Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-02-17
Farm. Buildings.


for the discussion of subjects of inter
est to farmers. At the last meeting
Sc Farm Buildings" were under discus
sion. Essays On the subject were read
by e. P. Root, President of the Club,
and Shelby Reed, followed by general
discussion.
Willard Hodges doubted whether
painting shingle roofs were advisable.
He read an article condemnng the
practice, as it caused water to remain
longer under the shingles. Mr.. Beck
with said old-fashioned riven shingles
have been superseded by cut or sawed,
which are open to receive rain. The
6 fuzz" left by the saw draws the water
under the single, where it is retained,
causing rot. I advise using very mar
row roof boards, with wide spaces be-
tween them. e..
Mr.. Reed-In Wheatland there is a
house sixty-eight years old, the first
frame dwelling in town, whose original
roof still does good service. The roof
was made of riveD shingles. Mr.. Root
said his house, built nineteen years ago,
had a very fiat roof, and though he
used cut shingles, it is now as good as
ever. The roof was painted as laid,
and again after laying the paint had not
worn off. Mr.. Holton has laid very
fiat roof, half with cedar and half with
pine shingles. Gave it two coats OF lin
seed oil after laying, and after the last
covered with fine sand while the Oil
was moist. This was twenty-five years
ago, and the roof remains perfectly
tight Much of the sand remains on
the shingles. There is now prob
ably other roofing material bet
ter than shingles. Mr.. Quimby
spoke of the superiority of Pennsylva-
MIA barns. All have cellars for roots, for
cattle and for horses. Their houses are
generally inferior, and men say laugh
ingly that the farmers care more for
their horses than for their wives. All
barns, even on level ground, should have
easements beneath. It takes no more
roofing to cover a high barn than d low
one. Most farmers, after building, find
that they have made their barns too
low. Then the granary should be at
tended to. Not one granary in ten is
rat or mouse proof. Yet it is easy to
keep vesmin out by using Il inch
matched hemlock boards. The hemlock
splinters cannot be eaten through by
rats or mice. The pig-sty should be
made with reference to the convenience.
Of the service. Hogsare naturally very
neat animals, and it furnished sepa-
rate compartments Will never soil
their bed or feeding room. The trough
should be divided into apartments, to
give room for each animal without
crowding it's neighbor. Beckwith made
an excellent and cheap corn house Of an
old hay barn, by making the crib inside
with stats raised from the floor and pro-
viding an open space between the crib
and the side of the barn for ventilation
This plan secures perfect protection for
the corn from snow and rain. Mr.. Gan
etsee exhibited a grooved roofing made
in sections, which can be used equally
we'll for siding. Itappears to be a good
thing. and committee was appointed
to examine and report at next meeting.
Crude petroleum was recommended
as a covering for roots, as also for farm
implements of all kinds. It makes
wood almost indestructible, and keeps
iron from rusting. Mr.. Hayward said
he once paid SIS for a recipe to pre-
serve wood. It proved to be only
petroleum, and any one was welcome to
the recipe. Mr.. Ross said that when
young he was much troubled by in
convenient barns and other out-build-
ings. This set him to thinking on the
subject, and he had at last succeeded
in perfecting his idea in most particu-
lars. Much depends on the location of
buildings for convenience. Barns should
be in rear of the house, with driveway and
horse. block. He built barn Sc by Is
feet, with horse-barn Sc by so feet,
forming an l.. 1t has cistern rs feet
long and 10 feet deep, which had never
been dry. His horses and cattle are all
Oh the same floor, and he can water and
feed them without going out of the
barn. His granary in small build
ing outside the main barn. This was on
pillars, with tins to keep out mice.
The main barn was thus saved for stor-
ing grain and hay from the basement
to the roof. Cellars should be made
under the whole house. It costs little
more than to dig foundation, and
plenty of cellar room is always handy.
He kept his stills from dry rot by ven
tilating the basement walls with horse
shoe tile
Mr.. Glass described a cheap ice
house. He regarded ice in summer as
necessity rather than as luxury. and
as he did not want to make an expen-
sive house he partitioned off ten feet of
coal-shed three or four months ago.
He made tight board wall on four
sides, excepting doorway underlaid
with sig inches of sawdust on top: This
left space of ten feet square and eight
feet high. In the winter he filled in
eight square feet of ice to the height Of
seven feet, and then packed sawdust to
the thickness of one foot ON each side
and over the top. Such chunk of
ice would last his family in
to September If he had
the house to build over again he would
make it fully twelve feet square. with a
capacity of 10 by 10 Of ice, instead of s
by 8. Great care must be taken to pre-
vent current of air coming in contact
with the ice, and yet to carry away the
wo4ar aS the ioa m a1fs Tauipr tho loo