-inch thick on the 
inner edge, and three-quarter-inch on the outer edge. A 15-foot 
plank, 9 by 3, cut in this way, and allowing 1 inch foJ- lap, will 
cover 50 square feet of the roofing. The roofing-planks should 
be of diflerent lengths, as 9, 12, and 15 feet, so as to break the 
joints, and so equalise the strength of the whole. 
When the planking is all laid on, the whole should be coated 
with t.ir, applied boiling hot, and in dry weather. It should be 
put on with a hard brush, not with a mop ; and if Jib. pitch and 
2 oz. of sulphur be added to every gallon of tar, they will be of 
much service in causing it to harden and resist the weather; a 
good dusting of fresh-powdered quicklime and fine sand put on 
wliile the tar is hot has the same effect. 
