IColtURE.H£ 
ftflRAL 
EXCELSIOR 
5 Beekinnn Kf., New York, 
83 liullnlo Hi., Kochuicr. 
l»EU V UAH. 
Hinkle No., Kiiclit Cents, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JUNE ID 1871 
[Entered according to Art of Onnsrress. in the year liffl, hv l>. n. T. Mookk, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.) 
bridged, and secured at angles, that plaster¬ 
ing will not crack. 
That ceilings are less likely to crack if 
cross furred. 
That a pailful of lime to a cartload of sand 
will make mortar of any practical use, either 
for plastering or brick work. 
That it. injures mortar by mixing it. some 
time before using it, or that if mixed one 
day and applied Ihe next, it won’t blister 
and crack. 
That a cciueut roof, so soil that it fills the 
leaders in summer, or so hard it cracks In 
winter, will not occasion the want of new 
ceilings in a little time. 
That a “ botch ” can build as gooda build¬ 
ing ns a thorough mechanic. 
That in all cases money is saved by con¬ 
tracting with the lowest bidder. 
That all knowledge in relation to building 
is embodied in every one who signs “ Archi¬ 
tect” alter his name. 
That architects and builders never “ lay 
in together,” and owners never get " shorn ” 
through that little arrangement. 
That architects, as a rule, get no other 
commissions, on buildings except the tra¬ 
ditional “ live per cent, on Ihe cost.” 
That, builders always carry out plans and 
specifications to the letter. 
That, ttiiu < me no high-minded, conscien¬ 
tious, competent Architects, and no honest, 
reliable builders; and that, either class does 
not bear a reputation equal to that of any 
other business men. 
That a builder does not 
rdntcrture 
MODEL FAEM BAEN, 
Iynowtno that von are a most zealous ad¬ 
vocate of “ Progress and Improvement,” and 
an extensive disseminator of practical infor¬ 
mation among all classes of Fin ralists, and 
believing the subjoined drawings and de¬ 
scription of a model farm barn will be inter¬ 
esting to your readers (especially to thatclass 
who make dairy husbandry a specialty), is 
my excuse for desiring to intrude on your 
columns. 
This barn was designed and is now owned 
by D. W. Ci. ark, Esq., of Schuyler’s Lake, 
N. Y., who is one of the leading dairymen of 
OisegoCo. The principal advantages attain¬ 
ed in its construction are a dry, light and well 
ventilated stable for cows, convenience in 
feeding and caring lbr the same, ample stor¬ 
age for all tho forage needed during the 
winter, beside room for all the groin raised 
on a large dairy farm; also depositories for 
manure so arranged that it. is protected from 
require an ex¬ 
tended theoretical, nor mi architect as ex¬ 
tended a practical knowledge, to he .suc¬ 
cessful. 
That no builder can he a successful archi¬ 
tect, or that a practical architect cannot ho 
a successful builder. 
That you, reader, without practical knowl¬ 
edge, know a great deal more about the de¬ 
tails of a house Hum of a locomotive. 
-A. MODEL IF .A. IRINA BARN ELEVATION 
would be danger in that cose of tracking the 
grease to other parts of the house. A new 
coat, of oil, applied in this way once or twice 
a year is sufficient to keep a floor in order. 
This treatment is to he heartily recom¬ 
mended for the floors of kitchens, pantries, 
verandas, closets, bathrooms, and laborers’ 
bedrooms. It. is also a good plan in chil¬ 
dren’s apartments, particularly iu training 
them to do their own house-work, to leave 
without carpel or matting that part of the 
floor where the bed stands, with a few feet 
around it, and to oil the wood. The floor 
under ihe bed can then lie easily kept free 
gained. We think it gives cleaner houses, 
with less house-cleaning. Putting down, 
taking up, and beating carpets is the most 
vexatious and laborious part of our domes¬ 
tic economy, ns their cost and destruction 
constitute one of its great items of expense. 
