HARNS. 
405 
much better, for four reasons; First. Horses can be led past a load 
of hay which will sometimes fill tw^elve feet too full. Second. A 
wagon and buggy, or two wagons can stand on this floor side by 
side, leaving room to pass comfortabl}^ between them. Third. It is 
a better width for horses to turn in while treading out oats, which, 
by the way, is very useful exercise in cold weather for the older 
horses, excellent training for the colts, and meets the hearty appro¬ 
bation of the cattle, who will stand expectantly about the back 
door each morning, wondering with their large eyes if you are ever 
to rake off your first flooring. Fourth. I fix on this particular 
width as it lets fourteen feet plank have a bearing of three 
inches at each end on the cross sills. On one side of this floor you 
want horses, with their heads towards the floor, so that you can feed 
and water them without crowding between them; a granary, and, 
if the width of the barn will admit, a hay hole for the supply of 
horses, and a small tool room. The hay, as it comes down the 
channel prepared for it, should fall on an inclined plane at the 
back side of the space allotted for its use, so that it can be taken 
up easily by the fork though the hay hole is full to the roof. This 
saves the trouble of climbing constantly to the top of the barn to 
get hay. The space behind the inclined plane is utilized, in the 
barn plan I shall presently show you, for the convenient storage of 
the best harnesses, the saddle, etc. By leaning up some stout poles 
in front of the horses and granary, to keep an open passage way 
before them, and by also keeping an open passage way for a few 
feet to reach the cow stables on the other side of the flodr, the floor 
may be filled to the peak of the barn, if you so elect, and all barn 
chores can still be conveniently done. 
Fifteen feet is as little as should be given to a horse and his 
manger. 
On the other side of the floor must be a place for cows, a hay- 
hole constructed as already described, some bran and feed bins, and 
room to get at these things even w^hen the main floor is occupied. 
This will require 17^ feet. So I fix the minimum length of a con¬ 
venient barn for general use, without basement, at 4G feet 
A basement story adds wonderfully to the usefulness of the barn, 
and the additional expense for the stone-work is not very great if 
the barn is to have anyway a thoroughl}^ good underpinning.' The 
labor of squaring, leveling and trench digging is a constant quan- 
