322 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 15 
the sale crops are grown, and that no more of the 
product be taken to the stock barn or near it than is 
needed for home feeding. 
A barn exclusively for hay that we have used for a 
number of years, with a frame similar to that of the 
cattle barn described above, is 40 feet wide, and the 
timbers are eight inches square instead of six. It is 
very rigid and strong. A double set of poles, laid on 
the ground, one across the other, takes the weight of 
hay, so that the foundation has never more to carry 
than the barn. The track is 35 feet from the ground, 
but would be better if it were higher. Of course, to 
handle hay easily and economically, horses should do 
the unloading, and if the right kind of unloader is 
used, an extra 10 or 15 feet in height is no hindrance 
to rapid work, and it makes a great difference in the 
quantity that can be stored under the same roof. 
You need not be afraid of a barn with this frame 
blowing down. The sling which, in my opinion, is 
the best device for unloading hay in a barn, needs 
plenty of space free of beams. In a barn of this plan, 
it works to perfection. 
A hay barn should be boarded tight from roof to 
sill. The hay will keep better, and the driving winds 
cannot penetrate it and carry off the aroma that is so 
pleasing to stock. As corn in the South is almost 
always gathered with the husk on, a slatted house 
with boarded shed adjoining for husks answers well 
for storing it. It may be husked when other work is 
not pressing, and during bad weather. Where the 
grain moth is troublesome, a quantity may be left in 
the husk for the next summer’s use. This insect may 
attack a few of the outside ears, but will not pene¬ 
trate far into a pile of c*rn if the husks be left on. 
Chesterfield County, Va. albert b bellwood. 
Plan for a Cattle Feeding Barn. 
The climate of the Middle South is such as to render 
unnecessary the complicated arrangements needed 
for the farm buildings in the North. But the require¬ 
ments of any particular farm vary so much, that it is 
scarcely possible to give any satisfactory plan with¬ 
out knowing precisely what number of cattle are to 
be kept, or of the size of the farm itself. As cattle 
feeding is the most prominent business of a farm in 
this locality, the arrangements made are to be 
adapted mostly to this part of the farm management. 
But as a rule, it is the reverse of economy to have 
the buildings separate as suggested in the inquiry ; 
the excessive labor called for by such an arrangement 
adds greatly to the expense, when every smallest 
saving in these close times is to be considered as 
requisite to profit. 
Quite recently, I made a plan, see Fig. 138, for a 
large cattle feeder who feeds 200 or 300 cattle yearly, 
for the Washington market, and the arrangement 
made, which has been found very convenient and 
economical of labor, is on the principle applied in the 
plan shown. The plan may be very easily extended 
to suit any number of cattle; the other stables for 
horses, and the granary and hay sheds, are separate 
but near by, the latter being made on the cheap plan 
of the common hay barrack used in the North. This 
barn is a central building surrounded by the sheds 
as shown, the feeding is all done from the central 
floor, the hay and fodder being thrown down from the 
bays on each side. At two corners are silos, each 16 
feet square and opening, also, on to the feeding floor 
at one corner, where a shute comes out over the floor. 
The hay and other fodder in the mows overhead is 
quickly thrown down to the floor and fed to the cat¬ 
tle in the racks which open to the central floor. By 
this arrangement the feeding is done very quickly 
and easily. The cattle are tied in stalls divided from 
each other by short partitions; there are manure 
gutters behind each row, and drains for the liquid 
matter leading to the manure sheds in the rear and 
at each end. 
The barn is located in a large field, so that the 
cattle may be fed in fine weather, if so desired, in 
racks filled from the separate hay sheds or from the 
barn. A 12-foot driveway runs through the building, 
the hay and fodder being delivered on each side. The 
main barn is 20 feet high, the roof being half pitch 
so as to get as much room as possible for storage ; the 
roofs of the sheds are only a quarter pitch. 
The hay and fodder barracks are located in the 
fields, where they are quickly filled, this being im¬ 
portant in the South where, at the haying season, 
there is often so much rain as to make it necessary 
to get the crop under cover as soon as possible. The 
corn cribs are in a separate building, one on each 
side with the floor between the two, and a small mill 
worked by one horse is placed on this floor by which 
the whole ears are ground for feeding, by which 
it is found that fully one-fourth of the grain is saved, 
and some nutriment is got from the cobs. As a rule, 
it is most economical to have the buildings as close 
together as possible, the risk of fire being met by 
adding to the buildings as soon as they are finished, 
the indispensable final modern improvement of a full 
insurance policy, something that no farmer anywhere 
can afford to go without. It has been found by the 
largest cattle feeders that the finishing by the ground 
grain and sheaf oats is far preferable to all ensilage 
feeding. h. stewart. 
