1884 .] 
AMEEIOAE" AGRIOULTUEIST. 
19 
or as in figure 2, cut out the lower corner of 
each end of the plank half an inch back and one 
inch deep, and as each plank is laid, put an inch 
strip in the groove, the next plank fully covering the 
strip. You thus obtain the benefits of a grooved 
floor, without danger of breaking away the tongue 
by unequal pressure from above. Fig 3. is similar, 
though much cheaper, one edge of the plank simply 
overlaps the one below, making a firm, strong joint. 
In figure 4, both edges are grooved for a tongue 
of some hard-wood, these making a Arm joint. 
Where the ends of plank meet, a lock joint simi¬ 
lar to flgure 5, is quickly made, which keeps 
them from becoming unequally elevated. Many 
mechanics spike the floor down as fast as laid, hut it 
is always best when practicable, to postpone nailing 
until just before fall rains, when the plank are dry 
and can be driven together by wooden wedges 
on one side. Flooring should be as free as possible 
from knots in the planks or other imperfections. 
A Creamery Refrigerator. 
BY J. N. MUNCBT, ASSISTANT IN EXPBRIMEMTS, STATE 
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, AMES, IOWA. 
A refrigerator was built for the Agricultural Col¬ 
lege Creamery in June. It is five feet four inches 
by five feet ten inches, and nine and a half feet 
SECTION OF REFRIGERATOR. 
high. The following is a detailed account of the 
cost of materials and labor at the prices current here: 
600 ft. No. 2 flooring, $18.00; 152 ft. 4-in. ceiling, $1.55.$22.55 
14 pieces, 2 by 4 by 20. 3.75 
90 ft. % clear. 3.15 
734 lbs. charcoal—36 7-10 bus. 6.90 
Shellac varnish, for Inside. 6.65 
16 lbs. zinc, for lower ice tray. 1.60 
29 lbs. galvanized iron, for upper ice tray. 3.48 
Nails, .70; Prepared paint, $2.(i0. 2.70 
2 lbs. No. 28 galvanized iron.24 
Mortise latch and knob.80 
2 prs. wrought iron loose pin butts.50 
Tinner's work, 5 hours. 1.50 
97 hours carpenter work. 24.25 
Estimated time, painting, 10 hours. 1.25 
Total.$80.02 
The lower tray catches the condensed water from 
the upper one. If there is but one tray, this water 
is continually dropping on the creamery floor. 
The zinc on the lower tray is in direct contact with 
the wood. The upper tray rests on inch strips, 
which are in direct contact with the zinc of the 
lower tray. The distance from the upper tray to 
the top of the refrigerator is two feet four inches. 
This leaves space enough for about one thousand 
three hundred pounds of ice. Charcoal is a most 
excellent non-conductor, and does not hasten the 
decay of the wood with which it is in contact. 
Paint would be a good substitute for shellac var¬ 
nish. This, with other changes that might be 
made, would decrease the cost considerably. The 
air in the refrigerator is dry enougli to keep 
matches for two days, after which the wood has 
absorbed sufficient moisture to prevent burning. 
From July 26 to August 14, two thousand three 
hundred and eighty pounds of ice were used in 
this refrigerator, and the average daily tempera¬ 
ture of the air was flfty-four degrees Fahrenheit. 
Summer vs. Winter Feeding of Pigs. 
As feeding corn to pigs in cold weather is usually 
done at a loss, it is important to do as mucli 
feeding as possible in warm weather. The following 
experiment, made by Mr. M. L. Lester, of Lancaster 
Co., Neb., furnishes some interesting facts in this 
direction. Feb. 1st, 1882, he had ninety-five pigs, 
ranging from forty to one hundred and sixty lbs. in 
weight, averaging one hundred and three lbs. He 
weighed the pigs monthly, and kept an accurate 
account of the corn fed, with the following results : 
INCREASE IN LIVE WEIGHT PER BUSHEL OP CORN FED. 
February, 1882. flj lbs. 
March.Hi lbs. 
Apr. 1, to Apr. 15.. 7|- lbs. 
Apr. 15 to Apr. 30 .18 lbs. 
May.14 lbs. 
Average for Tear . 
July.7i lbs. 
Aug. 1, to Aug 10.. 13 lbs. 
Aug. 11 to Nov 30, 
Averageperm’nthll lbs. 
December.13 lbs. 
.11% ibs. 
