46-4 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
well as different combinations of eolors, and shapes 
of markings, etc., for the cattle of different owners. 
Paddock and Hovel for Horses or Mare 
and Foal. 
Objections are made to sending horses from the 
city to pasture in the country, on account of the 
exposure to the weather in the open field. This 
may be easily avoided by the construction of cheap 
temporary hovels in the pasture, in which the ani¬ 
mals may find shelter, and where a trough may be 
provided for the regular rations of feed, which 
should always be furnished. In the majority of 
cases, it is not the exposure that does the mischief, 
but the actual want of food ; for a horse that has 
been fed liberally upon grain for months can not 
consume a sufficient quantity of watery grass to 
support the system without injury to the digestive 
organs ; and the impossibility of assimulating suf¬ 
ficient nutriment is the leading cause of the loss of 
condition. But if with the grass a moderate quan¬ 
tity of concen- 
--—8- —a -- t>- a-_■ * 
trated food is sup¬ 
plied, healthful 
nutrition goes on, 
and the appetite, 
stimulated by the 
unwonted free¬ 
dom and exercise, 
is healthfully sat¬ 
isfied. Neverthe¬ 
less, the coat soft¬ 
Fig. 1.— GROUND pi.an. 
ened and weakened by constant blanketing, and the 
warm air of a city stable, can not resist exposure to 
the sun’s scorching heat and the chilly nights which 
rapidly alternate, and shelter is absolutely neces¬ 
sary. A hovel may be constructed of poles and 
brush from the woods, or of rough boards. A 
ground floor 10 feet by 12 is .sufficient. If small 
poles and brush, or coarse grass, are used, the poles 
may be set up loosely in the ground in the form 
given at figure 1, in double rows, leaving a door 
space on the south side. The rows are 6 inches 
apart, and the space between them is filled with 
fine brush and small branches for a foot in depth. 
The opposite poles are tied together here and there 
with tarred twine, and the brush is beaten down 
solidly, after which another layer of a foot of brush 
is laid between the poles and treated as before ; in 
this way the walls are finished up to a safe bight, 
8 feet being the least, so as to avoid danger of the 
horse striking the head as he goes in or out. The 
SW//' ■ 
Fig. 2.— THE FINISHED HOVEL OR SHED. 
sides of the doorway are carefully smoothed oil, 
only the fine tips of the brush being placed there 
to avoid any dangerous projections. A feed trough 
may be placed in each corner, and one hovel may 
serve for two horses or a mare and foal. The roof 
should be rain-proof, and if thatched with brush 
and straw, or hay, the pitch should be considera¬ 
ble. Small openings arc made above the boxes for 
the feed, as shown at figure 2, in which a completed 
hovel is represented. For br'od mares and foals 
running in pasture, such a hovel will be found very 
useful, and for valuable calves also which require 
shelter when running in fields. A few of these 
hovels will be found useful upon nearly every farm. 
Effects of Dew Upon Pastures.— The heavy 
dews which are usual in late summer and early fall, 
and the light hoar frosts which occur as the cooler 
weather arrives, are unwholesome to cattle end 
sheep. It may be that the well known effect of 
dew in this direction gave rise to the old fashioned 
idea that dew was in itself injurious, and caused 
various diseases. There is nothing in the character 
of the dew itself which is hurtful, but it is the 
filling of the stomach with wet herbage that is un¬ 
wholesome. The stomach becomes distended with 
the products of the decomposition of the wet mass, 
and in time the animals suffer. Danger may be 
avoided by keeping the stock, especially young ani¬ 
mals, from the grass until the dew has dried off. 
The danger is not so serious until the shorter days 
and longer nights of the fall cause an excessive de¬ 
position of dew, when care should be .exercised. 
Fire-Proof Farm Buildings. 
Farm buildings are so seldom destroyed by fire 
that they can be insured for a rate of 25 cents per 
$100 a year on a three years’ policy, yet they are 
sometimes burned and heavy losses are incurred. 
