OG 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ March, 
The Groesheck Prize Bara Plans. 
We propose to publish in consecutive num¬ 
bers of the Agriculturist the three plans to 
M'hich the committee awarded the prizes offered 
by Mr. Groesbeck. This month we give the one 
taking the first prize of $150, aud 
can not do so without briefly expres¬ 
sing our own views concerning it. 
It must be borne in mind that cheap- 
ness was no part of Mr. G.’s con- J 
ditions, but of course economy of ev¬ 
ery thing is essential in any good 
jilan. With large expenditures of 
money in building, labor aud care 
must be saved, the comfort and 
health of the animals, the security of 
fodder, and the protection of the ma¬ 
nure provided for. Econom}'- of la¬ 
bor is just as important as economy 
of money. The importance of, and 
comfort attending the ability quickly 
aud easily to oversee one’s establish- 
meut, to know that every man does 
his dut}’', that every animal is well 
cared for, that the manure is properly taken 
care of, that the various implements, etc., are all 
in place, can hardly be overestimated. It is al¬ 
most equally important to be able to control 
the men, so that they shall find it easier to do 
j List right than to neglect their duties. For this 
the barn should be planned; also that the men, 
each having his own responsibility, shall not 
interfere with one another. We hold also, that 
it is most important to centralize operations, so 
that the bulk of fodder, grain, roots, etc., cut 
up, ground, or chopped, may be easily concen¬ 
trated upon the feeding floor, so as to be mixed, 
or cooked, and distributed to the stock, to be 
again collected as manure in one or two places, 
properly prepared for this purpose. The ma¬ 
nure cellar under the barn, which -is recom¬ 
mended, we object to utterly. The ground 
plan provides for no warm sheltered yards. 
These may indeed be made by erecting sheds 
and fences, but shelter which tlie barn should 
give against the 2 U'evailing winds, is from its 
shape chiefly lost; there is no chance for a good 
stock-yard, except one independent of the barn. 
The use of stanchions for cows may indeed be 
very well, if necessary, that is, if tlie quarters 
are contracted—as in old barns, or where cows 
are bought and kept for their milk alone, but 
for cows whose progeny is to be retained upon 
the farm, Ave hold that the animals’ comfort is 
the owner’s irrofit, and _ '_ 
stanchions are undesira¬ 
ble. There is no provi¬ 
sion for Avater, cither in 
the barn or outside. 
Neither is there provi¬ 
sion for manure, except 
the suggestion of a cel¬ 
lar. On the AAdiole then, 
Ave must say that Avhile 
Ave iniblish this i)lan as 
the lest in the judgment 
of a majority of the committee, it has our approv¬ 
al in but very few particulars. In many points, 
hoAvever, it is very commendable, Avell Avorthy 
of study and of comparison Avith the plans Ave 
expect to jAublish in subsequent numbers. 
B^csig'nii iba* sa ISsib’hi. 
BY MYRON 11. BENTON, LEEDSVILLE, DUCHESS CO., N. Y. 
The main building in this design is 40 x GO 
feet, Avith 35-fect posts. The tAVO Avings arc each 
28 X 30 feet, Avilh lo-feet posts. The roofs slope 
at an angle of 30 degrees, making the ridge one- 
third the breadth of the building above the 
plates. The exterior is coA^ered Avith vertical 
inch-boarding (planed and battened) as high as 
the eaves; but each gable is covered Avith clap¬ 
boarding, Avhich jArojects 8 inches beyond the 
other boarding. A verge-board overhangs the 
Fig. 1.— PERSPECTIVE ELEVATION OF BARN. 
roof at the gable, and the rafters project into 
view at the eaves. The roof extends 20 inches 
from the sides. A ventilator is in the center of 
the main building, and projects square from 
the roof, but is finished in octagonal form. 
