1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
137 
to it, braces beneath, and a rim in which pins 
are set to act as cogs, meshing in with flat ones 
in a drum. The churn may be operated by a 
crank and walking-beam, as shown, or, if a ro¬ 
tary churn, by a band running upon the drum. 
A track must be made for the dog by nailing 
radiating cleats upon the platform. Any arrange¬ 
ment to lessen friction, like friction-wheels, and 
iron sockets and bearings, will be of essential 
service. The platforms are usually 7 or 8 feet in 
diameter. The drum should be a little swelled 
in the center to prevent the band running off. 
The wheel-power is a little more difficult to 
make, but has some advantages. It is operated 
by the weight of the animal, his labor being 
exerted precisely as in running up hill—as a 
squirrel runs in his cage. A heavy block is 
sometimes suspended from the axle to hang- 
down behind the dog, and cross-hars may be 
nailed to the arms or spokes to prevent his 
jumping through. The wheel is either made 
only wide enough for one dog to run in, or wide 
enough for two to run abreast. Friction rollers, 
in this case, are also very useful. The wheel is 
hung in a frame, that will not shake with its 
motion, which is sometimes quite irregular. It 
is made with bent rims, fastened to the spokes, 
and boards are nailed to these. 
The greater the diameter, the easier and slow¬ 
er will the wheel turn. Eight feet is about the 
right size, and the wheel should be banded with 
common hoop iron nailed on—regular hoops 
not being necessary. A three-quarter-inch iron 
rod makes the bent axle, and this should be 
keyed fast in the wheel, while the ends should 
run in metal boxes, which may be oiled. 
Dogs, sheep, and goats, are used in these and 
similar “ powers.” The last are rather light hut 
active and hardy, and the exercise does them 
good, especially if they are kept stabled. 
A Boat for Getting Out Muck. 
Digging muck is work that may be done at 
almost any season, provided drainage can be 
got. Where the water of the swamps cannot well 
be drawn off, the work is usually deferred until 
very dry weather, which is not necessary, as a 
little contrivance will make the job an easy one. 
“ S. R.,” of Ashtabula Co., Ohio, writes : “ We 
have been drawing out muck upon gravelly 
ground, hauling it out of the swamps in its wet 
state by means of a boat, made as follows: 
Take five one-inch boards, one foot wide, and 
eleven feet long. The side boards are sloped at 
the forward ends to five inches, and at the back 
end to eight inches. Three cross-pieces are put 
in, the bottom boards are bent to them and 
nailed. The boat is drawn into the swamp by 
hand, and drawn out by a team attached to a 
long chain.” We think more cross-pieces would 
be desirable to give strength, but it is clearly 
unnecessary, and in fact undesirable, to have 
shows hand ropes near the stern for hauling the 
boat backwards, and the chain at the bow. 
---*-«=■- 
Three-Story Barns. 
Three-story barns, or “ three-deckers,” as 
they are sometimes called, when conveniently 
arranged, are decidedly the most economical, 
both of material in building, and of labor and 
BOAT FOU GETTING OUT MUCK. 
the boat water-tight, for the water must have a 
chance to run out. Five five-inch cross-pieces, 
and three-quarter-inch oak boards would make 
a stiff, good bottom, which would wear a long 
time even if hauled a good ways over anything 
but a stony or gravelly soil. The engraving 
Fig. 1.— ELEVATION OF BAKN. 
care in management. The accompanying plan 
has been prepared in response to several requests 
for a barn-plan to accommodate a small farm, 
and not to cost more than $1,500 to $2,000. 
It is rarely or never worth while to attempt 
to build a three-story barn upon level ground, 
but where a descent can be used having a slope 
of 18 inches in 10 feet for a space of 50 or 80 
feet, it will do very well. A bridge, or a walled 
approach to the barn floor is often dangerous. 
Access by a self-sustaining sodded earth bank, 
sloping off gradually to the general surface, is 
decidedly preferable. A good cellar is seldom to 
be had without considerable digging, and the 
wall against the bank must be a substantial one 
of concrete, or of stone, or.brick, well laid in ce¬ 
ment, and guarded from the action of water by 
surface channels and underdrains. The cellar 
ought to be at least 9 feet high, the floor grout¬ 
ed and cemented water-tight, and should be ac¬ 
cessible from the south. Being used for manure, 
convenience of loading carts requires it to be 
reasonably high. The feeding or cattle floor is 
not necessarily so high; 7 feet in the clear is as 
low as one' ever ought to be, and 8 feet is about 
right. This floor should be accessible from each 
end, and well lighted. The openings for the 
manure to be thrown into the cellar, and for 
the liquid manure to flow through, must be 
where the liquid will not rot the beams. The 
floor should be laid of well-seasoned inch-and- 
a-half plank, merely tacked down at first if not 
perfectly dry, especially if the barn can stand 
through one summer before it is used. In this 
case the floor can be re-laid permanently in au¬ 
tumn, after this extra seasoning, 
and the seams caulked and 
pitched. The thrashing floor 
should be not less than 12 feet 
wide, the doors opening nearly 
the full width, and 10 feet high. 
From the sill to the plate can¬ 
not well be less than 14 feet, 
and the barn should be framed 
to dispense with the great cross-beams so much 
in the way of the horse-forks (sec figure 5). 
The side beams, connecting the inner posts with 
the outer frame, should be level with the top of 
the great door. We commend a feature which 
we have long known to work well, namely, lay¬ 
ing a corn floor upon the tie-beams of the roof. 
In this barn such a floor would afford 18 x 40 feet 
of space for spreading out corn to cure, in the 
hottest place to be found. Such a loft will hold 
easily 1,000 bushels of corn in the ear. The 
corn is lifted in tubs attached to the common 
horse-fork rigging. The corn slieller is placed 
here, and the snelled corn run down by a shute. 
In building such a barn economically, it is ex¬ 
pected of course that the farmer will do a good 
deal of the labor with his own 
men and teams, at times when 
other work does not press. He 
wilf dig the cellar and grade 
the ground for the approach 
and for the barn-yard. He will 
haul all the stones, sand, ce¬ 
ment, and lime, for the wall, 
and, perhaps, mix the mortar 
and lay the Avails himself. He 
will cut and lieiv the timber, 
haul to the saw-mill and back 
again, and assist in the framing 
and raising. It depends, there¬ 
fore, a good deal on the part of 
the country in which the barn 
is to be built, what timber, as 
well as what foundation, can 
be economically used. The 
barn can be built near New York with 
bought materials and hired labor, for $2,000. 
Description op the Barn. — The barn is 
30 x 40 feet inside measure, and the plans are 
drawn to a scale of of an inch to the foot. 
Fig. 2 is a plan of the main floor. On the left, 
space is taken for the shop and the grain room. 
Fig. 2.— PLAN OF MAIN FLOOR. 
The former, a room 10 x 14, has a large double 
window and a single one. The double doors 
make it possible to run a Avagon or carriage into 
the shop, for painting or other repairs. There 
is a carpenter’s bench and a closet for tools. 
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Fig. 3.— PLAN OF CATTLE FLOOR. 
The chimney passes through this room, and a 
fire can be made if necessary. The grain room 
should be supplied with bins, and there should 
be tivo or three sliutes for different kinds of 
grain or meal. These are shoAvn at g s , fig. 2, 
