BARN. Buildings for storing hay, grain in the straw, and fodder of various kinds. Have always been considered as among the most portant in farm economy. Hence, in all old settled countries, the fertility of a farm, and the wealth of its owner, may be pretty accurately known by the completeness of its barns and other buildings. Of late years, ever, barns are becoming more and more of a mixed ter; that is, they are built with special reference to the ing of stock, and the storing and saving of hay and fodder, rather than for the storing of grain, since the practice of thatching allows the stacking of grain outside, and the ern facilities for warehousing and transportation of threshed grain, and modern systems of ventilation prevents damage thereto. Slighter structures, also barracks, skeleton barns, etc., allow the perfect saving of hay and fodder; hence, now-a-days the best barns are made of two and three stories, the lower being devoted to stalls and conveniences for keeping cattle, horses and sheep; a portion of the second floor to granaries, storing vehicles and implements, and the rest of the structure to hay, fodder, etc. (See illustration of model barn, and stock floor, accompanying this article.) Barns should be built on as dry a location as possible, or on one where the drainage may be made perfect, and also where the means for saving manure may be most economically carried out. Above all, a barn should never be shaded by trees, since, dryness is one of the prime essentials. There are very few situations where a sufficient elevation may not be had to allow a basement partly under ground; that is, running into the bank. If the hank into which the barn is built he nine feet, by giving an elevation to the bankment of eight feet more, the second story may be reached without serious strain on the team. The illustration shows a three-story barn with platforms to each story. In building a barn, one should have as definite an idea of what it is to be used for, as in building a house. The•
principal objects. sought are to store farm ducts and shelter stock; the saving of manure in cellars, once thought essential, being now exploded, as not economical except where special manures are to be prepared. In the planning of the more modern barns, it has been found to be.
economical to build high, since modern appli ances for handling hay and grain allow it to be lifted, and carried by horse power to compara tively long distances. If the bank has sufficient elevation so the team can be driven upon the second floor, much valuable space may be utilized for storing machinery and implements, and also feed, on the floor above the stable and feeding floor. All above the second floor, and so much as may be deemed necessary above the first floor above the basement is to be used for hay and grain, except in particular eases where the nature of the case requires space for other purposes. When granaries are to be built in the barn, these should have sufficient elevation so the grain and other provender may be easily car ried in chutes, and delivered from spouts, handy to where it is to be fed to the animals stable and entrance. The accompanying diagram shows plan of stock floor, yards, etc. The barn stands upon a side-hill sloping east. There are three distinct floors, and the barn consists of a main building and two wings, with dimensions as •ollows: Main building fifty-five by eighty feet: the east wing is fifty-six feet long and thirty-one and a half feet wide; the South wing is fifty-six feet long and thirty-five in width; total length from north to south, 136 feet. In the view from the northeast is shown the east wing and the cellar or basement wall, with the doors and windows communicating with the hog-pen, etc. The doors (D) are suspended upon rollers upon which they slide. The windows are suspended by hinges from the top, and swing open inside. The view from the southeast, shows the cattle yards, both wings, the cellar,etc.