The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-06-04
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM IN ADVANCE

are constantly inhaled. 1t is no wonder that
there are in consequence constant blood dis
orders or bronchial or lung diseases. Beside,
the appearance and the comfort of the ami
mails are sacrificed because cleanliness is i'm
possible under the circumstances. We very
early In our experience discovered this, and
for many years were constantly experiment.
ing to discover the best stable floor. There
are two OF which we can hardly determine
which is the better. One of these is double
plank floor
Inc bottom plank is hemlock, which is as
good as any, If kept dry, and is the cheap st
Ien ieet long and two inches thick if for
slhSie stails. This lower floor being laid is
wen saturated with hot gas tar, and the up
per iayer oi plank, also of hemlock, which
under these circumstances is durable. and
which does not become so smooth and sin-
perry as oak or yellow pine, and is therefore
safer, are laid upon it, They are first coated
upon the under side with the tar, then laid
so that the joints are broken, and firmly
spiked down. These planks should be one
and one-half inch thick and seven feet long.
They form the bed of the stall, of which two
and one-half feet are occupied by the feed
trough, and tour and one-half feet give stand
ing room for the COW. At the end of this
bed or floor Of the stall is depression one
and one-halt inch deep, into which all the
of any width that is desirable.
When the stalls are single two feet is a suf-
fcient width, with a sidewalk of one foot
wide. Ii the stalls are double four feet give
plenty of room. The depressed portion of
the floor should be well coated with gas tar
and sprinkled with sand while the tar is hot.
The tar is great preservative Of the wood.
Such floor is quite impervious to water,
and is equally good for hog pen as for a
COW stable. For horses, the floor should be
laid with the best white oak, Lemlock being
too soft to stani contact with the shoe calks.
The other floor is the cobble stone and ce-
ment floor. The floor being graded with a
gentle slope, of half an inch to a foot, is
paved with cobble stones selected for even
ness OF size and for their shape, which
should be that of an egg with one broad and
one pointed end. The smaller end is laid in
the earth and the broader one uppermost.
They should be well rammei down, and
when the floor is laid, all loose sand is to be
swept off from it. The finishing OF the sur
face is thus performed One part of good
hydraulic cement and seven parts of sharp
sand are well mixed dry, and then water is
added sufficient to make thin mortar
This is quickly spread over the paved floor
and worked into the spaces between the
stones with an old stiff corn broom. 1t is
laid on thick enough TO fill the spaces evenly,
and with the broom a fair smooth surface is
formed through which only the tops Of the
stones are seen. A thin wash OF pure ce-
ment is spread over the whole, and it is left
to dry. The next day coating of hot gas
tar is laid upon it until no more is absorbed,
and fine sand scattered apon it. Then we
have floor which will last indefinitely if
only care has been taken to make a solid
foundation and to ram the stones down solid
ly. 1t is entirely rat-proof, dry, and there
fore healthful. This floor is also pig-proof.
and suitable for hog pens which have moth
ing beneath them but the ground. 1t is vb-
vious that this paved surface is solely
ground floor, and can not be used over Gel
lar.