On  the  Construction  of  Farm- Buildings. 
203 
and  when  the  rattle  are  first  put  up,  some  dry  ashes,  burnt  earth, 
sawdust,  or  other  absorbent  material  may  be  spread  at  the  bot- 
tom ; and  after  a few  days  the  bed  of  litter  accumulated  will 
quite  absorb  all  the  urine,  and  they  will  be  kept  perfectly  dry 
and  sweet  if  littered  once  a day,  the  litter  being  shaken  up  once 
a day  besides.  If  cattle  are  pretty  fresh  in  condition  when  first 
put  up,  they  may  be  replaced  three  times  in  the  twelvemonth,  being 
Jed  in  summer  on  tares,  rye-grass,  chaff,  and  oilcake.  Sufficient 
light  and  ventilation  will  be  secured  by  glass  slates  in  the  roof, 
at  a cost  of  Is.  each,  or  rough  plate  glass,  and  by  leaving  an 
interval  of  about  3 inches  between  the  top  of  each  door  and  the 
wall  plate,  some  of  the  slates  in  the  roof  being  raised  at  one  end 
to  allow  the  escape  of  air.  The  manure  is  easily  removed  from 
each  box  by  a cart  backed  up  to  the  open  doorway ; and  may  be 
ploughed  in,  or  drilled  immediately  in  a moist  state,  so  that  the 
fermentation  is  at  once  applied  to  stimulate  and  nourish  vegeta- 
tion, nothing  being  lost  by  previous  fermentation,  or  by  exposure 
to  the  elements.  A covered  manure  depot  (s)  is  provided  in  the 
yards,  and  others  may  easily  be  constructed  on  the  outside  of  the 
buildings  to  the  south,  should  it  be  wished  to  store  up  dung  at 
any  time  of  the  year.  Though  on  the  box  system  of  feeding 
each  animal  occupies  more  superficial  space  than  when  tied  up 
in  stalls,  the  excavation  of  the  box  enables  much  to  be  saved  in 
height  of  walls  above  the  foundation,  and  the  large  doors  also 
are  a cheap  substitute  for  walling,  and  being  kept  dry  by  being 
under  the  spouted  eaves  are  not  exposed  to  the  weather.  The 
width  also  of  the  building  is  less,  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  have 
room  to  pass  behind  the  animals  ; and  the  expense  of  pitching  or 
paving  the  floor  of  the  whole  building  is  saved.  The  ease  and  com- 
fort which  the  animals  enjoy,  enabled  to  stand  or  lie  in  any  position, 
to  rub  themselves,  and  to  put  their  heads  through  the  bars  to  lick 
one  another,  and  the  saving  of  the  time,  otherwise  consumed,  in 
continually  cleaning  out  stalls,  are  advantages  which  seem  to  ren- 
der it  probable  that’ box  feeding  will  be  more  and  more  widely 
adopted,  and  have  therefore  influenced  us  in  adapting  our  plans 
to  this  arrangement.  By  this  system,  also,  the  cost  of  liquid 
manure  tanks,  with  the  pipes  and  pumps  necessary  to  that  system, 
and  the  very  heavy  expense  of  pumping  it  into  carts  and  applying 
it  to  the  crops,  are  saved. 
Piggery  ( t , u ). — The  boxes  for  fatting  pigs  are  copied  from 
those  at  Mr.  Lawrence’s  farm,  near  Cirencester.  Three  or  four, 
according  to  size,  may  be  fed  in  each  box.  The  only  reason  why 
boxes  appear  rather  less  adapted  to  the  pig  than  to  other  animals 
is,  that  the  inclination  to  rout  up  the  dung  with  the  snout  makes 
the  dung  just  on  the  surface  less  compact  than  it  otherwise  would 
be.  The  boxes,  notwithstanding,  are  far  sweeter  and  cleaner 
