16 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
Chester County Barn. 
Messrs. Editors —Will you inform me through the 
Country Gentleman of the most convenient and econo¬ 
mical plan for building a barn, sufficient to stable forty 
cows, with manure room below and fodder above, suffi¬ 
cient for one winter. Would it be advisable to have 
the stable in the basement or on the floor above ? 
Would a side-hill location be preferable to a level one? 
L. S. Fredonia , N, Y. 
The plan coming nearest to the wishes of our cor¬ 
respondent, that we can now furnish him, is that of the 
“Chester County Barn,” described in the Rural Reg¬ 
ister for 1858, and which we copy below. It contains 
the stables in the basement, which on the whole we pre¬ 
fer. If any of our readers have successfully practic¬ 
ed the mode of placing the cattle over the manure cel¬ 
lar, we should esteem it a favor if they would furnish 
us the details of the plan—or of any other design cal¬ 
culated to meet the wishes of our correspondent. 
Chester County Barn. 
A correspondent in Chester County, Pa., gives the 
following minute description of a large and commodious 
grain, hay, and stock barn, which combines many im¬ 
portant advantages: 
Such a barn will require a lo¬ 
cality inclining towards the south. 
Let the main barn, facing south¬ 
erly. be 60 feet long and 40 wide, 
with a lean-to overshot extending 
in front 20 feet. I estimate this 
to contain near 100 tons of hay, 
&c.; then let hay-houses extend 
20 feet in width and height, in 
the form of a letter L, from the 
west end of the barn, of such 
length as to afford the additional 
storage necessary—say forty feet 
each. 
The ground floor of the main 
barn to be divided into stabling 
is represented in Fig. 1. A, horse 
stables, 12 feet in depth, with 
HAY HOUSE 
ers a granary extending through the center, 14 feet 
wide, boarded at the sides, and the hay bins each side 
of it, 20 by 60 feet. It is lighted by two windows in 
front, and has a door and window at the north end. It 
is partitioned on one side into bins for grain ; the front 
end included in the overshot will make a good work¬ 
shop. The third or threshing floor, eight feet higher, 
extends 14 feet in width, (same as granary, which it 
covers,) from the bridge-wall to the front of overshot, 
and is lighted by a small dormer in front of overshot— 
(this may be scaffolded over head after the side mows 
are filled for grain,) the large doors at the north end 
opening into a dormer covering the space between the 
bridge-wall and bam. Each of the main hay mows 
should have a funnel four feet square, to pass hay to 
the entries below, and each of the overshot mows one 
to the yard. Grain from the threshing floor is passed 
into bins in the granary through three-inch square 
holes, stopped with wedge-shaped plugs. 
And now, as to the advantages of this plan, which I 
believe are greater than that embraced by any other 
that has come under my observation. Roofing is one 
of the most expensive parts of building—here is the 
greatest amount of storage, stabling and other accom- 
N0RTH 
MAIN BARN 
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I U-il-ll-lUm.. 11 JL-IL 1 L-I 1 L- 
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XI 
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c 
OVERSHOT 
mangers 2 h feet wide for hay, and small troughs at the 
side of each stall for grain. B, cattle stalls, hung with 
swinging gates, opening sideways. C, the same, but 
each having a separate gate entering direct from the 
yard. E, main entry 8 feet wide, to hold feed chests, 
&c ; e, entry 5 feet wide, with steps up to door, D, at 
the north end, and having an entrance into the horse 
stables at each end, the entries to be laid with small 
stones and mortar; the remaining space under the barn 
and overshot to be open to the yard, and fur¬ 
nished with box cribs, so that the out-door 
stock can have their fodder placed under the 
shelter in stormy weather; in cleaning out 
stables, the manure may also be placed under 
here for protection from the weather. 
If additional stall room is desired, the 20 
foot bay houses might be divided by a five 
foot entry on the out side, and stalls opening 
to the yard, as C; or the under story might 
be open to the yard, as additional shelter to stock and 
manure. 
Fig. 2 gives the elevation of the west end of the main 
barn, 40 feet, overshot 20—the former having in front 
the large doors, 16 feet, and bridge wall; height to 
the square 30 feet—to the second floor 8 feet; this cov- 
Fig. 1—Plan of Stables in Basement. 
modation under the same surface f the hay not descend¬ 
ing to the ground floor, is less liable to be affected by 
damp, and affords a much less harbor for rats and oth¬ 
er vermin. In the hurried season of harvest, produce 
can be disposed of in the deep bays, in one-fourth of 
the time required to pitch it upwards, and in winter 
can be dropped immediately where wanted below— 
while the stables can all be shut tight in cold weather, 
to keep them warm. The hay funnels act as ventila- 
Fig. 
MAIN BA 0 V£RSH0T ~ 
2.—End View from West, before Hay-bins were added. 
tors to carry off the impure air; grain, when threshed, 
is put away in the granary without any labor of bag¬ 
ging and carrying; the horse stables are entered with¬ 
out passing through the cattle-yard, and the cattle 
stalls are as conveniently arranged as in other plans. 
The space under the bridgeway may readily be con- 
