THE BUBAL WEW-YOBMEB 
JULY 44 
ilitval SUrlritfrinrc, 
THE BARN PRIZES. 
We herewith give the names of the competi¬ 
tors for the prizes offered for the three best 
plans of a Oeneral-Purpose Barn in the Rural 
New-Yuukkk for March 10, 1877; added to this 
list is the report of the committee appointed to 
examino tho plans and essays. The gentleman 
who offered tho prizos being one who prefers to 
do good without having tho world know it, we 
withhold his name; but will add that this is not 
his first venture of the kind, and we presume he 
obtaius his reward in tho ideas sent, in response 
to his liberal offer. 
LIST OF COMPETITORS. 
1. L. Martin, New Madrid, Mo. 
2. C. C. Lake, Union City, Mich. (Includes 
No. 13.) 
3. F. M. Fletcher, Upporville P. O., Ya. (First 
Prize.) 
4. J. H. O’llara, Throop,-. 
5. Charles Benington, Garrattsville, Otsego 
Co., N. Y. 
6. John E. S. Gardner, Middletown, Orange 
Co., N. Y. 
7. Emmet V. It. Gardner, Johnson’s, Orange 
Co., N. Y. 
8. Geo. Oirardoy, Bethel, Clermont Co., 0. 
9. B. F. Ham, Crawford, N. J. 
10. D. E. Rogers, Hoottsvillo, Monroe Co., 
N. Y. 
11. David K. Doan, Erie, Pa. 
12. Nathaniel Burnham, (Second Prize,) Am¬ 
boy, Lee Co., Ill. 
13. James II. Lent, Shawanguuk, Ulster Co., 
N. Y. 
14. Jacob Engler, builder, (Third Prize,) Tre- 
mout, Sandusky Co., O. 
15. II. E. Collins, Shalersville, Fortage Co., 0. 
16. E. Child, Bath, Htouben Co., N. Y. 
17. Isaac l'oaslor, North Blenheim, Schoharie 
Co. N. Y. 
19. A. W. Fulton, Skaneatolos, Onondaga Co., 
N. Y. 
20. Calvin Bates, New Boston, N. IT. 
24. P. M. Millspaugh, Walden, N. Y. 
25. James Campbell, Irvington, N. Y. 
21. Youngs Thompson, Woodbury Falls, N. Y. 
22. M. Oakoy, .1 amosburg, Middlesex Co., N. J. 
23. R. It. Hutton, Putnam, Washington Co., 
N. Y. 
To Andrew S. Fuller, Esq,, Editor or The 
Rural New-Yorker. 
Dear Sir:—T he undersigned, having been 
requested by you to examine the plans and essays 
upon •' General-Purpose Barn,” offered in com¬ 
petition for premiums, as published in the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker of March 10, 1877, would re¬ 
port as follows: 
We have carefully examined tho twenty-four 
essays handed us, aud our mode of determining 
their relative merit was as follows. We first di¬ 
vided them iuto four classes, eight of t hem being 
marked A, which we considered particularly cred¬ 
itable ; four marked BB. which did not come 
quite up to the standard of tho former class; live 
marked B, ranking next, in merit; and, finally, 
sovon marked O, which were ruled out of the 
competition, owing either to incompleteness or 
to non-compliunco with the terms of the ques¬ 
tion proposed ; CIhsb A was next subdivided, aud 
wo found live worthy of being marked AA, and 
after a very careful comparison of tho claims of 
these five, we would report in favor of awarding 
the prizeH to tho following persons : 
First Prize, $50, to F. M. Fletcher, Upperville 
P. O..Ya. (rian numbered 3.) 
Second Prize, $30, to Nathaniel Burnham, Am- ■ 
boy, Lee Co., III. (Plan numbered 12.) ] 
Third Prize, $20, to Jacob Engler, Fremont, | 
Sandusky Co., O. (Plan numbered 14.) I 
We will add hero that it is much to bo regret- ( 
ted that the drawings were not made in a more | 
uniform manner, in which case it would have ] 
been much easier to compare them. As it is, a ( 
groat deal of time Las been spent by the com¬ 
mittee which might otherwise have been Bpared. 
