101Q 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 29, 
A CONCRETE FLOOR FOR STABLE. 
i 
I am building a cow stable with base¬ 
ment underneath ; ilOor timbers'are heavy, 
laid close and covered with two-inch plank, 
well spiked, making very solid floor. I 
wish to prevent the liquids from running 
through into the basement. Will two 
inches of concrete over that floor do it? 
In what proportion should it be mixed, and 
how much cement will be required to con¬ 
crete oOO square feet of floor sunacc? The 
concrete will be planked over where cows 
stand. h. a. J. 
Vermont. 
I am sorry that I cannot give an 
answer to the question of H. A. J. The 
. fact is that I have just such a problem 
to solve, and I believe that there are 
many of your readers who are left a 
legacy of a manure cellar under the cow 
stable, and who now believe it to be un¬ 
sanitary. The question is how to have 
a cement floor in the cow stable and 
have it tight enough so that the old cel¬ 
lar may be used for storage. I have de¬ 
cided to try the following plan: One 
coat of rich cemert, say one part cement 
to two parts sand and two or three of 
crushed stone or very fine stone. Then 
before this is thoroughly dry cover with 
woven wire fencing spiked to the sides 
of the barn, and cover with another 
inch of cement mixture. The wire will 
furnish reinforcement, but of course will 
not stop leakage. I wish the question 
might be thoroughly discussed, because 
there are many of us who are up against 
the problem and some one must have 
solved it successfully. Many of the old 
stables are low, and the floor needs to 
be as thin as possible because the room 
cannot be spared. How thin can the 
cement be and have the requisite strength 
and water-turning qualities? 
E. S. BINGHAM. 
R. N.-Y.—We print this question with¬ 
out a complete answer in order to learn 
the facts from practical farmers. No 
doubt some of our readers have worked 
out this problem. Will they tell us how 
it was done? 
SHEEP RAISING IN IOWA. 
Sheep raising in Iowa is very rapidly 
becoming one-of the most popular lines 
of agricultural production in the State. 
Iowa is well situated near the great mar- 
* kets, and raises all kinds of the best of j 
feeds in such quantities that it is admir- i 
ably adapted for sheep raising. Sheep 
farming will no doubt continue to in¬ 
crease for some time. Sheep are popular 
' with Iowa farmers just now as scaven- ! 
gers; that is, the farmers have come to 
believe that they can keep a flock of a 
hundred sheep on their farms of a quai- 
ter section and feed them little else than 
what would have been wasted under the 
i old system. This idea is especially im¬ 
pressive just as present, when there are 
72 ewes grazing in a 15-acre stubble field 
nearby. The field was seeded with rape 
and clover when the oats were sown. 
Since the oat crop was removed the rape 
and clover have come on and made an 
abundance of feed for the farm flock. 
They proved to be excellent destroyers 
of weeds in stubble fields and along fence 
rows. Not only do they destroy such 
weeds but thrive and grow on them. 
Another phase of sheep farming that 
is appealing to some of the older ones 
in the business is the production of early 
lambs. The ewes are bred so that the 
lambs come as early as possible. Then 
the lambs are forced from the start and 
sold when they have reached the weight 
of SO or 100 pounds. This brings the 
quickest returns of all farm animals, and 
all engaged in this early lamb marketing 
are well pleased and declare that they 
are making good profits. Iowa farmers 
are rapidly coming to a system ot stock 
farming in order to conserve the fertility 
of their soils. Many of those who are 
now turning to live-stock farming are at¬ 
tracted to sheep. As feeding stock, sheen 
will finish off quicker, make as good 
gains as cattle, and often yield a better 
profit. Since sheep have become so 
numerous a strong demand for purebred 
breeding stock has sprung up. There are 
a large number of experienced sheepmen 
who have gone to raising purebreds to 
supply tiie local demand. They find ready 
sale for all the stock they have to sell. 
There is probably no class of purebred 
stock that is yielding a better profit in 
Iowa than sheep. Quite a number of im¬ 
ported sheep are being brought into the 
State every year, and are finding ready 
sale. 
The beginners in sheep raising are 
meeting with quite a number of difficul¬ 
ties. Many of those who have recently 
started in the business have had no pre¬ 
vious experience with sheep. They may 
have worked all their lives with other 
stock and know perfectly well what con¬ 
stitutes a good horse, or cow, or hog. but 
when they try to select a desirable sheep 
they are at a loss. Sheep all look very 
much the same to them. It is very diffi¬ 
cult for them to tell a Shropshire from 
an Oxford or a Hampshire. For the 
same reason there is unnecessary trouble 
with diseases. A novice in the business 
does not recognize maggots until he has 
lost a number of sheep from that cause. 
