1879.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
305 
worth of it will cover four square rods or more of 
strawberry vines. With light poles, and sticks, at 
the sides of the bed, the netting can be spread over 
the plants so as to exclude all birds from the fruit! 
It was an interesting sight, after this covering had 
been thrown over the strawberry bed, to see the 
Eobins perched upon the neighboring trees, and to 
hear their protests against their exclusion from 
their favorite feeding ground. It was an impossi¬ 
bility for the birds to reach the ripening fruit. The 
netting is equally good to protect all the small 
fruits, and even peas, which are frequently injured 
by the Cherry bird. The fish-net in the garden is 
the grand desideratum we have been looking for 
during these thirty years. We publish it for the 
benefit of our afflicted fellow gardeners, who do 
not exactly like to kill Robins, and do like to save a 
fair share of their small fruits. Connecticut. 
Boosts for Turkeys. 
The turkey instinctively goes to roost at night¬ 
fall, and in its native haunts, takes to the highest 
trees, in order to be safe from numerous enemies. 
The domesticated bird has the same instinct, and 
prefers the roofs of buildings, or the branches of 
trees, to any perch under cover. Yet if taken in 
hand when the broods are young, turkeys can be 
trained to roost in almost any place not under cover. 
Fo- safety, the roost should be near the house or 
barn. If left to roost upon fences or trees at a dis¬ 
tance from the house, they are liable to be dis¬ 
turbed, or carried off by foxes, or by poultry 
thieves. The roost should be some 15 or 20 ft. from 
the ground. Poles of Red, or White Cedar, from 3 
to 5 inches in diameter are the best material, and 
these are the most convenient sizes for the scaffold¬ 
ing upon which the birds are to roost. The odor 
of these woods is a protection against the ver¬ 
min which sometimes infests the young birds. The 
size of the poles, for the roosts, is a matter of im¬ 
portance. It is much easier for these heavy birds to 
keep their balance upon a large pole than upon a 
small one. Then, in the freezing weather of winter, 
the feet of the birds are more completely protected 
by the feathers. Another advantage of having the 
turkeys roost together, is the saving of manure. 
If the ground under the roost is kept covered with 
muck, or loam, and occasionally stirred, several 
loads of a valuable fertilizer may be made every 
season. A roost made of durable wood, like cedar, 
will last for a lifetime. It is but a little trouble to 
train the young broods to go to their roost every 
night. And aftef the habit has once been formed, 
they will go to the same roosting place regularly 
every night. One of the secrets of success in 
turkey raising, is in having a secure roosting place. 
Cats as Farm Stock.— “ The harmless neces¬ 
sary cat ” is not so well treated as it deserves. One 
rarely considers that a well kept cat may be more 
profitable than a cow. If one rat per day is de¬ 
stroyed, the services of the cat may be estimated as 
at least equal to §109 per year. Let us try to cal¬ 
culate the enormous damage done by 365 rats in 
one year, to say nothing of the ravages of the 
numerous progeny of so many vermin. One rat 
per day is a moderate amount of business for an 
active cat. Recently the writer counted five rats 
captured in a stable by one cat in one day, and pos¬ 
sibly others were not seen. The cat being well fed, 
hunted for amusement, and did not eat the prey. 
This is the principal point in the management of a 
cat. It should be well and regularly fed, for rats 
are unwholesome food. They are infested with 
larvae of tape-worms, and cats are frequently tor¬ 
mented with the mature parasites in consequence 
of devouring diseased rats. When kept free from 
hunger a cat will watch more patiently, and will 
only occasionally devour a rat or a mouse. The 
most healthful food for a cat is a mixed animal and 
vegetable diet. Milk and bread; a few potatoes 
with meat gravy, or a little-fat, and a sprinkling of 
salt, with an occasional scrap of meat, are excel¬ 
lent food, and will keep the animal in good health. 
A farm can usually support four or five cats profit¬ 
ably, and these should be chiefly males, and the 
.majority cf these should be cast r ated. A castrated 
cat will grow to an enormous size, and if of a good 
breed, as the Maltese, will make a superb hunter. 
Cheap Sheds and Barns. 
Much money is wasted in building sheds and 
barns of needlessly heavy timber. No timber need 
be larger or stronger than is sufficient to hold up 
the ro.of, and 4x4 studding or posts, will do this. 
Where strong winds prevail, much may be saved by 
having the buildings low. Indeed there is a saving 
anywhere, by having everything as near the ground 
as possible. The common idea that high buildings 
are the cheapest, because roof space is thus saved 
is erroneous, and it should not be forgotten that a 
three story barn must necessarily have a very strong 
and heavy frame to support its own weight, as well 
as the side thrust and weight of its conteuts. A 
studding, 2x4 inches, will be strong enough for a 
hay shed 8 feet high at the eaves, while one 16 feet 
high will spread, and sometimes burst with 6x6 
timbers. Thus it may very often be found better 
to take up more ground, and make twice or three 
times as much roof surface, than it would be to 
save in floor and roof space, by building higher. 