• Now note that from Feb. 1st, to April 10th, the 
hogs had nothing but corq, and the gain per bushel 
ranged from seven and two-thirds to eleven and a 
half lbs. per bushel of corn. April 17th they were 
turned on a field of rye, and for the rest of the 
month made eighteen pounds of pork from a bushel 
of corn. During May, though the sows were drop¬ 
ping their pigs, the gain kept up to fourteen lbs. per 
bushel. There was small gain in June, due to two 
causes. The pigs (not weighed July 1st), were 
pulling down the weight of their dams, and the rye 
had become so tough that the pigs did not eat it 
well. As soon as the young corn was old enough to 
feed, the gain per bushel rose again to a paying 
rate, and continued well into the winter, some 
time in fact after the green feed was all gone. 
Indeed, it is a common result that the good effect 
of plenty of green feed continues in the thrift of 
pigs, for some time after its feeding has ceased. 
A Convenient Corn Pen. 
We find a temporary corn pen convenient in the 
lot for fattening swine. This pen holds only 
enough corn for a few days’ feeding, the corn be¬ 
ing hauled to it from the storage pens, or directly 
from the field as it is needed. Our pen holds 
about one hundred bushels, but pens can easily be 
built to hold three times as much. The pen should 
be built in the center of the lot, with a feeding 
floor around it. The com is thrown to the hogs 
by hand. The hogs can pass under the pen and 
pick up any shelled corn which may drop from 
above. The pen affords no harbor for rats and 
mice, and the com does not gather moisture from 
below and mould. The air passes freely around, 
under and over the corn, and this soon dries it. 
The hogs can not get at the corn, and do not worry 
off their flesh reaching after ears. The pen is use¬ 
ful the year round, though its greatest value is 
during fall and winter. We have continuously 
used this pen in our feed lots for more than twenty 
years, and can highly recommend it to others. 
The manner of constracting this convenient 
pen for feeding corn is as follows; Four forked 
posts are set in the ground at the comers of a 
square, the sides of which are nine feet long. Two 
poles are laid in the forks of these posts, parallel 
to each other, three and one-half feet from the 
ground. On these poles the floor of plank or rails 
is laid. The sides of the pen are built up of rails, 
like a log-house, until the pen is of the desired 
hight. The posts should be at least eight inches 
in diameter at the base, with strong forks. This is 
a very cheap pen, which will last until the posts, 
upon which it stands, rot away. J. M. S. 
Good and Cheap Slat Fence. 
Most trees of fair size will furnish one or more 
three-and-a-half to four feet cuts of good timber, 
straight grained enough to be worked up in 
a saw-mill into slats one inch thick by two or 
three ivide, with the aid of the bench shown in 
figures 1 and 2. These slats can be rapidly woven 
into a useful and valuable fence, like that shown 
by the several sketches presented below. 
The wire should be a little larger than that used 
on harvesting maebines and tough like it. The 
bench of which fig. 1 is a side vdew, and fig. 2 a 
top view, should be about sixteen feet long and 
have a screw at each corner for raising and lower- 
Fig. 1.— SIDE OF BENCH. 
ing the holding bars. For the screws, at the ends 
of the frame, one-half to three-fourth-inch iron 
rod will answer. The wire is twisted close and 
tight to the slats and given two or three twists be¬ 
tween them. If the slats are green stuff, we fasten the 
wire to them with small staples to prevent their slip¬ 
ping ivhen they shrink. The fence is fastened to the 
posts with common fence staples. In building the 
fence shown below in figure 3, we first fasten the 
lower stiffening wore to the posts, then the par- 
Fig. 2. — TOP OF BENCH. 
cels of slat fence, and finish with the upper wire. 
Such a fence will last many years, and for most 
seetions of the country is the best and cheap¬ 
est combined cattle and hog fence that can be made. 
For a garden fence it is equal to the best picket, 
and at one third of the cost. By having the slats 
saived about one-half-inch thick, two inches wide, 
and five to six feet long, it makes an excellent fence 
for a chicken yard, as it can be readily taken down, 
moved, and put up again without injuring it in the 
least. For this purpose a single stiffening wire near 
the top is all that is neeessary. We have seen this 
Fig. 3.— PORTION OF THE FENCE. 
fence made by having one wire, generally a fence 
wire, running through holes bored through the 
slats and a smaller wire wound about them to hold 
them in place; but the hole in the slats is objection¬ 
able as it causes the slat to rot rapidly at that spot. 
