BARN, a covered building, for laying up and preserving all sorts of grain, hay, straw, &c. The situation of a barn should be dry and rather elevated, and on the north or north east side of a farm-yard ; but neither contiguous to the house, nor to any offices connected with it. Barns may be con structed of either stone, brick, or timber, which last may be Wooden framing, covered with weatherboarding; but which soever of these materials is used, holes should be left in the walls at intervals, or the doors and windows should have proper air-flights, so as to admit the ingress and egress of air freely. The aable-ends are best fiffined of brick or stone, on account of their solidity ; the c()vering may either be thatch or tiles. In the walls of the front and rear of the building should be two large folding doors, th• the con venience of carrying in and out a earl or waggon load of corn in sheaves, or any other bulky produce : these doors should be of the same breadth with the threshing-floor, to give more light to the threshers, and admit more air fiu.
win nowing the grain. Over the threshing-floor, and a little above the reach of the flail-poles, beams are often laid across, in order to form a kind of upper-floor, upon which the thresher may throw the straw or haulm ; and on the out-side, over the great doors, it is convenient to have a large pent house made, projecting sufficiently, so as to cover 'a load of corn, or hay, in case a sudden storm should come on before it can be housed, and also to shelter the poultry in the farm-yard from bad weather, or too great heat. The hay-barns should usually be constructed of wood, and not too close : they are sometimes formed in such a manner, as to be capable of being moved to different places by wheels or rollers. In grazing-farms, which do not afford a supply of straw for thatching, the stacks with movable roofs, erected on strong upright posts of wood, or what is sometimes termed Dutch barns, may be useful, as they may be raised or lowered at pleasure by screws and levers, so as to accommodate them selves to the quantity of hay, either in proportion to the crop or its consumption, while, at the same time, they are cheaper.
more airy, and less troublesome than close barns, in case of heating. The of barns is best of stone or brick, which may be built to the height of about two feet above ground ; the sides should be boarded, and the roof with straw or reeds ; but those of the stables on its sides, with slate or glazed tile ; because, as they must be more flat, the water which runs from the roof of the barn would injure most other coverings. At each end of the barn, and over the back door, small doors, four feet high, should be fixed at the height of twelve feet from the ground : the two former (Ur putting in corn at the ends, and the latter for filling the middle of the barn after the bays are full. All the bars should have a floor of clay or marl, and the threshing-floor should be laid with hard bricks, which will be suitable fir all sorts of grain, except wheat or rye : for threshing these, it will be advisable to have planks of oak or red deal well fitted together, and numbered, to be laid down occasionally, and confined by a frame at their ends.
Barns should be placed upon a declivity, as by this means they are rendered more durable, less subject to vermin, and the grain can be kept more sweet and dry than on level ground : this situation also affords a commodious range of stalls for cattle.
The invention of the threshing machine has, in a great measure, altered the construction of barns, as, where they are made use of, they should be contrived chiefly with a view to the distribution of straw ; the machines being built in the centre, with the grain-stacks adjoining them, in such a man ner, that they may be supplied without the assistance of carts or horses. The barns, in these cases, need not to be so large, but they should have granaries provided in them, which may perhaps be most conveniently placed over the floors.