Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-10-31
F A r M A N D
O r. CHI A r u


wood from this standpoint. They are
not as bad in this respect, however,
as many imagine. In the first place
the stable ought not to fall below 40
degrees F., and when this is true the
floor will only have this temperature
and will not lead to inconvenience if
other conditions are right. In the
second place no animal should be re-
quired to lie even upon a naked floor
and when plenty of bedding is pro-
vided the cement floor is not toon cold
for warm stables kept clean.
No farmer who is attempting to
maintain the fertility of his land at
the standard of best yield can afford
to overfeed with hay so that the least
nutritious portions are rejected and
use this for bedding, than go without
because the extra amount of manure
made and the greater comfort and
cleanliness of his animals will pay a
good return for it. The waste rough
age of the farm, when used as bed
ding and mixed with the manure, in
creases the value of both because it
increases the total quantity of man
ure so much that the fields can be
dressed more frequently, thus hold
the humus content higher and the soil
in better filth, both essential condi-
tons for large yields. The liability
of animals to kick the bedding off
from the floor is not sufficient rea-
son against cement floors. 1t is on
| ly when too little bedding is used or
it has not the right texture that the
| floor is left seriously exposed.
All wood floors are generally laid
in one of two ways, either close upon
the ground, nailed to stringers bedded
in the earth; or else upon joists with
an air space between the floor and
earth. When laid in either of these
F, ways they are certain to wear out
| through the tramping of the animals
and the use of the tools in cleaning
the stables, but if conditions are fav-
orable so that rotting does not occur
they may last as long as 6 to IL
years.
1t is oftener true that wood floors
give out from decay before they do
from wear. Where the floor is kept
continually saturated with moisture
it will not decay; and when kept con-
tinually dry it gives out only through
wear, but when it contains the right
amount of moisture the growth of
moulds, causing the decay, takes
place.
When the floor is bedded in close
textured clay soil, where subsoil is
close and all the time saturated with
water, decay will go on very slowly;
but where the soil is dry and open,
and especially if this is the character
of the subsoil, decay may destroy the
floor in to years. So, too, where
the floors are laid upon joists on the
ground and dead air space left be-
meath, decay is certain to occur in 8
to years, but if the joists are so ar
ranged that there is free circulation
of air beneath, destruction from decay
is not likely to occur.
! Wood floors are made so as to
prevent water running through them
by using more than one layer with
some waterproof composition between
them. For heavy floors matched
plank are laid and coated with lay
er of coal tar roofing composition and
then upon this second layer of plank
is laid, painting the joints with the
same composition before drawing
them together. Lighter floors are
made in the same way, using tongued
and grooved roofing.