Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-09-03
MODERN STABLE CONSTRUCTION.
FOUNDATION AND FLOOR.

After deciding on the proper location
for the stable a great deal of future work
may be saved by selecting the exact spot
according to grade that will give the
most advantages. Here again the farm
er must be guided by conditions. If it
is possible to provide sufficient fall to
get wagon track about four feet below
the level of the stable floor it will facil-
itate removing the manure, an item of
no small moment, as it is daily occur
renee that follows up year after year.
After deciding on the size and dimen-
sions of the stable it will pay to stake it
out on the ground several days or weeks
before the time set to commence opera
tions; this will probably save the remark
that we so often hear, ''If had it to do
over again | would do it differently"
Remember that you are laying out work
for yourself for years to come; a little
/ foresight is worth q tremendous lot of
regret.
1t is good plan to take trip about
the country and look over half dozen
different stables that are to be thought
correct in principle. A good many men
go ahead without taking this precaution,
| and the result is that after the work is
completed, or so far along that it can
! not be changed, mistakes are apparent.
A case in point occurred only last week.
A farmer in the eastern section of the
country was about to build a barn at
considerable expense. Hearing about
/ the work at the Pan-American, he de-
cided to investigate before completing
| his arrangements. The result is that he
has abandoned his original intention en-
tirely, and is now building n complete
modern stable on thoroughly scientific
principles, as mapped out by Mr.. Con-
| verse at the exposition.
When the location is finally decided
upon, trench for the wall should be
dug deep enough to go below frost. The
| trench should be the exact width of the
| wall, say twelve inches, and a tile scoop
used to hollow out space around the
outside of the trench at the bottom for a
two and one-half or three inch tile. Lay
the tile flush with the outside wall of the
trench, and true up the earth so the
mortar will not squeeze out over the tile.
This drain tile is very important as it
answers the double purpose of providing
u uIN lOi NuC "oiA, pAS-
vents rats from working under. Rats
will burrow down next to the wall to
find the bottom, but when they meet
with an obstruction they will follow it
sometimes for long distance along the
wall, but never think of working away
from the wall to get around it.
Material for the wall must depend
upon local conditions. The wall should
extend but an inch or so above the floor,
and the top of the wall carefully leveled
to form proper bed for the sill. Inside
of the wall the ground must be carefully
graded in conformity with the ground
plan. joys, cutters, managers, inclines and
track runs should be laid out with great
care to correspond with a carefully
drawn plan and profile.
When the ground, which is to be the
floor of the barn, is finished ready for
cement, mortar boards should be placed
conveniently, that is, plenty large
enough to be used without sides.
Mix thoroughly by measure, dry, one
part best Portland cement with six or
seven parts of coarse sand; a good lib
eral sprinkling of broken stone is an i'm
provement. When thoroughly mixed,
wet to mortar consistency; which is just
wet enough to be pressed into ball by
hand, spread directly ON the ground in a
layer two and one-half inches thick and
tamp down solid. Gutter sides and all
logs should be an inch thicker to pre-
vent breaking. Corners at those places
should be beveled for the same reason.
| The top or putty coat should be mixed
| and laid on the stall floor with rough
board trowel; this coat should consist of
one part cement to two parts sand that
has been sifted. 1t should not be
troweled down smooth on the standing
floor but should be left rough in order to
| furnish hold for bedding; the managers
and feed ways may be polished to the
queens taste. This coat may be from
one inch to one and one-half inches
thick, and it must be laid when the bot
tom coat is fresh and damp or the two
will not properly unite; for this reason
it is better to lay large floor in sections,
though If dryneSS cannot be avoided,
sprinkling with water will help to re-
store adhesiveneSS. In large stables
where a driveway is provided it is nee
essary to make creases in the cement
when soft. otherwise the hard smooth
floor will furnish no foothold for horses;
this may be done by embedding a rake
handle ut frequent intervals in the
cement while it is soft. Stable floors
made in this way are permanent, sani-
tary and comfortable for stock, when all
the necessary conditions are complied
with, which includes proper care in
building, and the necessary subsequent
cleanliness.
Cementing directly ON the ground in
this manner is all right provided the
ground is hard and dry. Judgment is
required in this as well as in all other
transactions pertaining to the farm; if
the soil is hard clay the cement may
be much thinner than for soil of loamy,
looser nature. On the other hand, if the
soil is sandy thin layer of broken stone
or coarse gravel may be necessary.
Where gravel is used on sand some kind
of binder is sometimes required. This
may be a mixture of clay and ashes or
loan and ashes or clay alone, but what
ever method is employed conditions
must be carefully studied to obtain the
best results. Even cisterns may be
plastered directly on the earth with sat
| isfactory results, if the nature OF the
ground is hard and dry, and the cistern
covered sufficiently to keep out the
frost.
AS silo is a necessary adjunct to the
stable and should be built in connection
the silo foundation should be built at
the same time that the stable foundation
is laid. The same rules will apply and
the same construction may be followed
in all except the design of the wall,
which will, of course, depend on the
size and dimensions of the silo.-Her-
bert Shearer in Maine Farmer.
SOUND THINKING IN THE COUNTRY
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