IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STABLE FLOORS
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Henry Small at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 27th December 1876.
JAMES HENRY SMALL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Tramway Manager. " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF STABLE FLOORS."
This Invention has reference to a new or improved surface flooring for stables,
either fixed and stationary or portable, and capable of being lifted during the day
time or in warm weather when it would be least required or necessary, the object
or advantages of the Invention being the giving of a better or more comfortable
floor or surface for the horses to rest or lie down on, and which will be more dry and
warm than the floors heretofore constructed and used, and require much less bedding
straw, as it will keep longer dry and clean.
And the nature and novelty of the Invention consist in laying the upper surface
of the ordinary earthen, paved, asphalted, or deal floors of the stalls with laths or
light battens of wood, of about three or four inches broad, and preferably from an
inch and quarter to two inches deep, with parallel recesses or grooves between them
of about an inch or so in width, and running longitudinally from the head to the
foot of the stall, so that the recesses would form small carriers or conduits to carry
the water to the main gutter or drain running across the foot of the stalls.
Under one arrangement when the flooring is to be of the permanent character
the planks or laths are secured at each end and in the centre by screws, spikes, or
otherwise down to transverse wooden bars or joists sunk lovel with or secured into
the ordinary floor; and when made portable the longitudinal laths or battens are
fixed to iron or other transverse bars, preferably sunk into the under side sufficient
to allow the urine or water to flow down the recesses or spaces between the battens
under these cross bars. Or light round iron rods might be passed through the
centre of these battens, and screwed up by screw nuts at their ends, and with short
blocks between the battens to form the recesses, but not reaching to the bottom
surface, for the like purpose of allowing the water or urine to flow down the recesses;
and these portable floors so bound together might be divided longitudinally in the
centre of the stall, so that the one half might be folded up to the right, and the
other to the left side of the stall for cleaning purposes, or removable altogether
when not desired to be used as in warm weather, and either hinged or not as desired
at each outer edge close to the sides of the stall, and secured by latches or other
suitable fixing to prevent their falling through accident or carelessness,

page_text: This improved floor besides keeping the stall dry will be found more economical
than the ordinary floors, as the straw bedding will keep longer clean by reason of
the urine or water being allowed to run freely away from it through the before-
mentioned recesses.
Although it is preferred to arrange the laths or battens to give recesses running 5
longitudinally, it is to be understood that they might be arranged transversely, and
have small holes pierced through them to allow the urine to flow away, but this
method has not the same advantages as the former.