Wo append memoranda made by us in relation t 
to the various plans, showing the grounds on , 
which they wore rated, and pointing out what 
wo consider their merits and defects, I 
Many of tho plans arc well drawn and very in- * 
terestiug. and several of them, eveu when not i 
enumerated by us in Class A, seem to us of suf- i 
fioient general interest to merit being reproduced 1 
in the Rural, accompanied by descriptions. f 
Plan No. 1.—The drawing entirely ignores the i 
basement, and no description accompanies to a 
explain the w riter’s ideas. r 
No. 2. —The plan is good, responding to all 
the requirements; but too much space is devoted t 
to cows aud sheep, while the space for horses is v 
quite insuflicient. s 
No. 3 gives a very f ull plan, and bis description I; 
is one of the most complete and satisfactory in a 
the collection. It owes its superiority to its com- n 
prehensiveness. It provides for 10 horse-stalls, y 
22 head of cattle, good accommodation for sheep, 
feed-room for lambs, harness-rooms, work-room, 
engine-room, lock-up room, room for field imple¬ 
ments. grinding-room for fodder, steam-room, 
also grain-bine and cutting-room ; and the whole 
is an-auged so economically and conveniently, 
" with passage-ways and chutes so well located, 
t that this seems to us decidedly the most desira- 
J bio plan in the collection, and we would rocom- 
4 mend that it bo awarded the First Prize. 
} No. 4 shows loss care on tho part of the design- 
1 er than most of the otherB. For instance, no 
* passage-ways are shown in tho basement, and to 
5 pass from one part of the floor to another, it 
1 would seem to be necessary to go outside the 
- buildiug. The general arrangement or the two 
2 floors is fair, but the plan is very deficient in 
detail. 
No. 5.—This plan shows considerable original¬ 
ity in arrangement, but the space is not utilized 
i to the best advantage. The drawing is fairly 
made, and possesses considerable merit. 
, No. C does not comply with the specifications 
given; for Instance, the basement shows but 
two entrance-doors, which are insuflicient, and 
those are placed on the end of the building, 
where doors would l»e impracticable. The plan, 
also, is so rudely drawn that it would be unfair 
to compare it with the majority of tho others, 
which show so much thought and caro. 
No. 7.—The plan and description are both 
very good, but the basement is devoted almost 
entirely to cows, while the horsos are placed up¬ 
stairs and sheep entirely ignored. The position 
of the horse-stables, also, is not so convenient 
as is suggested in several other drawings before 
us. 
No. 8.—Tho plan is fair, hut tho arrangement 
is not equal to that shown in several others be¬ 
fore us; for instance, the placing of a largo 
granary and repair-shop in the basement seems 
to us objectionable. 
No. 9.—The division of the main floor in this 
drawing is quite different from any other beforo 
us, and it is generally very good; but wo find 
the same objection to the basement floor as with 
No. 4, namely, no pus sago-way a are shewn with 
tho length of the building, which necessitates 
going outside the building in order to pass from 
cows to horses, cows to sheep, or from horses to 
sheep, and this seems to us a very serious de¬ 
fect. 
No. 10 is deficient in detail, and tho space is 
not economized. Considerable originality is dis¬ 
played in laying out the horse-stalls mid shoei>- 
pens in the southeast corner of the basemont. 
If greater caro had been taken to develop the 
ideas embraced in this plan, it would undoubt¬ 
edly have ranked higher. 
No. 11 provides for 18 bead of cattlo, a proper 
Stall for bull, eight box-stalls for cows, nine 
liorse-stalls, also tool-room and granary. There 
is no accommodation for sheep, and, except for 
this deficiency, wo should consider this plan 
qnito equal to No. 14. In the space occupied by 
feed-room much valuable room is lost. The po¬ 
sition of the root-room is good, but it also occu¬ 
pies space that might hotter he used for stock. 
It is the only plan of the live in Class AA, which 
provides fur a root-cellar. As a whole, this plan 
is gotten up in better shape than any other, 
being drawn very neatly and carefully to scale. 
No. 12 is another vory neat and creditable 
plan, showing wide knowledge and very careful 
attention to details. It provides stalls for 11 
horses, one box-stall, 39 cattle, and ample ac¬ 
commodation for sheep, also temporary pens 
that can bo put up, together with harness-room, 
elevator, and feed-room. On tho main floor is a 
carriage room, place for fodder, hay, and nn- ' 
threshed grain, storage for machinery, etc., 
granary, and a stableman’s room. This plan 1 
provides for the root-cellar outside, and engine- ' 
rocm, with work-room attached to it. One fea¬ 
ture that wo would criticise in this drawing is * 
the absence of passage-way from the row of 1 
cattle on the southerly end to the rest of the * 
barn, but sufficient (space is allowed for such * 
passage, and we think the designer must have 1 
overlooked it. We consider this plan entitled to c 
tho second prize. ) 
No. 13.—Plan excellent as far as it goes, hut * 
tho basement only is shown, aud there is no do- I 
adaption of tho other floor. * 
No. I t is very complete in its arrangements. 8 
It provides for 14 horses, 20 head of cattlo, a 
suitable place for sheep, and a granary and bar- I 
ness-room, bnt no tool-room. With certain c 
modifications, this plan could probably have t 
been made the host. Tho passage, 8 feet wide, g 
full length of basement, aud two stairway land- c 
iugs within 10 foot of each other, are objection- r 
able features. Wo consider this well worthy of o 
receiving the third prize. c 
No. 15, like No. 8, is objectionable in regard o 
to the arrangement of the basement, too much r 
viduablo space being devoted to farming utou- t< 
sils and engine; the engine-room, for instance, o 
being about 14 by 4G feet, and the alley-way r 
along the cast wall is considerably wider than h 
necessary. We have reason to doubt, also, e 
whether the number of Btalls shown on the plan li 
would be possible if proper space were allowed 
to each animal; for instance, calculation shows 
that to put in the number of box-stalls shown, 
they would have to be less than 1 feet wide. 
