A main floor, _A_, 12 feet wide, runs the whole length through the
center of the barn. _S, S_, are the large doors. _H, H,_ are trap doors,
to let hay or straw down to the alleys of the stables beneath. _B_,
is the principal bay for hay storage, 16 feet wide, and runs up to the
roof. _C_, is the bay, 26x16 feet, for the grain mow, if required for
that purpose. D, is a granary, 13x16 feet, and 8 feet high. _E_,
a storage room for fanning mill, cutting-box, or other machinery, or
implements, of same size and height as the granary. _F_, is a passage,
8 feet wide, leading from the main floor to the yard door, through which
to throw out litter. Over this passage, and the granary, and store-room,
may be stored grain in the sheaf, or hay. The main floor will
accommodate the thrashing-machine, horse-power, cutting box, &c., &c.,
when at work. A line of movable sleepers, or poles, may be laid across
the floor, 10 feet above it, on a line of girts framed into the main
posts, for that purpose, over which, when the sides of the barn are
full, either hay or grain may be deposited, up to the ridge of the roof,
and thus afford large storage. And if the demands of the crops require
it, after the sides and over the floor is thus filled, the floor itself
may, a part of it, be used for packing away either hay or grain, by
taking off the team after the load is in, and passing them out by a
retreating process, on the side of the cart or wagon; and the vehicle,
when unloaded, backed out by hand. We have occasionally adopted this
method, when crowded for room for increased crops, to great advantage.
It requires somewhat more labor, to be sure, but it is much better than
stacking out; and a well-filled barn is a good sight to look upon.
[Illustration: MAIN FLOOR PLAN.]
Underneath the body of the barn are the stables, root cellar, calf
houses, or any other accommodation which the farm stock may require;
but, for the most economical objects, is here cut up into stables. At
the ends, _l, l_, are passages for the stock to go into their stalls;
and also, on the sides, for the men who attend to them. The main passage
through the center double line of stalls is 8 feet wide; and on each
side are double stalls, 6-1/2 feet wide. From the two end walls, the
cattle passages are 5 feet wide, the partition between the stalls
running back in a _slant_, from 5 feet high at the mangers to the floor,
at that distance from the walls. The mangers, _j, j_, are 2 feet wide,
or may be 2-1/2 feet, by taking an additional six inches out of the rear
passage. The passage is, between the mangers, 3 feet wide, to receive
the hay from the trap doors in the floor above.
[Illustration: UNDER-GROUND PLAN AND YARD.]
The most economical plan, for room in tying cattle in their stalls, is
to fasten the rope, or chain, whichever is used, (the wooden stanchion,
or _stanchel_, as it is called, to open and shut, enclosing the animal
by the neck, we do not like,) into a ring, which is secured by a strong
staple into the post which sustains the partition, just at the top of
the manger, on each side of the stall. This prevents the cattle in the
same stall from interfering with each other, while the partition
effectually prevents any contact from the animals on each side of it, in
the separate stalls. The bottom of the mangers, for grown cattle, should
be a foot above the floor, and the top two and a half feet, which makes
it deep enough to hold their food; and the whole, both sides and bottom,
should be made of two-inch, sound, strong plank, that they may not be
broken down. The back sides of the stalls, next the feeding alleys,
should be full 3-1/2 feet high; and if the cattle are large, and
disposed to climb into their mangers with their fore-feet, as they
sometimes do, a pole, of 2-1/2 or 3 inches in diameter, should be
secured across the front of the stall, next the cattle, and over the
mangers--say 4-1/2 feet above the floor, to keep them out of the manger,
and still give them sufficient room for putting their heads between that
and the top of the manger, to get their food. Cattle thus secured in
double stalls, take up less room, and lie much warmer, than when in
single stalls; besides, the expense of fitting them up being much
less--an experience of many years has convinced us on this point. The
doors for the passage of the cattle in and out of the stables, should be
five feet wide, that they may have plenty of room.
In front of these stables, on the outside, is a line of posts, the feet
of which rest on large flat stones, and support the outer sill of the
barn, and form a recess, before named, of 12 feet in width, under which
may be placed a line of racks, or mangers for outside cattle, to consume
the orts, or leavings of hay rejected by the in-door stock; or, the
manure may be housed under it, which is removed from the stables by
wheel-barrows. The low line of sheds which extend from the barn on each
side of the yard, may be used for the carts, and wagons of the place;
or, racks and mangers may be fitted up in them, for outside cattle to
consume the straw and coarse forage; or, they may be carried higher than
in our plan, and floored overhead, and hay, or other food stored in them
for the stock. They are so placed merely to give the idea.
There may be no more fitting occasion than this, perhaps, to make a
remark or two on the subject of managing stock in stables of any kind,
when kept in any considerable numbers; and a word may not be impertinent
to the subject in hand, as connected with the construction of stables.
There is no greater benefit to cattle, after coming into winter
quarters, than a straight-forward regularity in everything appertaining
to them. Every animal should have its own particular stall in the
stable, where it should _always be kept, and in no other_. The cattle
should be fed and watered at certain hours of the day, as near as may
be. When let out of the stables for water, unless the weather is very
pleasant, when they may be permitted to lie out an hour or two, they
should be immediately put back, and not allowed to range about with the
outside cattle. They are more quiet and contented in their stables than
elsewhere, and eat less food, than if permitted to run out; and are
every way more comfortable, if properly bedded and attended to, as every
one will find, on trying it. The habit of many people, in turning their
cattle out of the stables in the morning, in all weathers--letting them
range about in a cold yard, hooking and thorning each other--is of no
possible benefit, unless to rid themselves of the trouble of cleaning
the stables, which pays twice its cost in the saving of manure. The
outside cattle, which occupy the yard, are all the better, that the
stabled ones do not interfere with them. They become habituated to their
own quarters, as the others do to their's, and all are better for being
each in their own proper place. It may appear a small matter to notice
this; but it is a subject of importance, which every one may know who
tries it.
It will be seen that a driving way is built up to the barn doors at the
ends; this need not be expensive, and will add greatly to the ease and
convenience of its approach. It is needless to remark, that this barn is
designed to stand on a shelving piece of ground, or on a slope, which
will admit of its cellar stables without much excavation of the earth;
and in such a position it may be economically built. No estimate is
given of its cost, which must depend upon the price of materials, and
the convenience of stone on the farm. The size is not arbitrary, but may
be either contracted or extended, according to the requirements of the
builder.
[Illustration]