AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
283 
Farm Buildings-VI 
Cart and Wagon, or Hough. Tool-Shed — 
Ash and Smoke House. 
CART AND WAGON SHED, ETC. 
This is a very necessary appendage to the farm, 
and should always have a place among the outer 
buildings. We give a cheap and convenient plan 
of one, such as we use on our own place, 
and will describe its construction. It stands on 
ten blocks, five on each side, set endwise, two 
feet in the ground, and a foot above the sur¬ 
face. The blocks are three feet long, alto¬ 
gether, and set sixteen feet apart, making the 
building sixty-four feet in length, and twenly feet 
in width. The blocks are flat on the top, and on 
each of them is erecred a post, seven or eight 
feet high—as high as you want the upright part. 
These posts are connected at the top by cross 
girts of 3 x 10-inch joists, 20 feet long, which 
are spiked firmly on to the side of the posts. A 
series of other joists, of like size, are spiked on 
to hold the posts together longitudinally. Boards 
16 feet long are then nailed lengthwise of the 
building, from the bottom to the top. The ends 
of these boards, cf course, meet at the centers 
of the posts, which are 16 feet apart, as stated 
above. Thus you have a box nailed up on the 
side, and open at the ends. Then above the cross- 
girts put a set of upright posts, about 7 feet long 
besides the lower ends, which are halved into the 
cross girts, with a shoulder of an inch and a-half; 
that is, the joist cut half off on the flat side, the 
length of the width of the girt on which it is to 
rest, so as'to form a good bearing. Let these 
run up as high as the peak of the proposed roof, 
not less than six, nor more than eight feet. Then, 
in the top of the posts, cut a gain —say six inches 
deep, and three inches wide. This done, set 
them up perpendicularly in the exact center of the 
building, and spike one of them firmly on to each 
of the girts. This line of posts, it will be seen, 
are to support pieces of scantling running the en¬ 
tire length, and laid into the gains, and thus form 
a ridge-pole. Then, place a rafter of scantling, or 
a pole from the woods, from the ridge-pole at its 
intersection with each of the roof posts, down to 
the top of the plates, which may be termed prin¬ 
cipal rafters. Indeed, these are the only rafters. 
Then, between the ridge-pole and plates on each 
side, run a line of ribbing half-way between the 
ridge-pole and plate, spiking it well on ; thus the 
roof is framed, and ready to receive the covering. 
This covering we make of common pine boards, 
16 feet long, and let them run over the sides 3 
feet, so as to give a good shed of water beyond 
the sides. We gave ours upwards of one-third, 
or a 7-feet pitch, laying the boards lengthwise, and 
making a tight roof. The building then is finish¬ 
ed by boarding the gable ends from the peak to 
girt, so far as a mere wagon shed is concerned. 
If, however, a vertical covering of the sides is 
preferred, like the one shown in the drawing, a 
line of girts can be inserted between the line of 
posts, on each side, half way up from the blocks 
on another line at the bottom, which will be a suf¬ 
ficient stay foi holding the boards in the middle, 
as they are nailed on at 
the bottom and the top. 
Our plan shows three 
lines of rafter girts on 
each side, under the roof, 
instead of one line ; but 
the superfluous ones are 
only pieces thrown in for 
ornament—of little ac¬ 
count any way. You 
have now only to drive 
your wagons, carts, or sleds underneath, unhitch, 
and leave them there out of storm and weather. 
If you prefer, double doors can be made and hung 
on the posts at each end, and the whole building 
is inclosed. 
STORAGE I.OFT. 
The wa on-house being completed, scantling- 
can be laid over the cross girts, to receive a floor, 
and various odd “ traps,” such as loose lumber 
and many other things, can be laid up there for 
storage, and by aid of a cheap step-ladder, through 
a trap-door, they can be reached at any time. 
PIGEON ACCOMMODATION. 
We have constructed a pigeon-house in the 
gable end of our shed, as shown in the cut, by 
simply laying a couple of scantling, 16 feet long, 
from the outer girt to the next inside one, and 
covering them with a floor, 6 feet wide, and 8 
feet long, and then nailing boards on each side, 
from the floor to the roof, so as to keep out rats, 
and other vermin. At the inner end is a door, 6 
feet long, and 2£ feet wide, hung on butts, and fast¬ 
ened with a padlock. This is reached by a move- 
able step ladder. The room within is fitted up 
on the two sides with several tiers of boxes, 6x8 
inches; each tier a foot above the other, com¬ 
mencing on the floor, as described more fully in 
our independent plan of a pigeon-house, given on 
page 201, last month. 