North Carolina. 
Notes on Southern Barn Building. 
To me it seems that, while some special arrange¬ 
ments of farms may be necessary for different special¬ 
ties, the plats may, generally, be laid out under a few 
general rules which are simple and easily understood. 
In the South, an airy yet shady place is sought for 
dwelling and for farm stock. Where possible, the 
more prominent elevation, partly surrounded with 
suitable plantations of trees, should be selected for 
the home. The barn and outbuildings should be on 
one side or other out of the range of the prevailing 
MANURE 
Shed 
SilO 
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SILO 
JDA iHy 
A MODERN VIRGINIA STOCK BARN. Fig. 137. 
wind from the dwelling, and if just as convenient, 
also favor the neighbors in this respect—if the neigh¬ 
borhood is thickly settled. This will seldom be an 
object of much care, as farms are large, and careful 
husbandry keeps things and places clean. If separate 
buildings are to be used, I would put stock between 
the grain and hay barn, and the latter farthest from 
the dwelling. I would, perhaps, range the swine, 
cows and horses, and put the swine barn in the direc¬ 
tion of the prevailing wind from the buildings for 
horses and cows. Then with a hay barn in the rear, 
there would be comparatively little danger with 
these buildings 80 feet apart and 100 or more feet 
from the nearest part of the dwelling. But cows 
and horses should be fed largely on ensilage, and the 
silos should be close to or in the buildings where the 
stock is kept; while, if much hay is fed, it could be 
from racks on the opposite side of a large yard, one 
side of which might be formed by the nearest wall 
of the barn. Then a slight shelter from the wind, 
and a roof for rain shelter, would allow all young 
stock to live, most of the time while being fed, in the 
yards. 
A plan of circular barn with yards and sheds 
ranged round on a segment of a circle, with the barn 
to the leeward of the dwelling, would seem to offer 
desirable qualities where the lay of the land would 
permit. Of course, I would bring water by a pipe 
iicUGtu 
SOUTHERN CATTLE FEEDING BARN. Fig. 138. 
from an elevated spring, or from some lower locality 
by ram or wind power, and supply both home and 
stock without hand pumping ; this is of great im¬ 
portance. A storage tank for stock would then be 
worth much as a guard against fire. For a number 
of years, we have kept boxes and bags of fine salt at 
handy points for use if a lantern or lamp should be 
overturned ; an occasional questioning causes every 
one to keep prompt on the use of salt, and recently, 
a fire may have been averted by prompt use of salt 
when a lantern was overturned and melted by the 
flame in the Station barn. This is mentioned, as 
a “Virginia Reader” has suffered from fire, and 
others may be saved by this simple and effective 
means to subdue a small fire on which it will not do 
to throw water. 
Farm buildings in Piedmont Virginia and North Caro¬ 
lina may be cheaply constructed, and in many cases, 
a mere shell of a shed, but made to be closed up tight 
for some occasional stormy weather, is better than 
expensive barns which are more needed in a severer 
climate. Timber is cheap, and frames should be made 
rather low and strong, and covered for dryness in wet 
weather, with plenty of air-spaces to be closed when 
needed during storms. Tree-shade about yards and 
stock-runs, is needed. For this purpose, a sheltered 
brookside may be utilized and picturesque grounds be 
made of many a farm building site. f. e. emery. 
North Carolina Experiment Station. 
A DIFFERENCE IN SALES. 
LOOK ON THIS SID E—T HEN ON THAT. 
The crop of apples in Grand Isle County, Vt., in 
1896, was extremely large, and of remarkably good 
quality. Inasmuch as apples constitute the chief 
crop of the county, it was important that they bring 
a good price. The apple market of last winter was 
disastrous to many. There were those who didn’t 
get enough in cash returns to pay for their barrels. 
The more apples they had, the worse they were off. 
