voj.. x.vxvi. n-». ir. 
! WHOLE No. 1448. f 
I* KICK SIX CENTS 
$‘2.30 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
plements, (drills, reaper, Ao.) ; 4, harness room; 
3, 3, ohutes ; 6, for sheep or young cattle ; 2, 2, 
2, horses, calves, colts, or heavy cattle; no 
change of door or windows, as in Pro. 3%. 
It is seen, by this plan, that all the stables can 
$ann (grotto raj) 
center stairway below and above ; 0, 0, 10 feet 
wide for ciop ventilation; I, I, I, I, .to., hay 
chutes entirely from top to bottom; K, K, K, 
feed-chutes, cut feed, meal, AoB, Is the en¬ 
gine room ; A, is where water enters from cls- 
ing hay with horse hay fork, these openings are 
railed around 3 feet high to prevent accidents: 
in fact. K, K. K, lu Fig. 2, should be boxed up 
three feet high, for there is hsrdly anything 
about a building mom despicable and to be 
dreaded than an opening iu the lloor and un¬ 
boxed. In this plan I have endeavored to prevent 
as much as possible these openings, and have 
placed them where they do not interfere with the 
drive-way. I, I, T, I, C, C, are hay and straw 
chutes. D, is pass-way, 4 for cistern, Fig. 2. 
The root-cellar, a very im ortant room, is en¬ 
tirely left out of plau ; however it should be 
placed on the east side of Fig. 2, so that tho roots 
might be taken to steam room through passage 0; 
this way being wide enough for passage of cart. 
Am of the opinion in the construction of root- 
cellar, gases must escape and cold air. 
Tho bay or straw ohutes should be made with 
doors to lot down, so t hat hay can be put In at any 
hight. The space H. (Fig. 3) is passage for 
feediug, the circular linos at ends with straight 
sides permit an easy passiug around ; the shep¬ 
herd has the hay, roots, etc. brought directly 
hero, the wall-rack being arranged around, the 
sheep cannot interfere with tbo work, and the 
operator can easily see over the entire flock ; as 
to the number it will hold, that of course will de¬ 
pend on their size and kind i if more rack is de¬ 
sired, one can bo arranged between G. and J. [. ; 
by this the hay will have to be handled over the 
back of the sheep, which is objectionable. In 
(Fig. 2) the vaoant space to the floor is intended 
for hay. From the engine IJ, to wagon-way, a 
a point near (10), should be a policy that extra 
machinery, such as that for fanning, shelling, 
cutting fodder, hay or whatever work may be 
desired on this door. 
In making their award, the Committee said 
of Mr. Fletcher’s work : “ It is a very full 
plan, and the author’s description is one of the 
most complete and satisfactory in the collection. 
It owes its superiority to Uh comprehensiveness. 
It provides for sixteen horse-stalls, twenty-two 
head of cattle, good accommodation for sheep, 
feed room for lambs, harness rooms, work¬ 
rooms, engine-room, lock up room, room for 
FIRST PREMIUM PLAN OF A GENERAL 
PURPOSE BARN. 
In our issue of March 10th, a friend and sub¬ 
scriber of the Rubai, New-Yobkeb. having erect¬ 
ed a large frame barn, with stone basement, 
offered, through our columns, premiums of $50, 
$30 and $20, respectively, for the first., second 
and third best plans of dividing and arranging it 
for general farm purposes, tho plana to embrace 
the latest improvements in modern farm build¬ 
ings. In reply to this offer twenty-four plans, 
with accompanying descriptive essays, wore for¬ 
warded to this office, and by us submitted for ad¬ 
judication to a committee of three practical, well- 
known farmers. Tho text of their decision was 
published in full in our issue of July 14, and by 
it the first prize was awarded to F. M. Fj.etcheb, 
Upperville, Va. In compliance with numerous 
requests from onr friends in different parts of 
the country, we publish, in our present issue, an 
accurate copy of Mr. Fletcher’s pl*n, and ac¬ 
company it with bis explanation of the arrange¬ 
ments. 
As a preliminary, however, for the benefit of 
new subscribers and of old friends who may not 
be able to refer to tbeir copy of tho Rckal of 
March 10th, it may be well to briefly recapitulate 
the specifications of tho shell of the barn. It 
was 55x100 feet, on a stone basement, which 
was 51x100 feet on the inside, and ten feet high 
in the clear. On the north, south and east sides 
the walla were four feet higher than the ground, 
while on the west side the ground was on a level 
with the basement floor. There were two open¬ 
ings in the north and south walls, and five in 
the east, for windows, 2 feet G inches high, and 
4 feet 4 inches wide. Iu the west wall there 
were six doors, five feet wide and nine high, and 
one large door, ten feet wide and nine feet high ; 
also, four windows, box frames, four feet wide 
and seven feet high. The barn was gallows 
framed. In the basement were rows of posts, 
ten Inches square and twenty feet high, and fif¬ 
teen feet from centers, except two rows in the 
center, which were twenty feet from the centers. 