No. 1G differs from the others in the position 
given to the cow-stables, which seems good. 
Sheep, however, are entirely ignored, and very 
little space is given for horses. The description 
accompanying this plan is minute and practical. 
No. 17 includes an essay, but no plan, aud the 
description would seem to imply that cows only 
were to he accommodated. 
No. 18.—The paper thus marked proved to be 
an addenda to essay No. 2, already mentioned. 
No. 19.—Plan and description quite full, but 
much valuable space in the basement is occu¬ 
pied by tho manure-cellar, which necessitates 
putting the horses up-stairs, and this arrange¬ 
ment would not be convenient or economical in 
taking care of stock. The position of the hen¬ 
nery in the southeast corner of the basement is 
quite an original idea. 
No. 20. Plan of upper floor good, hut the 
basement entirely ignored. A model of the up¬ 
per floor accompanies, which exhibits a great 
deal of ingenuity and caro in its preparation. 
No. 21.—The plan iH excellent, but it does not 
provide accommodation for so many things as 
some of the others, Bhoep, for instance, being 
left out of the question. 
No. 22.—Plan good and original in several re¬ 
flects, but not so economical in room as some 
others. Description vory good, and we would 
suggest that both drawing and essay might with 
advantage bo published In the Rural. 
No. 23.—The plan is rather roughly delineated, 
and has given rise to many questions for which 
it furnished no satisfactory replies. For in¬ 
stance, there seems to he provision for only four 
horses, while at the same time more than half of 
tho entire basement is devoted to cattle. We 
are also led to conclude that tho writer had a 
wroug impression as to the entranoo to the base¬ 
ment. 
No. 24.—Dan very good, but description in¬ 
complete, and arrangement of stairs objection¬ 
able. A serious defect is tho want of a passage¬ 
way on the east side of the basement, which 
necessitates a walk of 50 foot or more before 
reaching tho direct passage-way from horse- 
stalls to cow-stalls. 
No. 25.—Plan very good, but description a 
little vague. Moreover, the plan does not make 
provision for so many kinds of stock as somo of 
tho others. Henry W. Clements, 
G. W. Houghton, 
Georoe Gardner, 
New York, June 30, ISTT. Committee. 
II airii Iiusbanilm 
<0 |0/ <<> 
EXTRA GREEN FOOD FOR COWS. 
We havo repeatedly dwelt on the necessity of 
keeping milch cows at all times in a uniformly 
good condition. Any deterioration not only 
causes a speedy decrease in the yield of milk, hut 
even after extra feeding has restored tho animal 
to her former good state, it often happens that 
the former flow of milk does not readily return. 
Whenever, therefore, there is any likelihood of a 
scarcity or ordinary food or pasture, it is always 
advisable to have at hand some means of tempo¬ 
rarily supplementing tho scant snpply. Wo fully 
agree with a late article in the National Live 
Stock Journal, that as there is a constant rela¬ 
tion between the food eaten and the milk pro¬ 
duced by good cows, the dairyman should seek 
for cows of a vigorous appetite and strong diges¬ 
tion—the more food the more milk. Some cows 
havo such feeble appetite and digestion that 
they consume 4ifly about food enough to main¬ 
tain their normal condition, and do not yield 
milk enough to pay keep; while, in other eases, 
the dairyman, not appreciating the philosophy of 
the production of milk, instead of generous fut-d- 
ing, that lie may get a liberal return, feeds bis 
cows so scantily that bis profits are eveu loss 
than his feeding. Such dairymen only feed well, 
if at all—when the cow is at pasture during the 
growing season; aud when that becomes short, 
his cows only pick enough to live. This becomes 
a most destructive waste of his profits. 
Every dairyman should provide a liberal sup¬ 
ply of oxtra food for such a contingency. This 
dry tirnu often occurs in July, aud thus checks 
the yield of milk, which can never ho fully re¬ 
gained. In many cases, this loss amounts to 
one-third the annual yield of milk—which is 
really all the profit. A little oxtra green food of 
oats, rye, millet, Hungarian grass, clover, or 
corn, will keep up the flow of milk, and tide them 
over this short supply of pasture j and when the 
rains bring the fresh fall grass, it will be ready 
to supply the best food to continue a good flow 
of milk till late in the season, making a profitable 
return. The dairyman should never permit his 
herd to subsist wholly upon & scanty pasture, 
even for a week. It is much better to feed a 
little grain to make up tho deficiency, if he havo 
not such green food as mentioned. But, if ho 
desires to make a wise provision for such a con¬ 
tingency, he may do so by sowing one-eighth to 
one-fourth of au acre of oats for each cow kept, 
about sixty days before tho time short pasture is 
likely to occur. 