We give here a plan of cattle sheds, recently built 
at a cost of only §15 per head of the cows sheltered, 
and for comfort and convenience, they are all that 
can be desired. To accommodate 10 cows in a shed 
costing §150, is certainly more desirable than to 
build a barn costing $1,500, that will supply no more 
room. Where economy must be very closely con¬ 
sidered, this matter is well worth studying, and the 
plan here given, will furnish a very good text for it. 
At figure 1 is a plan of a shed having 41 box stalls, 
each 6x8 feet, and separated by boarded partitions 
41 feet high. The shed is 9 feet high in the front, 
7 feet in the rear, is 12 feet wide, and 90, or 100 feet 
long. The roof is of boards. The frame is made 
of posts set in the ground, with a 2x4 inch plate 
Fig. 2. —PLAN OF CATTLE-BARN. 
and girts of the same size where needed. There is 
a feed passage leading from a room in one end (.4, 
fig. 1), for preparing the feed which traverses the 
whole length. There is a feed trough in each stall, 
and a bar or pole is fastened along the w r hole range 
Fig. 3. —SECTION OF IN¬ 
TERIOR. 
of stalls,18 inches from the top of the front partition, 
by which the cattle are prevented from approach¬ 
ing the front too closely, and mounting the feed 
troughs, or putting their feet into them. The cows 
are kept loose in the stalls, unless otherwise desired; 
in which case they can be fastened to rings screwed 
to the sides of the stalls. A cistern, which collects 
the water from the 
roof, is made at B. 
The front of each 
stall has a double 
door, so made that the 
upper part may be left 
open for ventilation. 
Ventilating apertures 
may be made above 
each door, for use in 
cold weather. The 
sheds are arranged 
in a square, as shown, with a gate at one side for 
entrance into the interior yard. The yard will give 
room for exercise, and racks may be provided in it, 
for feeding green fodder, hay, or straw. The plau 
is admirably adapted for the soiling system of feed¬ 
ing, and the making of a large quantity of manure, 
while 40 or 50 cows are provided with comfortable 
room, at a cost of §600 or §750 only. In many cases, 
the value of the manure saved by soiling cattle in 
such a shed, will repay its whole cost iu one 
year. A section of the interior is shown at figure 3. 
At figure 4 is a section of a cheap barn and stables 
connected. The building may even be brought 
lower at the eaves, and provide pens for pigs and 
calves, or sheep, or open sheds for tools, etc. In 
this way, it is protected from sweeping winds, which 
can have but little effect upon it. The central 
space is used forstoring hay or grain, or for thrash¬ 
ing, and the side spaces for stabling cattle. Three 
and a half feet in length of floor space, will accom¬ 
modate two head, so that a 70-foot barn will hold 40 
head, and provide abundant room for the crop of 
100 acres, at a cost of about §10 per running foot. 
Light timber only is needed, and rough posts set in 
the ground, will make the basis of ihe frame. The 
plan of the building is shown at fig. 2. It is arranged 
to be 70 feet long, and 50 feet wide, with the central 
space 26 feet, and the wings each 12 feet wide ; wide 
doors are made at each end, and also through the 
center, and the stanchions or stalls in the center are 
movable, and may be easily taken down when 
it is necessary to use the central cross passage. 
Use of Capital in Agriculture. —It was a 
shrewd remark made by an old farmer when an ad¬ 
vocate of high culture was advising the use of cost¬ 
ly methods, and enforced his ideas with the state¬ 
ment that the expenditure, although very large, 
would pay a good interest; “but how about the 
principal? when will that come back again?” he 
was asked. This is worth thinking of before one 
sinks money in improvements that are not perma¬ 
nent and do not add an actual value to the real 
estate. A drain ; a well; a building; the clearing 
of land, and such permanent improvements, are 
worth all they cost for many years, and the profit 
from their use may be legitimately considered as 
interest on an actual investment. But a living ani¬ 
mal, fertilizers, seeds, plants, and other short lived 
property, should pay back not only a large interest, 
but the principal as well, if they are to be profitable. 
The expenditure of $100 in fertilizers ought to re¬ 
turn §200 or more in the crop, else the cost and in¬ 
terest on that, and the labor involved, are not re¬ 
turned. This is a matter that needs close figuring 
and clear foresight before one invests money. 
Barn Yar<l«.- The condition of the yards and 
stock rens, should be well looked tc at all times. 
There are several reasons for this. Chief among 
