286 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Fig. 1. — PERSPECTIVE ELEVATION OP BARN — FR01I THE NORTH-WEST. 
The Barn of Mr, David Lyman. 
• — 
With the increase of wealth, and we must 
add of good sense and enlarged ideas, among 
the farmers of the country, there is a gradual 
but very decided improvement in farm archi- 
tecture. The old system was to build small 
barns and add others on three sides of a yard, 
and perhaps of several yards, and to add sheds 
and pig-pens, and corn-houses, and such minor 
structures as might seem desirable. Thus, in 
the course of a few years the group of roofs, 
big and little, span and lean-to, in the rear of a 
large farmer's dwelling, would present the ap- 
pearance of a small crowded village. One of 
our neighbors has some 25 or 30 roofs pertain- 
ing to his barns. Many a farmer is shocked at 
the idea of investing $12,000 to $15,000 in a 
barn, and to spend $20,000 to $25,000 would 
seem utterly unwarrantable extravagance any- 
where. Yet we doubt if the group of buildings 
referred to could be put up for an average of 
$1,000 apiece, while, compared with a well ar- 
ranged barn, they are inconvenient and ex- 
tremely expensive to keep in good repair. 
Among the many large and expensive barns 
recently erected, we have seen none which is 
more thoroughly satisfactory to old school farm- 
ers with broad ideas, than one built by Mr. Da- 
vid Lyman, of Middlefield, Connecticut. Mr. 
Lyman is an active farmer and manufacturer, 
employing the water power adjacent to the old 
homestead of his fathers, and tilling the broad 
acres of the farm on which he was born, a 
family possession for four generations. He 
needs a very large barn for his farm purposes 
simply, and has built one, of which we give a 
view, and plans. The elevation of the build- 
ing, (figure 1), shows entrances to its two main 
stories ; there is an other story below. 
, The Upper, or Hat Floor. — This Loor is 
shown in fig. 2 ; all the hay, grain, and straw is 
stored upon it, and it maintains the same level 
throughout. Two threshing floors cross the 
building, and are entered from the high ground 
on the west by a very easy ascent. The main 
entrance crosses over an engine-room, (seen in 
figs. 1 and 3,) which is of stone, arched above, 
and roomy as well as secure. 
■ By means of Plumb's Hay -Fork and Traveler, 
of which no less than six railways and travelers 
are fixtures over the bays, the hay is taken from 
the loads and dropped in any part of the im- 
mense bays. The forks are worked by one 
horse, attached to Dedrick's hoisting machine, 
of which Mr. Lyman has two, placed near the 
great doors during the haying season, as indi- 
cated by the figures marked H, P, in the plan, 
fig. 2. A peculiarity of the Plumb-Fork and 
attachments is, that the traveler on which the 
fork moves, is brought back over the load, by 
means of a heavy weight hung, and rising up 
and down, on the outside of the barn. The tim- 
bers containing pulleys over which the ropes 
pass which suspend these weights, are shown in 
fS 
"SB- 
HAY BAY 
□ 
VENTILATOR 
STAIRS TO MOW 
a' 
llj I t W l il l UliWI I 5TAIH5 TO CUPOLA 
VENTILATOR Q 
□ 
VENTILATOR 
HAY BAY 
*-$) "-•.. 
□ 
VENTILATOR 
Fig. 2.— PLAN OF HAT FLOOR. 
the view, fig. 1, near the high windows in the 
gable. The hoisting machine consists of a 
drum, which is turned by a horse driven in a 
circle; on this the rope is wound. By the 
movement of a lever, the drum is set loose, 
and the rope unwinds, thus lowering the fork 
to the load without backing the horse. 
On this floor are the bins for grain and ground 
feed, provided with shutes connecting them 
with' the feeding floor. There are hay scales, 
also, a fixture in one of the floors, which afford 
the means of being very accurate in many 
things, in regard to which guess work is ordi- 
narily the rule. Not only are hay, grain, and all 
products sold by weight, weighed here, but 
beeves bought to fatten are weighed when 
brought in, and when turned off fat, and the 
gain accurately known. The great ventilators, 
so conspicuous in the view, (fig. 1), pass from 
the feeding floor through this one to the roof, 
and being furnished with doors at different ele- 
vations, quite to the top of the mow, thus form 
convenient shutes to throw down hay or straw. 
A long flight of stairs passes from the principal 
barn floor to the cupola, from which a magnifi- 
cent view is had of the whole farm and sur- 
rounding country, not the least impressive fea- 
ture in which is a permanent mowing lot of 100 
acres, without a fence, all under-drained, which 
lies contiguous to the barn, and will do its share 
towards filling its capacious bays and mows. 
The Feeding Floor is entered by several 
doors. Those in the main building are seen in 
the view, and the plan, fig. 3. Two double doors 
open upon a spacious floor in the rear of the 
horse stalls and extending through the middle 
of the main barn. The northwest corner is oc- 
cupied by a large harness and toolroom, in 
which is a chimney for a stove. On the right of 
the front entrance is the wagon and carriage 
room, closed by a sliding door, or partition. 
There is room on the open part of this floor, 
(behind the horse stalls, and adjacent), to drive 
in three wagons at a time, and let the horses 
stand hitched ; and while the stables are being 
cleaned out, several of the horses may be hitched 
to pendant chains in different parts of the floor, 
and so be out of the way, and not interfere with 
one another. There seems to be a good deal of 
waste room here. Mr. Lyman assures us that 
he would not have less on any account ; and for 
his purposes, considering his way of doing 
things, we agree with him. Between the ox- 
stalls in the south wing, is a 10-foot passage way 
through which carts with roots or green feed may 
be driven — the stairs in the middle, being hinged 
at the ceiling and fastened up. The stalls are 7 
feet wide, and arranged to tie up two cattle in 
each. The animals are fastened by neck chains, 
have great freedom of motion, but can not quar- 
rel. A gutter to conduct off the 
urine runs along behind each range 
of stalls, and there are well secur- 
ed traps, one in about every 15 
feet, through which the manure is 
dropped to the cellar. The letter 
C, wherever it occurs in fig. 3, in- 
dicates a trap-door for a manure drop. "Where- 
ever there are doors which,in the engraving might 
be taken for windows, the letter D is placed. 
The cattle pass to the yards through doors in 
the ends of the wings. The south yard is near- 
ly upon a level with the floor, sloping gradually 
away toward the south and east, but the large 
barn yard is on the level of the manure cellar, 
and an inclined way gives access to the yard 
on the east side from the cow stalls. Three 
roomy, loose boxes are provided, one for horses, 
and two for lying-in stables for cows ; and from 
the satisfaction which Mr. Lyman takes in these, 
we think, if he could be brought to admit, that 
the barn is not perfect, he would arrange to 
have several more. Near the points marked 
W, and F, stand the hydrant for flowing water, 
and the trough for mixing feed, and here, too, 
the shutes for grain and cut feed discharge 
from the floor above. 
Ventilation and Light.— Four immense 
ventilating trunks, 4 feet square, rise from the 
feeding floor straight to the roof. These are 