Still, we do not attack carpets—though, 
speaking of attacks, what a tax the tacks 
are!—we only say, where yon don’t need a 
Carpet, by all means oil your floor. 
siding is of inch pine, planed and matched, 
and thoroughly painted. Total cost, $3,OWh 
Middle-field, N. Y. A. O. M. 
OILED FLOORS. 
Tnn Manufacturer and Builder says: 
Oiling improves a floor in several ways. 
Grease-spots, of course, will not affect the 
wood thus treated; and much less scrubbing 
than is necessary for a plain floor will suf¬ 
fice to keep it clean. Moreover, the appear¬ 
ance is improved by the oil. Many of our 
native woods, prepared in this manner, be¬ 
come positively handsome. Finally, it gives 
_^ the surface a harder tex- 
" n tore, which makes it 
wear longer and more 
uniformly. 
Paint costs more, takes 
I longer to dry, and wears 
' r off more easily, since it 
simply forms a crust or 
coaling upon the sur¬ 
face; while oil pene- , 
I trates the wood. Hence ' 
an oiled floor looks bet¬ 
ter than a painted one, 
F especially if a little col- £ 
or, such as Van Dyke IS; 
I brown, umber, or 1mm- 
ed sienna is added to 
the oil. £ 
To prepare a floor in 
this manner, take raw * LV- 
I linseed oil, or some 
cheap oil not offensive ^nd \ 
in odor, and capable of 
drying; mix it, if de- m 
sired, with some such 
transparent color as those 
mentioned above; and apply it 
„ „ ,, , with a common paint brush, 
stanchions; F, Lay it on smoothly, so that 
ns under cross will Strike iu uniformly over 
the whole surface and not 
stand in spots. This may lie done at night, af¬ 
ter the day’s work; and the place will be ready 
for use again Ihe next morning. As far as the 
oiled surface is concerned, it might he stepped 
upon at once without injury; lint there 
WASH FOR ROOFS AND BUILDINGS. 
Tine following Is recommended by a prac¬ 
tical man Slake lime in a close box to pre¬ 
vent. the escape of steam, and when slaked, 
pass it through a sieve. To every six quarts 
of this lime, add one quart, of rock salt and 
one gallon of water. After this boil and 
FALLACIE S IN B UILDING. 
John 1Trnry, Paterson, N.-U, thus details 
some of them in the Scientific American : 
To suppose that, lim- r - 
tier, growing in the 
woods or floating in wa¬ 
ter to-day, can be placed 
iu a building next week, 
and stay where it is put. . 
That if such timber 
he used, the walls will 
\ not crack. 
—That the base,window 
x x panels, casings, etc., _ 
_ made of such timber 
will not part company 
with the floors from one- 
fourth to three-fourths 
_/ of an inch in less than a 
U year, and that the build- 
|U er put unseasoned lum- 
Et ber in the latter. 
KjOlUPP That kiln-dried lum- 
ber is as good as lum¬ 
ber thoroughly air-sea- 
JonTJlnnlS; soned, or that the at- 
htgbt Of post-from basement to rafters, mosphcrc has no influ¬ 
ence upon it. 
r eepings can be readily That a joint once tight will always 
istands, etc., can be so remain so. -— 
e youngsters free scope That if trimmings be put up before 
it.hout injury to carpets, plastering, or trimmed on green walls, 
the plan might he car- that putty will not be in great demand UppEa 
e recently had all the 1 when they dry. feet 
it house oiled; and we That hot air from a furnace will not 
nny. Many well-to-do start and open every piece of wood-work with 
lave no carpets at all- which it comes in contact, nine times out of 
Basement.-A. alley, 8x70 feet; B, stall floor, 4tf: 
01 14 inches wide; D, space or walk; T! 
manure eel tar; G, piers, 3x4 feet; H, colun 
sillu; W, windows; I, doors. 
fi u ty-tvvo cows, together with feed, horse¬ 
power machinery for cutting feed, &c. 
I he root cellar is near the barn, where 
tlieie is a stream of xvater convenient for 
'v smiling roots aud watering stock. The 
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