Having a herd of cows, several small j>ieces of 
ground may be sown, so as to be in the right 
stage for feeding at different times. Oats are 
best for feeding in a green statu when in the 
milk. Usually, one acre to eight cows will be 
sufficient; bnt it is well to sow double that quan¬ 
tity, to meet any possible deficiency, and any 
surplus may be left to ripen and be harvested as 
grain. Any of the other kinds Of grain men¬ 
tioned may bo sown if the lund is suitable; but 
it is usually better to sow several kinds—for in¬ 
stance, part oats, part millet or Hungarian grass, 
and part sowed corn. Variety is better than a 
single food, both for health and product of milk. 
It will he seen that all these kinds of grain or 
grass may be sowed for other purposes, if not 
needed for feeding green, and that, therefore, 
there can bo no loss in making this preparation. 
-- - 
GOATS FOR MILK. 
The Toronto Globe says there seems to be 
setting in a fashion to keep goats for their milk 
in that section, and comments upon it after tliis 
humorous style. In relation to keeping goats it 
says: 
Why not? These sweet-scented animals have 
a decided advantage over the cow-kind. They 
are hotter foragers and cost little or nothing to 
keep. An ordinary garden-fenco is nothing to 
an enterprising member of the Capra family, 
and they are not at all particular in their choice 
of tender plants. When vonug herbs or early 
lettuce fall, there are many varieties of flowers 
and garden plants that servo for a moal; and 
When shut off from this delicate diet, a clean- 
washed Sunday shirt can be disposed of with 
considerable relish. And then their literary ap¬ 
petites are amazing. They will discuss tho 
merits of the largest morning newspaper in two 
miuutes by Shrewsbury clock, and digest it, too, 
for that matter. They are also remarkably play¬ 
ful, and take especial delight in butling tho 
children for pastime ; but their crowning glory 
is the delicious odor they exhale. Lubin’s 
choicest extracts are nothing to it, for when a 
goat is within forty yards ol' the house, one fan¬ 
cies himself wandering in tho groves of Araby. 
By all means cultivate the goat. 
--4-M-- 
A QUERY ABOUT BUTTER, &C, 
In your issue of 23rd inat. a lady gives a ro- 
cipe for procuring a larger How of milk, and 
afterwards says that by giving a littlo boiled corn 
and linseed, she supplied her family with butter 
and also sold some. I wish that she had said 
what she meant by a little, and what proportions 
of each she used. Had she stated the size of 
her family we should have known more about the 
yield c>f bolter that cow gavo. Why is it that 
correspondents leave readers to guess what 
“ littlo M means ? and again “ occasionally ” may 
mean ouce a week or once a month. More par¬ 
ticularity might, without any extra trouble, be 
vouchsafed. a. r. b. 
The question put by A. R. B. is one which 
every reader has probably bad occasion to ask 
many a time, and w T o hope our correspondents 
will heed it and be more explicit in the future. 
—Ed. Rural. 
®[jc fjcr&snmit. 
SOFTENING OR RAREFICATI0N OF BONES. 
Prop. Law, in lria Farmer's Veterinary Advisor, 
tells us about tho bones of animals* something 
which may not be generally known. 
Rickets. —Yotiug animals (sheep, calves, and, 
loss frequently, foals,) often suffer from an im¬ 
perfect nutrition of the bones, with a deficiency 
of earthy salts, so that tho bones, especially 
those of the limbs, bend under the weight of the 
animal and assume various unsightly distortions. 
The affection runs hereditarily in certain fam¬ 
ilies, aud its appearance is often determined by 
insufficient, excessive or injurious food, such as 
poor, sour or fevered milk or inadequate substi¬ 
tutes. Anything that undermines tho general 
health will develop it in a predisposed subject. 
The malady may usually be checked by a change 
to rich or moderate feeding, as tho case may de¬ 
mand, a dose of pepsin wine at each meal, with 
dry, warm, airy sleeping places aud access to the 
open air, sunshine and gentle exercise. In cases 
of severe threatened distortion, much benefit 
may bo derived from support by well-padded 
bandages. 
Softening ok Bones in Dairy Cows—This re¬ 
sembles rickets in the dependence on the nature 
of the food, but appears only in breeding cows. 
It is a disease of poor, sandy and gravelly soils, 
the vogetatiou of which is deficient in earthy 