This needs only to connect with the open space 
of the interior, as the shoots for hay would 
serve as flues from the lower story. The ar¬ 
rangement of the yard is of course greatly 
modified by the situation and surroundings of 
the barn, and nothing definite could be speci¬ 
fied Avithout studying the site. The poultry- 
house is supposed to face the south; aud the 
carriage-house and horse-stables should be the 
FEEDING i S I FLOOR j SI 
COWS 1 P cow^ _n 
WALK 
COWS I 
; S i FEEDING 
CALVES 
—- 
S i FLOOR 
-1 
r T 
1 
1 
1 1 
COLTS 
1 
SHEEP 
OXEN 
SHEEP 
most convenient of any to the farmer’s dwelling. 
The main building Avould stand Avith one end 
against the bank, if a root-cellar is required. 
If one is not needed it Avould be better to have 
the barn stand clear of any side Avail; but the 
entrance should alAV.ays be as high as the second 
story. Even if the ground is level, the increased 
convenience Avell repays grading. The slope 
need not be more than 30 or 40 feet in length. 
Plan op the First Floor.—T he root-cel¬ 
lar is thirteen by twenty feet, Avith three sides 
in the bank—the other opening upon a level 
into the stables. The roof is double, the out¬ 
side being plank, tongued, and grooved, Avhich 
forms the bridge into the second story. 
The stables are brought together into one 
portion of the building in such a way as to 
adapt the barn very well for a 
manure cellar. A slight natural hol¬ 
low under this jiart Avould give every 
facility for making one. The entrance 
to the stables Avould be entirely upon 
one side, and the other Avould be 
graded so as to admit a team into the 
cellar. This Avould be an important 
attachment, as saving labor, jAromot- 
ing cleanliness, and preserving ma¬ 
nure. There are 21 stanchions for 
cows, and 4 pens, mostly for young 
cattle. It is believed that stanchions, 
if rightly constructed, are easy for the 
animal, and have many advantages 
not given by other methods. It is 
very important that there should be 
no jArojection near the fioor u^aou the 
face of the stanchion, as is often made, 
to the constant torment of the cows Avhen lying 
doAvn. Even Avhere there is no such obstruc¬ 
tion there is scarcely room for her knees. If 
Ave observe a cow when lying doAvn in the yard 
it will be readily seen that the line of a perpen¬ 
dicular stanchion will not give room for her 
doubled up knees without interfering Avitli the 
natural lAosition of her head. To remedy this, 
the hinge of the stanchion and the other up¬ 
rights may be secured to the edge of a plank 
about 8 inches Avide, Avhich is placed horizontal 
(or somCAvhat sloping aAvay from the coav), and 
is some 8 or 10 inches above the fioor. This 
will give ample space for her knees, leaving 
her head in a natural lAOsition. No division is 
required betAveen the coaa’s except at their heads 
ill the alternate spaces. I find by experience 
that it is better to have no manger divided from 
the feeding floor, but both on the same level 
with no obstruction between. The length of 
standing room for cows should vary from 4 feet 
3 inches, to 5 feet 3 inches. A good Avay, in or¬ 
der to accommodate all sizes, is to have the edge 
of the floor next to the drain slant the Avhole 
length of the stable in a straight line from the 
shortest to the longest measure. 
Even the stanchion does not secure cleanli¬ 
ness, especially Avith ncAV milcli coavs under high 
feed of grain aud roots, if the drain be made 
as it generally is. This is generally tlic case 
Avith dairies Avhich sup- 
jAly milk to cities in Avin- 
tcr. Even the limited 
motion Avhich the stan¬ 
chion allows a COAV does 
not prevent her from 
stepping back and forth 
Avith her hind feet into 
the drain, if it be ashal- 
loAV one. The secret, I 
find, in jAreventing this 
SCALE or rEET. is, to have the drain 
quite deep—from 12 to 18 inches. It may per¬ 
haps be thought that this would be liable to trip 
the cows Avhen going out and into their places; 
but this is not the case Avhen they get accustom¬ 
ed to it. The Avalk should be of earth, and its 
level only half the hight from the IcA'cl of the 
drain to that of the stall ■ fiooring. 
The 2 ^cns for young cattle are boarded 5 feet 
high, with doors to the Avalk. There are also 
doors from the feeding floor into their mangers, 
into those of the horses, and also of the oxen. 