There were two large doors at each end of the 
barn, fourteen reet wide and fourteen feet high. 
In describing liis plan, Mr. Fletcher says • 
Fns. 3 is the ground plan; P, P, O, O, do., 
horse stable; O, O, double stalls for mare and 
colt; one can enter at X without passing through 
the stable ; F, F, hay ohutes that pass entirely 
up to the bay ; C and E, feed box; W, W, W, 
windows; D, D, D, doors; A, A, cow stable ; B, 
passage; F, F, chutes from hay-loft; C and E, 
feed-box; G, G, sheep stable; F, F, hay chutes; 
C. cut feed chute; M, water fountain ; J, har¬ 
ness room ; K, room for drugs, oils, Ac .; L, 
steps up; N, the main fountain, with pipes to 
branch to 9, 9, then by attaching hose, all the 
Btoek can be watered without leaving the stables ; 
observe the three-feet space entirely around as a 
passage to walk and to keep the animals from 
the wall; I, I, is intended for feeding lambs or 
for caring specially for some sheep, as in hos¬ 
pital. 
The chntes F, Ao., are opened for stock in two 
stalls, each to feed themselves; opposite are 
doors or openings by which hay can be taken for 
the others; the sheep room can be divided as seen 
by dotted lines; or if bo many sheep are not de¬ 
sirable, then the plan can be altered as seen in 
Fiq. 3%. Z. for sheep; Y, for harness; 6, pas¬ 
sage ; 1, 2, 3, for colts, calves, or for feeding 
heavy grade cattle ; the small door by this plan, 
would have to be changed to window, and vice 
verm, It is preferable always to give sheep wide 
doors, to prevent crowding; 4, 5, is the ohute ; 
the star (♦) represents the posts. 
Fig. 3% is another ohange; 1 is for field im- 
be cleaned by removing the manure to the west 
side, and the bank on the other three sides, pre¬ 
venting a passway directly through this story. 
Fig. 2. The paHsage-way 14 feet wide is north 
and south. In the S. E. corner is the work-room 
G, where tho repairs are done. H, is chute to 
bed the horses and cows ; N, stairway to passage 
to horse and cow stable; F, harnesB-room, (for 
harness not in use), for general lock-room, forks, 
shovels, Ac.; E, field implements, drills, rakes, 
Ac.; this is convenient to repair room; D, is 
Fta. JL 
EAST. 
torn; with such a location this water shonld be 
fresh with only enough on hand for prosout pur¬ 
poses. P, is grinding room, meal to be placed 
in bin 4 or carried above to F, Fig. 1; J, iB the 
cooking or steam room M, M, Ac., grain bins; 
O, passway ; O, O, O, Ac., windows. 
Fig. 1. A, is tbo cutting box turned by the 
engine below tho out feed, passing dirootly down 
to J, mixed at the same time with meal from 
room F, which Insures a more even and thorough 
mixture. The circles K, K, K, are for unload- 
WEST. 
HO frtt> 
FARM-YARD MANURE AS A FERTILIZER 
BY PROFESSOR LEVI STOCKBRIDGE. 
By both practical and theoretical men, farm¬ 
yard manure 1 h considered our standard fertil¬ 
izer, the best substance known for enriching 
the land, the one with which all other substances 
used for this purpose, shonld bo compared and 
their value estimated. This substanoe is com¬ 
posed of the excrements of different varieties of 
domestio animats, and the straw and refuse of 
various forage crops which have been employed 
for bedding, and as absorbents. It is simply the 
refuse or waste of crops previously grown on the 
farm, from which it has derived whatever of 
fertilizing value it possesses, and which economy 
and thrifty husbandry require should be re¬ 
turned to the fields which produced it. As a fer¬ 
tilizer, it may be said to have two specific modes 
of action, but with one ultimate result; and 
these specific modes should be thoroughly un¬ 
derstood by every land-owner and cultivator, and 
the attention of such is invited to a few 
thoughts respecting them. 
First, farm-yard manure, by one of its modes 
of action, is a means of enriching and generally 
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