Quite a number of animals will be 
allowed to go lame before he realizes 
that foot rot is amongst them. He allows 
them to graze the same pasture for long- 
periods of time. When he awakes to the 
fact that his sheep have been unthrifty 
for some time he learns of the stomach 
worm and how to guard against it. Not 
all Iowa sheep breeders are in this class, 
and those who belong there are rapidly 
gaining knowledge and joining the ranks 
of successful sheep growers. Several 
agencies are at work spreading the gospel 
of sheep farming. The agricultural 
papers are constantly publishing articles 
that are practical, reliable and helpful. 
Many men from the college are going 
back to the farm and taking up sheep 
work. h. E. M. 
Iowa. 
MOTHERS NEED 
Scott’s Emulsion 
Many mothers have learned 
how much they needed 
Scott's Emulsion 
by taking it to show their 
children that It was a sweet 
medicine. 
For thirty-five years it has 
been the best known specific 
against fatigue and enfeeble- 
ment, as well as the standard 
remedy for warding off and 
relieving colds and affec¬ 
tions of the throat and lungs. 
Put a 
Concrete Pit in 
the Spring House 
■a? 
It will be infinitely better than 
a wooden one — free from slime, 
easily kept clean, and water-tight. 
EDISON 
PORTLAND 
CEMENT 
will make it stronger and more economically than any other 
cement, because “ Edison, ” being io% finer than any other, 
makes jo% more concrete; or you can get io% more strength 
than with an equal amount of any other brand. 
There are a number of things about concrete it will pay 
you to know. We like to answer questions. 
We would like to send you free of charge a book, “How to mix 
and use concrete on the farm.” Please write for it today. 
Edison Portland Cement Company, 801 St. James Building, New York 
Your Cows Need Comfort 
r Give it to them with Louden’s Sanitary Stalls and Stanchions. 
Yon will be repaid over and over by the increase of both quantity and 
quality of milk and the satisfaction of having a barn equipped with 
the most e i* mor 'y c ®]. and up-to-date sanitary barn equipment made. 
Louden 8 steel Stalls ara madeof tubular steel. Simple, strong and 
practically indestructible. Once installed th6y are there for a life- 
time. They aftord ample ventilation, light and perfect sanitation 
They have no flat surfaces to catch and hold dirt. Made for either 
cement or wooden floors. 
Louden’s Stanchions—are the perfect stanchions, affording the cow 
almost the same freedom when feeding or sleeping as if free, vet 
keeps them perfectly lined up stall times. Catch is easily opened 
with gloved hand, yet is completely “cow proof.” Made entirely of 
steel. Bo wood to harbor dirt,—no sharp corners to injure cows. 
The Louden Electro Galvanizing Process with which we finish 
Louden Equipment when desired, adds greatly to the appearance and 
durability of the equipment. It is a perfect coating of pure zinc 
the best preventative of corrosion known, applied by special process' 
which is far superior to the ordinary hot process galvanizing ' 
Investigation before equipping your barn may save you diuappoint- 
« C ? t- .v ‘ che “Pe, r to Put “LOUDEN QUALITY” in your barn at 
firs., than to experiment with inferior equipment. Write for catalog 
of modern labor and monejtsaving barn equipment, 
LOUDEN MACHINERY CO. 601 Broadway Fairfield, la. 
“NEW MODERN” 
FEED and 
LITTER 
CARRIERS 
Do twice the work in half the time. 
THEY PAY FOR THEMSELVES. 
Easy to use and nothing to get out of order. 
“NEW MODERN” 
Swing Cattle Stanchion 
with individual manger 
and watering basin is 
the best yet. 
‘‘NEW MODERN” 
Sanitary Steel Stalls 
There is nothing bet¬ 
ter nor easier to keep 
clean. 
Write for Catalog. 
GLOR BROS. & WILLIS MFG. CO., 59 Mala St„ Attica, N. Y 
"Everything for the Barn.” 
J 
✓ 
pay lor every 
inch of wire 
My/ 
Don’t forget the fact! If there are clamps, twists 
or wraps in a fence every clamp, twist or wrap wastes 
an inch and a half or more of wire—wire costs money 
—you pay for the waste. Clamps, twists and wraps do 
not add to the strength or d urability of the fence; they do add 
to its cost . The strongest fence is the lowest in cost, because it is made 
without wasting an inch of wire. 
“Pittsburgh Perfect” Fence 
Is made of Open Hearth Wire , electrically welded . 
The wires are electrically welded at every point of contact—the weld is even 
stronger than the wire;—the galvanizing by our own improved process. Every 
wire is open hearth wire, conceded to be stronger, tougher and better in 
every way than Bessemer steel wire. Line and stay wires are of the same 
gauge (size)—a point that counts for strength and long life. 
We merely ask you not to purchase any fence until you’ve seen the “Pittsburgh Perfect' 
—the fence without a weakness, and without waste. Made in 73 different styles 
for every fence purpose. Your dealer sells it. Write for free catalog. 
PITTSBURGH STEEL COMPANY, 
PITTSBURGH, PA. 