Safety is not only a very valuable but a very com¬ 
fortable condition, and it is worth a good deal to 
feel, as well as to be, safe. A wooden building is a 
constant risk, and is subject to danger not only 
from within but from without. An iron building 
is one of the safest, it being equal in this respect to 
a brick building with a slate roof; while it is much 
cheaper and more easily constructed. Counting 
the low cost of erecting a building with iron walls 
and roof, although the iron costs about twice as 
much as boards, the saving of time and labor will 
bring the total expense nearly equal, and counting 
the great saving in the cost of the roof it is doubt¬ 
ful if the iron covering is not altogether cheaper 
than board walls and shingles. For instance, a 
cow-stable, and hay and fodder shed above, built 
on the plan shown in figure 1, 16 feet high to the 
eaves, and 24 feet wide, would cost for covering 
$3.41 for each foot in length, leaving the cost-of the 
frame to be estimated. This might amount to $1 
per foot for material, and the framing might cost 
$1 per foot additional. As the iron covering is 
made in large sheets 8 feet long by 23 inches wide, 
it is rapidly put on, and as any man can apply it 
the owner himself could work at it and save the 
cost of a carpenter. A barn 100 feet long, 24 feet 
wide, and 16 feet high, would therefore cost, com¬ 
plete, with windows and doors, not over $600, and 
the outer covering would be wind, water, and fire¬ 
proof, and already painted inside and out. There 
can, therefore, be no cheaper building material 
than this, and as it is indestructible and can not 
rot, if properly cared for, it would seem to be 
cheaper than any other material whatever. The 
iron sheathing is made either plain or corrugated. 
A kind that has been recently introduced for roof¬ 
ing or siding, that is made in sheets 96 by 28 inches, 
has lapped edges, as shown in figure 2, which re- 
Fig. 2.— METHOD OF FASTENING. 
presents a section of a sheet. In fastening these to 
a wall or roof, one curved edge is inserted in the 
other, as shown at a, figure 2. The first sheet is 
nailed to the studs, as shown in the engraving, and 
the next sheet is hooked to it. After the sheets are 
fastened the joints are flattened out with a mallet 
and made water-tight, and practically air-tight, as 
no wind can penetrate at the joints. A building 
thus covered is much warmer than a wooden one 
in the winter, and besides, is more quickly warmed 
by the sun’s rays than a wooden one can be. The 
style of building constructed of this material is 
shown in figure 3, which represents the corrugated 
siding and roofing; this, however, is more costly 
than the flat sidiDg, and the joints can not be made 
so tight. The weight of this iron building material 
is less than that of lumber one inch thick, being 
only SO lbs. to the 100 feet, hence a much lighter 
frame may be used, as the roof not only requires 
no sheathing or roof lath, but the covering is less 
than one-third the weight of boards. On the whole, 
this seems to be a very desirable material for cow' 
or horse stables, hay sheds, pig-pens, hay barracks, 
poultry houses, and even barns. It is certain that 
much money is wasted in building the present 
style ef high barns with heavy timbers, and when 
ground space is cheap a low, lightbuildingis equal¬ 
ly convenient in use, and costs much less to build it. 
Poultry Farming. 
No other business connected with agricultural 
pursuits, seems so attractive as poultry fanning. 
Even those w r lio fail in the business, and retire from 
it, aver that they are certain they could succeed in 
a new trial; their mistakes having taught them how 
to succeed in future. This may be true, but it is 
noteworthy that they do not try again. Still we 
have almost daily inquiries, especially from young 
men, as to the possibility of making a living from 
poultry; to all of which we are forced to give un¬ 
satisfactory replies. The profit in poultry lies in 
keeping small flocks. From such it is easy to make 
an income of $1 from each hen annually, even after 
buying food. But no account must be taken of the 
waste and damage done to crops, nor of the value 
of the free foraging done by the fowls ; and these 
amount to a considerable sum if figured up closely. 
Then accidents are to be taken account of. For 
instance: the writer once kept a flock of 30 Light 
Brahma hens, which did well for three years, and 
paid excellently; but the unfortunate introduction 
of a cockerel from a distant yard brought a prev¬ 
alent disease, of which every bird died, leaving one 
brood of motherless chicks the sole survivors. 
This may be taken as an example of the uncertain¬ 
ties of the business, which are increased in propor¬ 
tion as the flock is larger. A flock may be kept as 
an adjunct to a more important business, and to 
take up spare time, and in that case, barring acci¬ 
dent, may be made profitable. But it maybe taken 
as a certainty that not more than one person iu a 
hundred who have tried it, has ever succeeded in 
keeping a flock of several hundred fowls in profit¬ 
able condition. If one thinks he is born to suc¬ 
ceed, let him try; he may possibly become a 
6 hining example to show others the way to success. 
IFaeUiaig Butter for Winter. —There are a 
few requisites for packing butter safely for winter 
use. The butter must be good; the salt must be 
pure ; the packages must be clean and air-tight, 
and perfectly well closed ; and the place of storage 
must be cool, clean, airy, free from mouldiness and 
not too dry. A clean, well-aired cellar with ce¬ 
mented floor, and in which vegetables are not 
stored, is as good a place as any for the storage of 
butter for winter use. Pure air is very important. 
Cross between Jersey and Angus.— A re¬ 
markably good-looking young cow was exhibited 
at the recent N. J. State Fair at Waverley. It was 
across between a Polled Galloway bull, and a Jer¬ 
sey cow, and in color was jet black, with a few 