COST. 
The labor on ours cost sixteen dollars. The 
lumber, twelve dollars a thousand, on the ground. 
We put in plenty of 5-inch cut spikes, and ten- 
penny nails. It should be well spiked, and a few 
6-inch spikes may be well appropriated in putting 
together the heaviest pieces. The whole cost of 
ours was a trifle less than $120. Shingles may 
be used for the roof, if preferred, but as it is a 
rough affair, any way, we used boards. The 
length may be such as your necessities require, 
but we would not have it less than twenty feet 
wide—allowing two wagons, carts, or sleds, to go 
in abreast. 
AS A TOOL-SHED. 
Wheelbarrows, plows, harrows, and all other 
farm tools may be stored there, likewise. These 
may be arranged along the sides, the lighter im¬ 
plements being hung upon hooks or spikes fasten¬ 
ed to slats running lengthwise, or even driven 
into the outside wall. In the absence of a Work¬ 
shop, like that described on page 169, June No., 
a work-bench might be placed upon one side of 
the wagon-shed floor, with a grindstone, &c., at 
the end. If these are allotted to this building, 
allowance must be made for them, in estimating 
the required width. 
GRANARY. 
A capital granary, or corn house, may be put 
in the chamber of this wagon-house, by extend¬ 
ing the posts a few feet higher, so as to make a 
full upper story, and reach it with a swing step- 
ladder. Thus, two valuable objects will be at¬ 
tained under one roof, at a comparatively cheap 
cost. 
ASH AND SMOKE HOUSE. 
This is a very simple affair, and may be of any 
size requiied. The plan we give, is a stone or 
brick enclosure, 8 feet square, and four, five, or 
six feet high, according to the storage needed for 
ashes. A sheet-iron door, fourteen inches square, 
is inserted in the front, as shown in the engraving. 
A stone, or brick floor is laid over the bottom, and 
this constitutes the ffs7i-house. 
A line of sills, six inches square, is laid on the 
top of the walls ; a corresponding set of plates is 
raised 6 feet above them; then boarded up verti¬ 
cally, the boards either matched or battened A 
broad roof, eiiher of boards or shingles, with a 
pitch of one-third—such being bur general rule— 
is thrown over, with a small escape-pipe ol boards 
inserted at the peak, to let out the smoke ; a door 
at one end, and the Smoke-house is complete. 
Girts are to be la ; d across the plates inside, filled 
with hooks, on which to hang the meats, and the 
fire may be made in the ashes below, so that all 
is safe from burning. The ashes may be thrown 
in by way of the upper door, reached by a move- 
able step-ladder, and they can also he taken out 
through that or' the small iron door below. The 
sills should be thoroughly anchored into the walls 
by irons, well secured, so as to keep it from blow¬ 
ing off during heavy winds. 
ASH AND SMOKE-HOUSE. 
It is not necessary to go into further detail in 
building this structure; for, the plan once under¬ 
stood, it may be larger or smaller, cheap or ex¬ 
pensive, more or less highly finished, as the pro¬ 
prietor may choose. 
We need not go into the cost. Anybody who 
knows the price of the materials and labor, and 
has cyphered to the rule-of-three, can calculate il 
in an hour ; as value of materials, and labor differ 
in various parts of the country, an estimate here 
would be of little purpose. 
We recommend our plan. We say that ashes 
should not be stored inside of the dwelling, nor 
in a wooden building at all. Nor should a smoke¬ 
house be within a dwelling, as it endangers the 
house by fire, and the smoke is apt to get into the 
rooms. We know of no better contrivance than 
to combine them into one, and set it a little way 
from the house, as the cheapest possible way 
to preserve the ashes, and cure the meats. Tho 
meats can remain all Summer, by occasionally 
making a little smoke, to prevent damage by the 
flies—the cheanest and least troublesome way of 
keeping them. 
Keep a thing seven vears and you will find a • 
use for it. Sometime the storage costs more 
than the use. 
He who swears, shows* that he distrusts his 
own word, and thinks D»he will do so if he do 
not confirm it with an cotb 
