November. 1858. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
«SK_ 
339 
Feeding Horses—A Common Mistake, 
The practice of regulating the food of horses 
by the amount of work they are required to per¬ 
form, is a good one, if properly followed. For ex¬ 
ample, a horse when lying comparatively idle, as 
in Winter, should have less solid food than amid 
the hard work of Spring and Summer Again : 
if a horse is about to be put to a work of extra 
labor, it is well to fortify him for it by a little ex¬ 
tra feeding beforehand. But the mistake we re¬ 
fer to is the practice of over-feeding him an hour 
or so before putting him to work. If an extra 
service is required of a horse, on any particular 
day, and an extra feed is to be given him, let 
Alim have it the evening beforehand, rather than 
j in the morning an hour or two before being put 
i to work. Why sol Because, if he is put to work 
: so soon after eating, his food does not become di¬ 
gested, and he is obliged to carry about with him 
.a large mass of undigested fodder, which is rath- 
ier a burden than a help to him. If he is well fed 
rthe evening before, the food is assimilated— 
(Changed to flesh and blood—and sends health and 
vigor through all the system. As a general rule, 
a working horse should be fed regularly, both as 
to the time and the amount. 
Farm Buildings—IX 
A GROUND-!,EVEL BARN. 
On page 265, September number, we gave the 
plan and arrangement of a “ Side-hill Barn," and 
as then promised, we now proceed with the 
ground-level structure. We have studied the 
plans of a great many barns for ordinary farm 
•use, theoretically as weli as practically, and, taken 
altogether, the one we now present is as good as 
.any, if not the best that we have seen. As we 
understand it, when the whole of its accommoda¬ 
tions are not required, this barn may be built, in 
si part of its arrangements, by sections, with equal 
facility and convenience as the entire structure ; 
and the remainder added at a future time, if need¬ 
ed. This barn received the first prize at the 
meeting of the New York State Agricultural So¬ 
ciety a few years ago, as the best for all purposes, 
and we avail ourselves of a drawing and descrip¬ 
tion made by the proprietor at the time ; and as 
we have carefully inspected the barn and the appli¬ 
cation to which it is devoted, we recommend it 
to general examination. It is understood, of 
course, that all the numerous plans of farm build¬ 
ings which we give from time to time, are designed 
to be suggestive only. No single plan will be 
likely to suit any individual taste, in all its details. 
This barn is a large one—much larger than is 
usually required on small farms, but the plan ad¬ 
mits of its being made of much smaller dimen¬ 
sions, and it may be so contracted as to serve the 
desired purposes. Or, when required, it may be 
made larger, to accomodate, in its extension, any 
area of room required, and for any purposes of 
grain, stock, or dairy farming, or a combination 
of all together. 
The body of the barn, 100 x 50 feet on the 
ground, is placed four feet above the surface, on 
wooden posts of a durable kind, or on stone piers, 
or on a continuous wall of under-pinning. The 
posts are 18 feet high, from sill to plate, with a 
roof of 17 feet, or one-third pitch, to give the water 
a rapid passage off, and admit more storage un¬ 
derneath. In the center of the roof is a ventila¬ 
tor, to pass off the moisture inside, if any. An 
inclined plane of plank, or earth, at each end, 
leads to a floor, which is 14 feet wide through its 
whole length. When the bays on each side are 
filled with hay, or grain, or both, poles are laid on 
the supporting girts on each side, 9 feet above the 
floor, with boards across thfem for temporary 
flooring, which receives the crops of hay or grain 
clear up to the peak of the roof, if necessary— 
thus increasing the amount of storage nearly or 
. -‘k of mdnure storage. The proprietor’s 
ing, is a L ^ fjjg soot ier the manure can be ap- 
t leory is, the , the better. Our advice is, pro- 
p le to t e lana -, r al j ma j, ur g 5 e k ept uni i er 
vide ample space fo. ,, ,, u- , , 
r r fields. If a barn of pre- 
cover until taken to the . be erectec]> r00ms 
cisely the above structure 
GROUND-LEVEL BARN-ELEVATION. 
quite fifty per cent, over that already taken in by 
the bays. The bays on each side are 18 x 70 feet. 
This allows 25 feet (the width of two bents of 12£ 
feet each) at the front entrance, on each side, for 
machinery, threshing-floor, &c., with a flight of 
steps on the right hand side to the granary over¬ 
head. 
Around the whole building, three feet below the 
barn sills, and one foot above the ground, is a 
line of stables, 16 feet wide, with the outside 
posts 12 feet high, tied by beams, 7 feet from the 
floor, into the main posts of the barn. The upper 
ends of the stable rafters rest on a line of girts 
between the barn posts, one foot below the barn 
plates. These stable roofs have an 8-feet, or one 
quarter pitch, and under them, on a scaffold, is 
large storage for hay, or other cattle fodder. The 
stables have passages of four feet next the bays, 
which connect with the barn floor by a passage 
of five feet at the further end, to leceive the hay 
manure may be set apart in the stables or sheds- 
One chief object in placing the stables against 
the barn, as “ ican-to's ,” is, that their sills and 
floors are liable to decay by the continuous mois¬ 
ture from the animals, and if thus arranged, they 
can, when necessary, be replaced cheaply ; and 
being so attached, the entire length of side cover¬ 
ing to the barn is saved. There are, of course, 
many minor details, which might be given in the 
way of conveniences, yards, and other accommo¬ 
dations ; but as farmers are supposed to be 
familiar with their own wants in that line, we 
prefer to give only general outlines and sugges¬ 
tions, leaving them to fill up, add or subtract, as 
their demands may require. Cellar Storage for 
example, is not provided for in the plan here 
given. The proprietor is not an advocate of root¬ 
growing. We advise, in all cases, to construct a 
cellar for these, when building a new barn, for 
though their culture has not been everywhere sat¬ 
FLOOR PLAN. 
thrown down from the rear side of the bays. 
The mangers are 24 feet wide. The stalls are 
double, or for the accommodation of two animals 
each ; they are constructed as in our plan of an 
underground barn already given. The end sta¬ 
bles can be devoted to miscellaneous stock uses, 
as may be convenient. The doors will be seen 
by the open spaces on the floor plan 
GROUND PLAN. 
The lines of sheds may be either built or not; 
though for stock purposes, they may be consider¬ 
ed indispensable ; they may be omitted, either in 
whole, or in part, or extended as the wants of 
the farm require. In this plan, they are thrown 
out 64 feet, at right angles to the barn, in the 
rear, and extend 116 feet on a parallel with its sides. 
They are 16 feet in width—of the same hight 
with the stables. They may be partitioned par¬ 
tially into stables, as in the plan, or used without. 
The barn has two large cisterns to hold the water 
from the roof, to accommodate the stock. 
The main objection to the barn we are describ- 
isfactory, it is annually coming more into vogue- 
A cellar should always be provided for potatoes, 
turnips, etc., designed for feeding to stock. In 
the above plan, as the main barn is placed four 
feet above the surface, there is ample room to 
construct a cellar under a part, or the whole of it, 
as may be needed. 
COST. 
This barn, including cisterns, cost about 13,000 
built in a very complete way, of good timber, and 
in a very thorough manner. Its expense, how¬ 
ever, may be much lessened for one of the same 
size, where timber is cheaper, or when the finish 
is less complete. As a general rule, however, 
cheap barns—that is, those shammily built—are 
poor things, and poor economy for any farmer ; 
and we believe that a thoroughly built barn will 
earn all its extra expense, for economical pur¬ 
poses only, in a five years’ use of it by any man 
who properly understands his business. Our 
views upon this subject have already been giver 
at length, in connection with our last plan. 