In one neighborhood of Grand Isle County, a large 
part of the crop was consigned to a certain Phila¬ 
delphia commission house. The shipments were 
mostly made early. This, of course, was not the best 
way to get a good price. But a large part of the ap¬ 
ples were of early varieties, and the growers had no 
storage for late varieties, so they pretty nearly had 
to go. After waiting all winter, and after much in¬ 
quiry and trouble, here are some of the returns : 
Mr. A.— 32 barrels Pound Sweets, net....$ 3 00 
Mr. B.—174 barrels Snows, net. 30 00 
Mr. C.— 78 barrels select Kings, net. 44 00 
Mr. D.—403 barrels select Snows, net. 34 44 
But these figures could be duplicated in many other 
places. They are given here only for the sake of con¬ 
trast with more fortunate sales from the same county. 
Mr. T. L. Kinney, President of the State Horticultural 
Society, has always made a specialty of growing the 
best late-keeping winter varieties. He has, also, built 
a good storage house, shown at Fig. 140, with cross 
section at Fig. 139. In this house, his apples were 
stored as picked, and were held till February and 
March, when they were shipped. Mr. Kinney has 
handed me some of his account sales for apples already 
sold, cash returns having been made. Returns had 
been made, promptly in every case, for 794 barrels, 
the selling price being $1,759.75 in New York. Sub¬ 
tracting $441.13 for freights, cartage and commission, 
there remains a net cash return of $1,318.62, or an 
average net price of $1.66. That isn’t so bad consider¬ 
ing the fact that the storage cost nothing but the in¬ 
terest on the house. It is especially good when com¬ 
pared with the returns received by early shippers. 
Greenings sold at $2.25 to $2.50; selected Spys at $3 
and $3 25, and selected Spitzenbergs at $4. 
Mr. Kinney made his own storage house, and re¬ 
gards it as a complete success. His opinion, as pub¬ 
lished in Vermont Experiment Station Bulletin 55, 
from which the illustration is taken, is as follows : 
We have stored our late-keeping varieties lor several years, and 
it has always proved successful. They need to be well grown, 
free from fungous diseases and from insect injuries, and care¬ 
fully handled. They should always be partially sorted. The 
market calls for standard Vermont winter stock in the winter, 
and it should not be crowded on to the market at any other sea¬ 
son. It is cheaper storing fruit at home than in the large cities; 
it is better for the fruit not to be transported long distances until 
it is to be used; and the orchardist also has the advantage of 
having the fruit under his own control. 
BILL OF LUMBER FOR APPLE HOUSE. 
3,500 feet wall boarding, 3,000 feet roof boarding, 3,500 feet ceil¬ 
ing (inside), 7,200 feet floor boards (double floors), 4,000 feet clap¬ 
boards, 25 bundles lath, 22*4 squares slate. 
OUTSIDE FINISH. 
Lineal Measure.—200feet 5-inch crown mold, 190 feet 3-inch bed 
mold, 300 feet % x 10 mold for frieze and facia, 200 feet % x7 base 
and water tables, 200 feet % x 12 planers. 
Corner Boards.—4 pieces, % x 5,15 feet, 4 pieces, % x 6, 15 feet. 
Sills.—8 pieces 2 x 8,15 feet, 10 pieces 2x8, 13 feet. 
Floor Joists.—56 pieces 2x9, 15% feet, 26 pieces 2 x9, 30 feet. 
Collar Ties to Rafters.—26 pieces 1% x 9, 19 feet. 
Wall Studs.—100 pieces 3 x 4, 14 feet, 20 pieces 3 x 4, 12 feet. 
Rafters.—56 pieces 2x8, 21 feet. 
Braces.—26 pieces 2 x 6, 10 feet, 26 pieces 1 x 6, 8 feet. 
Ribbons.—16 pieces 1 x 4, 13 feet. 
Ridge Poles.—4 pieces 2 x 12,13 feet. 
This bill of lumber is estimated by Burlington deal¬ 
ers at $443.69. The house cost $1,500 finished, and it 
pays a large interest on the investment. 
Vermont Experiment Station. f. a. waugh. 
SEEDING NOTES FROM INDIANA. 
The sowing and planting of seeds, both of the 
grasses and grains, taxes the skill of the husbandman 
beyond that of any other branch of farming. The sea¬ 
sons are so varied, the elementary conditions so com¬ 
pletely beyond control, and so perfectly unknown 
more than a few hours ahead, that it does not seem 
possible for the farmer to know when to sow or how 
to prepare his soil for best results. This is especially 
true with clover. It is less hardy than the native 
grasses. Timothy should always be sown in the 
fall, and the best results will always follow seeding 
alone if the soil is properly prepared, and good re¬ 
sults seldom follow where the ground isiHy prepared 
or very foul. I have not found Orchard grass of any 
