Rats love grain; and therefore the corn crib is usually the rat
headquarters of the farm. By building corn cribs and granary floors of
concrete the farmer takes a long step toward rat extermination.
Lay out the building: for the foundation wall, dig a trench 12 inches
wide and from 2 to 3 feet below ground level. Set box forms, so as to
bring the surface of the finished foundation and floor 1½ to 2 feet
above ground level, according to the height of the “drag” conveyor used
by local corn-shellers.
As the floor will only be 6 inches thick, fill in between the
foundation walls with gravel to within a distance of 6 inches of top
of forms. Soak this fill thoroughly, and tamp and roll it well, before
placing concrete on top.
Mix concrete (1: 2: 4) and fill the foundation forms. Beginning at
one end of the building, lay the concrete floor in sections 4 feet
wide, and continue until the entire floor is placed.
In order to fasten the wooden sill for the granary uprights to the
concrete floor, insert ¾-inch bolts heads down or strap irons bent
like capital =Z=’s at the necessary points in the green concrete
of foundation. The bolts are long enough to pass through holes in the
sill and to receive nuts and washers. The straps are long enough to be
spiked to the uprights.
[Illustration]
Finish the surface of the floor with a steel trowel, so as to render
scooping of the grain an easy matter.
Approximate cost per square foot of floor surface, 12 cents.
[Illustration]