Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-11-22
farm, Gardfn i 9pnsehpll.
MORE Barn RooM WANTED.

MORE BARN ROOM WANTED.
Shifts are allowable in the early history i !
the farm that ought nos 20 be tolerated later.
The farmer in the cleanngs or upon the prai
re. has everything pressing upon him at once
and must meet his most imperious wants first.
BE must have shelter for his family, and food
for himself and stock The log house and
barn upon the most limited scale win answer
for a while, but both are temporary expedi
ents to be superseded at the earliest moneut
by something better. The new house and
barn are not merely matters Of taste, but of
economy. An ample barn for the storage Of
crops aud the shelter of stock should be re
garded aa necessary investment of capital
in alI farming in the Northern and Eastern
States, Thisis better understood in Penusyl-
vania than iu any other part of the country
and the barn that bears the name Of the State
is, in many respects, a model. It tcontempla
tes the shelter Of all STOCK, and the storage Of
all crops raised upon the farm; and il it also
provided shelter for manure. it would, with
abundant light and free ventilation. meet
every want.
Such barn upon every farm where mixed
husbandry is pursued would sooa pay for
itself It prevents the deterioration of crops
and Of manure. The loss from this source is
immense in all parts of the country. Even in
thrifty New England. where barn of som
kind is found upon every farm, a large part Of
the hay and corn fodder is stored in stacks,
and the open yard is still often met with as
the only receptacle for manure. There is
waste of labor in the topping and securing of
stacks, and waste Of fodder in all that part of
the stack thai is exposed 70 the ground and
to the weather, and indging from the fact that
barn hay always brings the higher price, there
is deterioration through the whole mass. In |
the West, there is much more loss from this |
source, for there is much less barn-room, and,
In addition to this, great damage from the
exposure Of the grain crops to the weather.
The wheat crop for this year has been gather
ed in excellent condition, for very little rain
fell, in all the grain growing districts during
harvest. But this is an exceptional season.
If those districts had been visited with the
rains and cloudy weather that have prevailed
would have been damagEd to the amount of
one, third of its value. This sometimes hap
pens, aAd there is much more damaged than
sound wheat in the market Ordinarily the
wheat is left in small shocks, with two bun
dies laid erosswise for a cap, until the thresh-
ing machine comes, which may be within two
weeks or two months after cutting. If the
weather is bad, the grain moulds and sprouts,
and the market is crowded with damaged
wheat. The straw also is injured for feeding
purposes The loss to the country from this
source amounts annually to many millions Of
dollars. IF could be saved it would pay all
the taxes laid upon farmers.
Then, good barn saves immensely in the
expenses of keeping stock and in the conve-
nience of feeding them. 1t is common es
innate that shelter saves one third in fodder |
This estimate is certainly not too high for the
northern half of the Northern States. The
consumption of food to keep up animal heat
in freezing weather is very great, and this |
does not benefit the farmer. He wants an
increase of flesh and fat, articles that a stack
yard regimen rarely gives. With plenty Of
grain, an animal viii thrive out Of doors, but |
he does not thrive as he would under shelter.
1t is too expensive, even in the grain dis
Tiets, to substitute corn for boards. With |
out barns, also, the farmer is very much at |
the mercy Of the grain speculator. With |
them. he can store his hay and grain, and |
sell when the market suits. The speculator |
knows the situation, and visits the regions !
where the barns are yet to be built He
knows the farmers must sell, for be has no
place to store his grain. lie generally pre-
ters the tender mereies of the specuator,
whom he knows, to the commission merchant
III the city, whom he does not know. lie
wants the cash in hand aud takes what be can
get As wheat often advances fifty per cent.
ina season, the farmer ought to he able to
take advantage Of the rise. If grain could be
kept more IL first hands, it would beneGtcon-
sumers, for it would tend to make uniform
prices. Nobody but SPECTATORS would suf
fer. In the plans of barns that we frequently
present in these pages, ,some ofthem giving the
results Of years of study by practical farmers
to meet their own wants, our readers will find
many profitable suggestions. -American 1g-
,iculturist.